The Unworthy Non-Communicant.  
A TREATISE Showing the Danger of Neglecting The Blessed Sacrament Of The Lord's Supper, AND Rectifying the Mistakes of many in This Age concerning it.  
The First Part.  
The Second Impression Corrected.  
By William Smythies, the Morning Lecturer at Saint Michael Cornhill, London.  
LONDON, Printed by T. Milbourn for Samuel Lee at the Feathers in Lombard Street, 1683.   

TO THE WORSHIPFUL 

Richard Alie Esquire, Master.  
Mr. Edward Turgis, Wardens.  
Mr. Richard Dawson, Wardens.  
Mr. Gilbert Vrwyn, Wardens.  
Mr. Edward Thursfield, Wardens.  
Sir Robert Clayton, Aldermen.  
Sir James Smith, aldermans.  
Sir Thomas Gold, Aldermen.  
Mr. Thomas Tyther,   And others of the Court of Assistants, of the Company of Drapers, London.  
Honoured Sirs,  
YOU have been pleased to heap so many of your Favours upon me and mine, that I cannot but take this little Occasion to ease my Mind, by Complaining to the World, that I never yet had the least Opportunity to express my Thankfulness; but however, it is some Satisfaction to me, that I have not ceased to Pray to God for You and your Families, in that Congregation in which you have been pleased to place me.  
It was a very remarkable and unexpected Providence, which directed you to make Choice of me for the Morning Lecture, upon the Recommendation of my Two ever honoured Friends, Sir James Smith, and Mr. Thomas Tyther, considering the great Interests that had been made for other Ministers, better deserving, and better known in the City, in which I was then a Stranger. By this I accounted myself the more abundantly obliged to take Care, that I did not Do the work of the Lord negligently: And, that I might have the better Direction in it, you were pleased to Command, That so much of the Pious Will of Mr. John Raney should be showed to me, as related to the Performance of my Duty; and I hope it will not be Offensive to you, if I show some part of it to the World, as followeth;  
— And further, That before the beginning of every such Lecture on the Sabbath Day Morning in St. Michael 's Church, the Lecturer, for the time being, do Reverently Read such Good and Godly Prayers allowed by the Church of England, as hath been heretofore usually performed. And my desire is, That the said Preacher and Lecturer in and by all his said Lectures and Sermons, do chief Aim at the suppressing of Sin, and building up the Kingdom of Grace in the Hearts of the Auditors: And that he shall, upon the first Sabbath Day Morning in every Month, being the usual Communion Day, Exhort his Auditory for the reverend and due Receiving of the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper; and give such Godly Instructions and Directions for the same, as shall be most fitting for that Occasion.  
When I had heard this part of the Will of the Religious Donor. I resolved, by the Grace of God assisting, that I would observe what he so piously required of me.  
That I have made it my Business to suppress Sin, my Auditors can Testify; and that I have observed his pleasure in Exhorting to the Receiving of the Blessed Sacrament, may appear to you by this short Treatise; only with this difference, that I have made it the chief part of my Work every Month (with very few Intermissions) to Exhort my Auditors not to neglect it; because since the Death of that Worthy Benefactor, the Sin of Neglecting hath abounded more than the Sin of Unworthy Receiving. I have, with a sorrowful Heart observed, That all those Sermons which are designed to direct and prepare the People to Receive the Holy Sacrament, have signified very little, because there are but very few in this vicious and divided Age that do partake of it.  
The good Success which I have had, (Praised be the God of Heaven for it,) and the continued Importunities of some, who had forsaken the Communion of the Church, and others who had forsaken all Religion, as to the Practice of it, but are now become very Constant, and I hope very pious Communicants, have prevailed with me to Publish those Arguments which I have been many Years insisting and inlargeing upon: And if they have the same Influence upon the Readers, which they have had upon the Hearers, it will exceedingly rejoice me; And you will have the less cause to repent of your Choice, and be the more willing, that I should still perform that Service, to which I have no other Title, but the Continuance of your Favour and good Opinion of me: Which that I may deserve, shall be the constant Endeavour of  
Your most humble and faithful Servant, William Smythies. Cripplegate, June 12th. 1683.   

TO THE READER.  
Reader,  
I Hope you will Excuse me, that I have disappointed your Expectation, for I have disappointed my Own. My daily and almost hourly Interruptions would not permit me to Transcribe the whole Copy, as the Printer earnestly desired, before I committed it to the Press: And the Truth is, I was unwilling to do it, for fear that a Review of what I had done should alter my Mind, and frustrate the Desire of my importunate Friends. By this, through my unskilfulness in taking Measures, I have been forced to break off very abruptly, being Confined to a short and cheap Treatise. After I had considered the general Pretences of Non-Communicants, I intended to speak of some particular Cases, which I think to be of great Moment: The Young Man's Pretence, the Poor Man's Pretence, and the Melancholy Man's Pretence for Noncommunicating; which are all of them very deplorable Cases. I intended likewise to have Treated upon another General Head, and that is, The Vindication and Recommendation of the Way of Administration in the Church of England; and to show that it doth exceedingly tend to the Promotion of that true Piety and Holiness, which all good Men do highly Contend for, and which is the great Design of the Blessed Sacrament. I have, of late, spent a great part of my Time and Thoughts upon this Argument, and have observed the Apostles Rule, In meekness to instruct them that oppose themselves. But I need not trouble myself or the World about a Vindication of the Church in any thing, because it hath been sufficiently done many Years since: And is again undertaken by many Ministers of this City, Men of very Great Eminency, whose Books are not only sufficient to satisfy all that are willing to be satisfied, but to make them Champions for the Church, as many good Men have been who were Disaffected to Her.  
To this I add a very earnest Request: If you have been mistaken concerning the Duty or Danger of Communicating, read with a desire to be satisfied: If you have lived a sinful Life, read with a Willingness to be Reform, that you may neither be an Unworthy Communicant, nor an Unworthy Non-Communicant; and if you receive any benefit, give Praise to the God of Heaven.  
Farewell.   

THE CONTENTS.  

IT is the great Duty of every Christian to frequent the Sacrament. pag. 10.  
Mistakes concerning the Danger of Unworthy Receiving. p. 17.  
The Danger of Neglecting it. p. 40.  
Those that neglect the Sacrament contemn their Baptism. p. 83.  
Infant-Baptism Vindicated. p. 87.  
The Pretences of Non-Communicants frivolous and dangerous. p. 94.  
The Pretence from the Solemnity of the Ordinance. p. 96.  
The Pretence from Unpreparedness. p. 100  
The Pretence from the Danger of Relapsing. p. 123.    

THE Unworthy Non-Communicant.  
THE great Contempt that is cast upon Religion in this Age in which we live, & especially upon this great ORDINANCE of the Blessed Sacrament of the LORDS SUPPER, hath made all undertake of this nature very seasonable. I question whether there was ever any people, of what Religion soever they were, that ever slighted any Institution which they called Divine, as many thousands of Christians slight the Sacrament.  
If there were no other Argument to convince Christians of their duty to Receive, and the danger of Neglecting; the Cunning and Subtilty of the Devil, the great Enemy of our Salvation, by which he Cheats men in reference to this Ordinance, might be of great force.  
If we had lived with our Saviour in the World, or with his Apostles after his Ascension into Heaven, we could not have imagined, considering the plain words of the Institution, and the obliging Circumstances that accompanied it, and likewise the care and constancy of the first Christians to observe it according to that plain Institution, that ever there should be a generation of Christians in the World, who should make any Disputes concerning it.  
Who could have thought, that there should have been any Priests or Ministers, who should have kept back half the Sacrament from the People, since we find that our Saviour gave the Cup to all those to whom he gave the Bread? And the Apostle tells the Corinthians, 1 Cor. 11. ver. 27, 28, 29. in three Verses together of their Receiving the Cup as well as the Bread; and in one of them, expressly requires that they should Eat of that Bread, and Drink of that Cup, ver. 28. And yet none will say, that the Corinthians were Priests or Ministers.  
Who could have imagined, that ever there should have been such a nonsensical Conceit as Transubstantiation, which is contrary to the very nature of a Sacrament? It was very happy for the Primitive Christians, that there was no such Conceit known in their days; for if it had, it would exceedingly have hindered the propagating of the GOSPEL. If a Christian had come to a Heathen, and told him that a piece of bread after a few Prayers, is no longer Bread, but the very Body of Christ his Saviour, and the Heathen had tasted of it, and found that it was nothing but Bread still, surely he would have tried to laugh that Christian to death, and to hiss him out of the World. If the Heathens had heard any such thing, they would have concluded, That Christians were a sort of men, who were deprived of their Senses, and that all they said, concerning Christ's Miracles, and his Resurrection, his Ascension, and the power of the Holy Ghost which followed it, was as true as Transubstantiation. And if they had said that they eat their God, they would have concluded, That they deserved to be hated of all men, and to be devoured by wild Beasts (one of their Cruelties to the Christians) who devoured their God; Or else they would have desired that they might eat with them: for, they could be contented to tear him with their Teeth, to show their Hatred against him and his Doctrine. Besides, it is an insignificant conceit, in that no man can imaginet, what good it could do him to eat the very Body of his Saviour.  
Who could have Imagined, that amongst the men of our own Religion, there should be a generation that should throw the Ordinance away as useless and insignificant; pretending that they receive Christ in their Hearts, and therefore there is no need of the outward Act: As if none were to Receive the Sacrament, but those that are Unworthy, such as receive not Christ in their Hearts: Or as if those to whom our Saviour gave it, who had forsaken all for his sake, did not receive Christ in their Hearts: Or as if the Primitive Christians, those Holy and Blessed Martyrs, who were constant Communicants, did not receive Christ in the Hearts. But alas, these poor deluded Creatures are puffed up with a conceit, that they are more holy than those Blessed Martyrs were, and that they know the mind and design of Christ better than they did.  
But to come a little nearer to that which is my chief Design, Who could have imagined that ever there should be men that expect Salvation by Christ (such as have none of these Enthusiastic Whimsies) who should think it a very indifferent thing, whether they observe this Institution of our Blessed Lord, or let it alone, although Christ commanded that it should be Received?  
There are too many amongst us, who are Unworthy Communicants, men that do not fear God, and walk in his ways, who do not take care to keep their Souls pure and undefiled, for which the Blessed Sacrament was appointed. But there are a great many more, who are Unworthy Non-Communicants, who live in the continued Neglect of this great Ordinance; such as are so far from crying as the Disciples did, Lord evermore give us this Bread, that they concern not themselves, whether they ever partake of it: And that is not all, but they think they do very well in it; that they consult their own Safety, and befriend their own Souls, by absenting from such a dangerous Ordinance, as the Sacrament is. Nay, they do not only absent from it themselves, but either blame, or wonder, at least, at them that adventure to come to it, as those that know not what they do; and they account that those Laws which require men to receive the Sacrament, are most Tyrannical, and no more to be obeyed, than Edicts which should command men, to damn their own Souls. Thus! thus! are men deluded by the Devil, and affrighted from that Ordinance, which if they rightly understood, they would not for all the World, live in the neglect of it.  
We are offended at the Church of Rome, as well we may, and pity the People of that Religion, for being content with half the Sacrament; but what shall we say, when they tell us, that our people are content without any of it?  
Had we heard our Saviour's Institution of it, with the most endearing and obliging circumstances, The same night in which he was Betrayed, which shown that it was his farwel-Gift or Token of his Love: Or had we lived in the first and purest Ages of Christianity, and seen with what Constancy as well as Ardency, the Sacrament was Celebrated amongst them; and if any by the censures of the Church, were kept back from the Lords Passover, what a dreadful condition of Fear and Horror they were in; how they lay prostrate at the Church-door, and begged with Tears and grievious Bemoaning the Prayers of the Communicants, that they might be Admitted again with them to the Lords Table, we would not have imagined, that ever there should be a Nation, in which the Christian Religion should be professed, that should have thousands in it, who had rather be without the Sacrament than have it: Who should think that they can better be Saved without it, and that their Receiving of it, would rather endanger, than further their Salvation?  
And if we consider likewise, that our Saviour's Institution of it was after he had spent the last, and therefore we account it the best, part of his time in persuading, and commanding his Disciples to love one another, and to be one as he and his Father were one, which we may take as preparatory to his Instituting the Blessed Supper; and if to all this we add, how careful the Primitive Christians were, to obey them that had the Rule over them, and watched for their Souls, in observing those Rules which they prescribed for the Administration of the Sacrament (which Rules are many of them observed in the Church of England at this day): It cannot but seem very strange, and be very grievous to all good Christians amongst us, that there should be such causeless Divisions, and Separations from this Blessed Ordinance.  
To the end therefore, that men may not dishonour their Profession, nor be cheated of that Spiritual Food, which Christ appointed for the nourishing of their Souls to eternal Life, upon any pretence whatsoever, I earnestly entreat, and beseech all Non-Communicants, seriously and impartially to consider these following things.  
I. It is the great Duty, as well as the great Privilege, of every Christian, to Receive the Lords Supper.  
It is our Saviour's Command, This Do; and it is great and apparent Disobedience in every Christian, who does it not. I think it very necessary, that this should be my first Assertion, because the Practice of most men doth suppose, that every man is left at his Libery, and aught to be so; whether he will Receive it or not: And if he Receives not in a whole year, or many years; or not in all his life-time, or not till he is in his last sickness (and then calls for it, not for any love that he hath to Christ, or any delight that he takes in the Ordinance, but to make an experiment, whether that will ease his tormented mind, when nothing else will) that in all this neglect he hath not offended God. That if he should come to the Sacrament, he might have cause to repent; but his turning his back upon it, though never so often, needs no Repentance.  
There are a great many, who if they are required to come to the Lords Table, answer, That they are not satisfied to Receive. But I would fain know of those men, how they can be satisfied to let it alone and to to turn their backs upon it, when others under the same Obligations, do make their solemn Approach to it.  
I am sure, there never was any Divine Institution, concerning which, the people under that Dispensation, thought they were left at their liberty, whether they should observe it or not. Every Male was Circumcised. Concerning the Passover, we read, Exod. 12. v. 28. And the Children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses, and Aaron, so did they. It is strange to consider, how all the Ritual and Ceremonial Laws were Observed: That Burden which they were not able to bear, they did not dare to throw off. And yet that the Blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper, should be slighted, as if it were no Divine Institution, but only that which our Saviour mentioned, and left it to the pleasure of his Disciples and Followers, whether they would observe it.  
I can not Imagine, what exposition the Non-Communicant can make of the words of the Institution, This Do in Remembrance of Me. He can not but say, that it is positively Enjoined, and he cannot but say, that it is of Universal Extent. Our Saviour did not say, you may do This in Remembrance of Me, if you please. He did not say, lest the Best of my Disciples do This, those that are strongest, and of the highest Rank, and let others omit it: That had been to leave both unsatisfied: The strongest being humble and modest, would always be suspicious, that they had not Arrived at a Degree high enough, there being no Standard; and the weakest would be troubled, that they were not permitted to partake, and knew not when they should. But he said, This Do, without any Restriction or Limitation; commanding the Observance of it, by all those who expect Salvation by His Death, and Sufferings.  
Besides the Institution of it by our Saviour, that Admonition of the Apostle to the Corinthians, is very Observable, 1 Cor. 11.28. Let a man Examine himself, and so let him Eat of that Bread, and Drink of that Cup. The Apostle doth not say, Let a man Examine himself, that he may know whether he shall Receive or not; That he may either Eat, or let it alone, according as he finds himself disposed in his own mind; If he be Religiously disposed, let him go to the Lords Supper, if not, let him stay away; But, Let a man Examine himself, and so let him Eat, etc. plainly intimating, that the Sacrament was an Ordinance, not to be dispensed with, but to be prepared for; and that no man, can satisfy his mind to neglect it, because he is Unworthy, but must prepare and partake of it.  
I think I need not say any more, to show, that it is the duty of every one, who calls himself a Christian, to Receive the Blessed Sacrament. It will be only requisite, that I speak somewhat for the determination of one case, and that is, How often every one is Obliged to Receive? Because, some may think, that unless they partake at every Communion, they are guilty of a sin of Omission; and if they should, the Number of Communicants being very great, in some places, it is impossible to be performed. To this I may Answer, that in regard, our Saviour made no Determination in this Matter; It is requisite, that every one should take his Measures, from the appointment of the Church, and from his own particular exigences, and necessities.  
At first, the Christians met together, and received every day of the week, their Hearts were Inflamed with Love to their Saviour, and they were in continued expectation, by Martyrdom to be sent to him. Afterwards, it came to four times in the week, besides the Festivals. The appointment of our Church is, that every one should Receive at least three times in the year; and I conceive that the monthly Administration of it, in great and populous Cities is, partly, that there should not be so great a concourse at the Festivals, as that it should be impossible to Administer it to all at once, and much more, that those who are zealously affected, and find a greater necessity than others do, of Receiving it often, might have the more frequent Opportunities: For, the reason why it is not Administered every Lordsday (as it was formerly, and for that reason, the Communion Service is still continued in the Church when there is no Administration) is not because Christians may receive the Sacrament too often, but because the Commonness of it, may lesson that Reverence and Esteem, which is to be had for that great and solemn Ordinance. It would be a happiness indeed, if from the number of Zealous Communicants, we should find it necessary to Administer the Sacrament every Lordsday.  
II. The danger of Unworthy Receiving is not so great as many think it is, who flee from the Sacrament as that which would bring them into a very great, and irrecoverable danger. It is not an unpardonable Sin, but that which may be amended.  
I mention this in the second place, for the satisfaction of those who are under such terrible fears of being Unworthy Communicants, that they Communicate not at all, which I am apt to think, is the common case of Non-Communicants in our Days.  
These disquieting Fears, proceed from a mistake of two expressions in the Apostles Admonition to the Corrinthians, 1 Cor. 11.29. For the that eateth and drinketh Unworthily, eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself, not discerning the Lords Body. They do not rightly understand what is meant by eating and drinking Unworthily, nor by eating and drinking Damnation. And for want of a right understanding of these Expressions, they start from the Sacrament, as if the Lords Table were become a snare. They are so affrighted, that Christ's Command signifies nothing to them, nor yet the benefit which he declared to his Disciples they should receive by it. When they hear how former Ages frequented the Sacrament, they regard it not, but think that they have discovered a danger which their fore fathers never found out. They think that they are in the surest way to Salvation, that come not to the Sacrament; and the seldomer that any one Receives, the less danger he does incur to himself. And from a mistake of this place it is, that many very Pious, & therefore Worthy Communicants, come not to the Lords Table with that Joy and Alacrity of Spirit, which become the Welcome Guests of our Blessed and Bountiful SAVIOUR, but are oppressed with Fears and Terrors, as if they suspected their coming would be to their Prejudice.  
As for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Unworthy: The sense in which we commonly make use of it is a good interpretation of the Apostles meaning. We do not call a man Unworthy, because he hath not attained to any high Accomplishments; because he is of meaner or lower degree than others; nor do we call a man Unworthy, because of some Faults that he is guilty of, considering that in many things we Offend all. But we call him Unworthy, who doth a base Act from a base Design. We call him Unworthy who is a Dissembler, who pretends Friendship to another for his own ends, but it appears that he hath no real Kindness for him. He is Unworthy, who easts contempt upon him whom he ought to reverence, and honour as his Superior. In such a sense as this is, we are to understand the meaning of the Apostle. He is an Unworthy Communicant, who pretends to be the Disciple of the Lord, and takes no care to keep his Commandments. He is an Unworthy Communicant, who pretends great honour and reverence for his Saviour and his Ordinances, and yet comes Unreverently before him, which was the Corinthians case.  
For the right understanding of this word, no man must make the esteem which he hath for himself to be his Rule; for than we should conclude, that our Saviour made a Feast with a resolution that none should partake of it. The impenitent Sinners Gild tells him that he is Unworthy, and the penitent Sinners Humility tells him that he is Unworthy; and so by consequence, none must come to the Sacrament. According to this Rule, the Apostle himself was an Unworthy Communicant; for he calls himself the Chief of Sinners. If this were the Rule, every man should be a Worthy Communicant, according to the good conceit that he hath of himself. The boasting Pharisee should be Worthy, and the poor humble and penitent Publican should be Unworthy.  
It is great pity, but that every good Christian should understand the true sense of the Word, because, otherwise those who are most Worthy, by reason of their great Humility, and self-Abasement, are most apt to conclude themselves Unworthy. It had been great pity, that the Centurion should have lost his errand to our Saviour, because, he accounted himself Unworthy that he should come under his Roof. Our Saviour would have accounted it great pity, that the woman of Cana should have been rejected, because, she accounted herself as Unworthy, as a Dog. It is a great pity, that any humble Christian should be kept from the Sacrament because he thinks himself Unworthy of it; for, the sense of his Unworthiness doth show that he is Worthy.  
Those who are under this mistake may be better Informed, by reading the Form of Administration in our Church. We do not come to the Lords Table, and say, Lord, we have now gotten a great Conquest over our sins, we are now Arrived to a high measure of Grace and Piety beyond other men, and therefore now we account ourselves Worthy Communicants, and such as are fit to Sup with our Lord. But on the contrary, we acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we have grievously committed; we acknowledge, that we are not Worthy to gather the Crumbs under his Table etc. By which it appears, that none are to Receive the Sacrament, but those that, in this sense, judge themselves Unworthy of it.  
That every one therefore, may have a right Notion of this Word, Unworthy: The Rule which they must judge by, is the Word of God. Every man must account himself Worthy or Unworthy to Receive the Sacrament, not according to what he thinks of himself, but according to what God's Word declares concerning him. They are Worthy, whom God accepts of, according to his Covenant of Grace, declared in, and by the Gospel. He that is sincerely Penitent, though he cannot think himself Worthy, yet, God declares him to be so; and therefore, he is a Worthy Communicant, and is offensive to God and injurious to himself if he comes not to the Blessed Sacrament. He that sincerely desires, and endeavours to walk in the ways of God and Religion, though by reason of his many failings in his Duty, he thinks himself Unworthy, yet, God accounts him Worthy, and therefore, he ought to come to the Sacrament, and to come with great Joy and Alacrity of mind; and the Sacrament is very proper for him, because, it is an excellent means to help him against that which troubles him.  
There is a twofold Unworthiness; as to the Person, and as to the manner of Communicating. As to the Person, when he is in a sinful and impenitent State, when he allows himself in sensual Practices, and takes pleasure in them, though he knows that he Acts contrary to the Command of Christ; either trying to satisfy himself with Atheistical hopes that there is no World but this, or else with the hopes of an after Repentance, which is the common snare of the Devil. This Person can not be a Worthy Communicant, for, he is at enmity with God in his mind: He is a Rebel against the Law of Christ, which his intention to repent afterwards, doth suppose. He is one who cannot not think himself welcome to Christ, because, he will not suffer him to be his Lord to Rule over him.  
There is Unworthiness likewise, as to the manner of Receiving, and that is, when a man doth not Receive with Reverence as becomes him, in that solemn Approach to God. This was a great fault which the Corinthians were guilty of, they came Unreverently and disorderly to the Sacrament from their love-Feasts, forgetting that they were not in their own Houses but in God's House, and that they were not eating at their own Tables but at the Lords Table. This is the proper meaning of the Apostles expression in the next words, Not discerning the Lord's Body; an expression which I have heard some Papists make use of, for their whimsy of Transubstantiation, as if they Eat and Drank Unworthily who did not discern by Faith, that it was the very Body of our Saviour: but most certain it is, that the Apostle had another meaning. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies both to discriminate and to sanctify; and so the properest Account that can be given of it is, that he who doth not Receive after a devout and religious manner, is Unworthy.  
I hope I have said enough to take off the unnecessary, and causeless fears of those who are humble Christians, & that they will not any longer give the Enemy of their Salvation this advanvantage against them, but that they will take right Measures, and be so far from keeping from the Sacrament because they think themselves Unworthy, that they will account it a good qualification for their Welcome at the Lords Table. Let such persons look into the Holy Gospel, and they will find, that such persons as they are, were not only accepted of Christ, but highly commended by him, and therefore are the most Welcome Guests at the Lords Table.  
The next thing to be considered, is, what the Apostle means by eating and drinking Damnation; which is the affrighting expression that makes thousands afraid to Receive the Sacrament. The trembling sinner is afraid that this brings men into the condition of those who were guilty of the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; that they have committed a sin which shall never be forgiven them: That they having received Unworthily, are irrecoverably Lost and Ruined. That they have swallowed down Poison to their Souls, and can never vomit it up again. And if these be the interpretations that sinners make of those Expressions, that it is very hard to say who is worthy to Receive; and yet if a man be an Unworthy Receiver he is from thenceforth in a state of Damnation: It is no wonder that there are so few Communicants. That I may therefore rectify these mistakes, I desire these things may be considered.  

1. It was not the design of the Apostle by this Expression, to scare the wickedest men amongst Christians from the Sacrament, but only that they might Repent and come to it. He did not suppose that what he said he would make any afraid to perform their Duty in observing this Ordinance; nor had it any such effect upon those to whom he wrote this Epistle. He was a more faithful steward and Servant of Christ, than to do any thing with design, to discourage those from coming to his Master's Table, who were invited to prepare, & to come to it. If he had, he had been as Unworthy a Minister, as the worst sinner can be an Unworthy Communicant. It is of great moment, and may exceedingly tend to the satisfaction of the scrupulous, when they read the Scriptures, to consider well what the design of the Penman is: for by this means they will prevent misapplications, which are of very ill Consequence.  
2. The word which is translated Damnation, is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Judgement, and doth as well signify any temporal evil which befalls men in this world as the punishment in the hellish State. And so the meaning is this and no more: He that Eateth and Drinketh Unworthily offends God, and provokes the Judgement of God against himself.  
3. The case of the Corinthians is to be considered, and that may tend exceedingly to the satisfaction of those that are thus affrighted: 1. They had received Unworthily; but yet the Apostle doth not tell them that they are Damned, or that they are in a lost condition, and must now perish for ever; but Admonishes them to be more careful for the time to come, that they might come with better Preparation than they had before. 2. In eating and drinking Unworthily, they had eat and drank Damnation to themselves in the Apostles sense: They had eat and drank Judgement, as appears in the next Verse. For this cause many are weak and sickly amongst you, and many sleep. From which it is concluded, that God sent a Plague at Corinth for their Unworthy Receiving. 3. It must be considered, that the Apostle only blames the Corinthians for that Fault which they were then guilty of, which was their Unworthy Receiving. There were no Christians in those days that were Non-Communicants. They generally Valued the Sacrament above their lives, and an opportunity of receiving, though it were Administered every day in the week, above all the enjoyments of the World. There was therefore no occasion for the Apostle to tell them the Danger of living in the neglect of the Sacrament: If there had, no Man in his Wits can imagine but that the Apostle would have threatened Damnation as well to Unworthy Neglecters as he did to Unworthy Receivers of the Blessed Sacrament.  
4. If this which the Apostle saith of Eating and Drinking Damnation be the cause of men's being afraid to come to the Sacrament, they may for the like reason, be afraid to perform other Duties of Religion.   
If any Impenitent Sinner Prays to God, without a resolution to avoid the same course of Life, he cannot think but his Prayers will provoke God to punish him, rather than obtain favour to him: that he hath reason to expect that the Judgement of God, both in reference to this Life, and that which is to come, should be the consequent of it. he is one who confesseth his sin to God, but doth not so much as intent to forsake it for the time to come: And this must certainly be a great Provocation of the Allseeing God; For a Man to pretend that he is sorry for what he hath done, when he is not resolved to amend.  
If an earthly King could know that the Malefactor, who begs his Life, intended to do the same wickedness for which he deserved to die before, he would be so far from granting his Petition, that he would hasten his Execution.  
The Almighty God, the Great King of Heaven knows this to be the Sinners case, that although he stands condemned for his evil deeds, yet he begs pardon, only as a thing in course, without any resolution of amendment; and can it be imagined that any thing less than Damnation should be the end of this Sinner. There is one case in which the Sinner doth directly Pray Damnation to himself, according to the Apostles Phrase, and that is the case of the Malicious and Revengeful Sinner, he Prayers to God to forgive him his trespresses as he forgives others: That is not at all, It is as if he should say, Lord be thou revenged on me, for I am resolved to be revenged on my Brother: Besides, there is no more cause of Terror from this Expression of the Apostle by which Sinners are scared from the Sacrament, than there is in that of Solomon by which wicked men may be afraid to Pray, Prov. 15.8. The Sacrifice, that is the Prayer, of the Wicked is an Abomination unto the Lord. He that doth that which God loathes, that which is an Abomination to him, certainly can expect nothing but Damnation to be the end of it. I would fain know of the Non-Communicant whether, if the Apostles expression had been He that Eateth and Drinketh Unworthily is an Abomination unto the Lord, and Solomon's expression had been, The Prayer of the wicked bringeth Damnation to himself; that he would have Received the Sacrament, but never prayed to God.  
I may likewise instance in that great Duty of hearing God's Word. Certainly every man will grant, that for a man to come to the House of God, to hear what God requires of him, without any intent to do it, and accordingly comes from hearing Gods Commands with a resolution to break them, can expect nothing less than Damnation to be the consequent of it. And although this be the case of thousands of Sinners, yet they are not afraid to hear God's Word. There is no more cause of Terror from this expression of the Apostle to Unworthy Communicants, than there is from many Expressions of our Saviour and his Apostles concerning Unworthy Hearers of God's Word. I may instance first, in that of our Saviour, Luk. 8.18. Take heed therefore how you hear; whosoever hath to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. If our Saviour had only given the Caution, Take heed how you hear, it might startle the unprofitable Hearer, and give him just cause to expect Judgement if he were not careful? But our Saviour adding, For whosoever hath to him shall be given, and from him that hath not, from him shall be taken away, even that which he seemeth to have, is an expression which signifies the condition of a careless Hearer to be so forlorn, that it may make every such sinner afraid to enter into God's House. The meaning of our Saviour by that proverbial saying is, He that is an Obedient Hearer shall grow in Grace and Knowledge, and be in the case of a Rich man who increaseth his Riches to a great Estate; but the careless Hearer who doth not give diligent Attention, and who comes to hear without resolution to Practise, is like a man of low Degree who by taking no care to improve his Stock, loseth that little that he hath, and comes to intolerable Beggary and Misery. How dreadful is the Condition of that man, who may be said to hear away all that is good? Who, the longer he Hears the less he Regards and the worse he is.  
I might instance likewise in the comparison which our Saviour makes between a disobedient Hearer, and the foolish man who built his House upon the Sand, Mat. 7.26. of which he saith, great was the fall of it. We can not imagine the great fall of a Disobedient Hearer to be any thing less than a fall into Damnation and everlasting Misery: And yet men are not therefore afraid to hear God's Word who refuse to do it. I may instance likewise in in the expressions of the Apostles; St. James saith, Chap. 1. v. 22. Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. How do men deceive themselves, but by expecting Salvation from Hearing, and Damnation must be their Portion for not doing. And yet the sinner doth not say, I shall but deceive myself, and therefore 'tis in vain for me to go to God's House to Hear his Word. There is another expression of the Apostle; 2 Cor. 2.16. To the one we are a savour of death unto death. The Apostle is speaking concerning the Ministry of the Gospel, and the different Effectswhich it hath upon men in reference to another world. It is the savour of death unto death; an expression alluding to strong perfumes which are pleasant to some, but are like poison suddenly destructive to others. It is as if the Apostle should have said, Though to some our Preaching the Gospel is exceedingly beneficial, yet to others who regard it not it is most certainly destructive, for it brings eternal Death. There is more terror in this Expression than there is in that of the Apostles eating and drinking Damnation; for that, as I have showed, signifies any temporal evil as well as the Punishment of another state; But this of the Apostle signifies only the Death of the soul in another world; And yet for all this men are not afraid to hear the Gospel Preached to them. By this I hope it hath appeared, that there is no more reason why Christians should be afraid to Receive the Sacrament from that Expression of the Apostle, than they should be to perform other Duties of Religion, considering what the Scripture saith concerning those that are Unworthy Performers of them.  
5. I may add in the last place That this Expression of the Apostle how severe soever it may seem to be, is no part of revealed Religion properly so called. Revealed Religion is that of God, which we could not know if it were not told us. But this of Unworthy Communicant eating and drinking judgement to themselves, is that which the Corinthian and all Christians might know, though the Apostle had never said it. Every man by the light of natural Reason knows, that he who doth not live in obedience to the Laws of his God or comes Unreverently before him, is not accepted of him; but on the contrary, doth provoke him to anger, and consequently to punish that offender who doth thus disobey and contemn him.  
If Heathens had been negligent or unreverent in their Sacrifices, and a plague had happened amongst them, as it was supposed to be the case of the Corinthians, they would doubtless have concluded, that the Plague came because of their Neglect of their Duty. And therefore it is a hard case that men should be so much afraid of the Sacrament, because they are told of a danger which Heathens themselves might have known in the like case  
'Tis very probable that the Corinthians were so apprehensive of the infinite love of Christ, and of the benefit which was to be received by this Ordinance, that they were not so well ware of the danger of Unworthy Receiving as they might have been; and therefore the Apostle thinks fit to give them this Admonition, by which they might understand that, although the benefit was great to the Worthy Receiver, yet a Man must not be so presumptuously confident of it, as to think that he may come to it without a due consideration of, and preparation for, such a near and solemn approach to God.  
III. The danger of Unworthy Neglecting the Sacrament is generally greater than the danger of Unworthy Receiving. I know that this Assertion will seem strange to many and may be very offensive to some, who for many Years have heard the Duty of preparing mightily urged, but have never heard that it is a Duty to partake. They have heard the danger of Unworthy Receiving strained beyond its due bounds and limits, but have heard nothing of the danger of living in the continued Neglect of this Ordinance. But though I do not speak the Sense of a great many in this vicious and divided Age, yet I hope every one will grant that I speak the Sense of all Mankind in all former Ages, in reference to divine and positive Institutions. Those, who of old were called God's People, because they had entered into Covenant with him, had positive Institutions from God, which they were duly to observe, and to sanctify themselves for the performance of. We are not to imagine that they thought their external Sanctifications were enough, but that there must be an inward Sanctification of the Heart, to which the other did relate. And although they were defective in this, as appears by the great complaints which God made against them, yet they did not dare to neglect the Observance of God's positive Institutions; but all the people were careful to do what God commanded as to the outward Act, though they were negligent as to the inward disposition of their Minds and preparation for it. When our Saviour came into the World, the Passover was duly observed by those whom he condemned as the worst men in the world, but yet he no where tells them that they should not have observed it, or that it had been better that the Ordinance had been wholly laid aside. Though all were not Israel that were of Israel, yet all accounted it their Duty to observe the Ordinances of the God of Israel.  
If we likewise consider the Practice of the first Christians, we shall find, that they accounted Noncommunicating to be the greatest danger. If they had accounted that there was less danger in being Non-Communicants, or that they might have been very good Christians though they did not Receive the Sacrament, or that it would be no great danger to their own Souls to live in the Neglect of it, they would not have lain prostrate at the Church Doors, begging the Prayers of the Faithful, that they might be admitted to the Sacrament; but have lived very contentedly without it, as a great many do in our days, who it may be will say, that it was the Ignorance of those Christians which made them so fond desirous of it. Excommunication, by which they were debarred from coming to the Sacrament, would have been no trouble to them, but they would have lived very contentedly without it. Besides we find that when the Corinthians had received Unworthily, the Apostle charges them to examine themselves, that they might be better prepared; but afterwards, when Christians began to be so remiss as not to receive at all, it was determined in a Council at Antioch, That all Non-Communicants should be Excommunicated; they were not thought worthy of the name or society of Christians, who should turn their backs upon the Holy Ordinance of the blessed JESUS, as if it were unnecessary to observe it. Doubtless the most wicked Christian in the World will not be punished for coming to the Sacrament, simply considered, but because he did not prepare his Mind by leaving off his wickedness. He did that which was required of him, as to the outward Act only, he did not take care to prepare himself for it. But more particularly.  
1. Noncommunicating is a more manifest contempt of the Authority of God. A Lawgiver is exceedingly despised when his Laws are not observed. It is an Argument that his Authority is disputed, or that those whom he commands are not obliged to obey him. Who can imagine that the Uuworthy Non-Communicant owns that God hath exalted Christ To be a Prince and a Saviour, and that he hath given him a Nome above every name, when he turns his back upon his Institution, as if it were some Usurper that hath said Do this, and one whom Men need not own as their Prince, and as their Saviour? This is such a contempt of Christ's Authority, and such a reproach to the Christian Religion, that I may say Tell it not in Gath, etc. Let not the Heathens hear that Christians have so little regard to their Christ, as that they do not obey him in that Command which had a special Relation to what they say he did for them. They have more reverence and show, more regard and obedience to their Gods which yet are no Gods, as appears by the account we have of their Sacrifices. Let not the Mahometans hear of it: They are diligent to observe the commands of their Mahomet, in abstaining from what he hath forbidden, and in their Religious Duties, praying five times every day, because they say that he had Authority from God, and what he commanded they are obliged to do. Tell it not to the Jews; they observe the Ordinances of Moses to this day in many things, because they own his Authority from God: These Men of other Religions shame Christians, and may conclude if they hear of Non-Communicants, That there are many who call themselves Christians, who do not believe in their Hearts that their Christ came from God; for they do not account themselves obliged to observe his Rites and Institutions. This contempt of Christ's Authority cannot be so deeply charged upon the Unworthy Receiver. That Servant who is not careful to do his duty after such a manner as his Master requires of him, is not so guilty of contempt, as he that turns his back, and doth not do it at all. That Christians, because Christ requires them to be Christians indeed, his Disciples, and because they are threatened with Punishment if they are not careful to perform their Duty as they ought, and as they may do, should think to avoid Punishment, by not doing their Duty at all, is such a way to avoid Punishment, as no Man ever yet thought of, and nothing but the delusion of the Devil could ever put into the Minds of Men.  
2. It is a greater contempt of the love of Christ. The love of God the Father in sending Christ into the World is unconceivably great: God so loved the world, so infinitely, so transcendently, so beyond all that Tongues can express, or Hearts conceive: And Christ's giving his Body to be broken, and his Blood to be shed, is such an expression of Love, as is only fit to put us into an Ecstasy of Admiration. The Apostle tells us that it hath length and breadth, and depth and height, and that it is a love which passeth Knowledge. A love which can not be described, and therefore God allows us an Eternity to admire it in: That God should become Man, that He should Die to whom it belongs to give Life, that he should Die for Enemies, that He should Die such an ignominious Death as the Death of the Cross, etc. Now we must know, that this Sacrament is an Ordinance which Christ appointed on purpose to give us a lively Remembrance, and a symbolical representation of that unconceivable Love: And although the Unworthy Communicant is Unworthy indeed, in that it hath not such an influence upon his Life as it ought to have, yet in regard that he comes to the Sacrament, and by his outward reverence doth acknowledge Christ's Love to Sinners (and it may be hath grief in his heart at that time to think that that love hath not obliged him to better Obedience) he is not so much to blame as the Non-Communicant who turns his back upon the Ordinance, as if Christ's love Exhibited and represented by it were not worthy of his notice.  
3. They cast great contempt upon the Wisdom of Christ, who frequent not the Blessed Sacrament. Their Neglect of it supposeth that they think there is no great need of it, or no great good to be received by it.  
There are a sort of People amongst us, who upon all occasions declare that they hope to be saved, who yet think they need not Receive the Sacrament; And what do these men less than charge Christ, that this Ordinance, which he appointed as a means to Salvation, might as well have been let alone. It is through their own great Folly that they call the Wisdom of him who is the Wisdom of God into question; their not considering that the good that is to be Received, is only from the Blessing of Heaven upon that Ordinance which Christ appointed. The Non-Communicant in this case is like Naaman the Leper, 2 Kings 5.10.11. who was willing to go to the man of God to be recovered of his Leprosy; but he was desirous that it might be done without his using any Means for it; especially such as he could not understand should afford him any benefit. Elisha sent a Messenger unto him, saying, Go and Wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again unto thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was Wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the Name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the Leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar Rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a Rage. In like manner the Non-Communicant knows no reason, why he should go to the Sacrament to be cured of his Leprosy. It is enough, he thinks, that Christ died for Sinners, and that he believes it, and that he is sorry for his Sins and asks God Pardon, or intends to do so: He knows no need of the Sacrament, or to what purpose it was appointed. But as Naaman kept his Leprosy till he was persuaded to wash in Jordan; so Sinners have all the reason in the world to expect, that the Leprosy of their Souls should continue till they frequent the Sacrament, it being an Ordinance which Christ appointed, and therefore they have no reason to expect the cure of their Souls without it.  
The Unworthy Communicant acknowledges by his devout Receiving of it, that it is an Ordinance of Heaven, worthy of all Reverence (though he fails in examining himself before he comes to partake of it) and that from which great benefit is to be expected; but the Unworthy Non-Communicant slights it as inconsiderable and unnecessary to be observed. And every one knows that in so doing he calls into question the Wisdom of our Blessed Saviour.  
4. Non-Communicants are worse than Unworthy Receivers, in that they cast away the profession of Christianity, and that Public Declaration of the benefit of the Death and Sufferings of Christ, for which this Ordinance was appointed. When our Saviour said, Do this in remembrance of Me: And the Apostle, As oft as ye Eat this Bread, and Drink this Cup ye do show the Lords Death until He come; or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, declare ye the Lord's Death. It is very plain, that the Sacrament was not only intended for the private good and benefit of the Receiver, but to bear up the honour of God and the Christian Religion in the World: That it should be used for a public Declaration, that Christ is the Saviour of the World, and that there is no other Name under Heaven by which a man can be Saved: That his Death and Sufferings was the expiatory Sacrifice for the Sin of the whole World: And that those who have not the Gospel Preached, but have only the guide of their own Consciences and of natural Religion, are saved by virtue of his Death, though they do not know him; because that it is by him that God's Anger is appeased to wards Mankind. By this we show forth the Lords Death, what a great and mighty Saviour he made himself by dying for Mankind.  
The Unworthy Receiver is exceedingly to blame because he fails in the Practice of Religion: But the Non-Communicant is more Unworthy, for he fails not only in the Practice, but in the very Profession likewise. It were not improper to ask him when he turns his back upon the Sacrament what Religion he is of, that we may give an account to them that ask us? If he saith a Christian, why doth he not own it by his solemn Approach to that Ordinance which Christ appointed for that very end? If he saith he goes to Church, so may, and sometimes do Jews and Mahometans, men of other Religions.  
5. Noncommunicating is of more dangerous and pernicious Consequence than Unworthy Receiving. It is not only in many respects more offensive to God, but likewise more destructive to the Souls of men. This may appear by a more general or a more particular and special Consideration. Noncommunicating is the great Inlet both of dreadful Divisions and horrid Debaucheries; which with sorrowful hearts we have great cause to complain of.  
It hath been the great Inlet to all manner of Divisions by which the Church of Christ, which is his Body, is torn Limb from Limb, and, we fear, is never like to be healed in our days. The case is plain though there were nothing of sad Experience to be alleged.  
So long as men keep in societies, though but civil Societies, and are Obliged to observe Rules and Orders: If any Controversy arisie, the dissatisfied person, partly by his obligation to those rules and orders, and partly by the advice and council of the rest of the society, doth not presently separate but submit; or if he be stubborn and insolent he may be turned out of the Society, and be liable to severe penalties, till he be more modest, humble and compliant. But if he thinks himself under no obligation to observe the rules and orders of that Society, and no penalty be inflicted, than he breaks away and makes Parties and brings all into confusion and disorder.  
In the case of the Sacrament: If every one, who is admitted by Baptism to be a member of the Church of Christ, doth account it his duty as a member of that Society, to observe the rules and orders of the Church, Peace and Union is maintained; but if men think they are not obliged, but wholly left at their liberty whether they will partake of this Ordinance or let it alone, then it's no wonder if the members of that society be Scattered into as many divisions and parties, as the great Enemy of the Sacrament and of their Salvation please.  
For many years after our blessed Reformation from Popery, there were so many received the Sacrament, that the number of inhabitants in every Parish was best known by the number of Communicants. In those happy days of the Church's peace, Masters and Mistresses came at one Communion, & their Servants after public Catechising and private Examination by their Ministers, came the next Communion. It could not be Imagined but that there were some Unworthy Communicants amongst them: There were such in the Church of Corinth, and will be in all Churches to the end of the World. But that Evil was nothing in comparison of the mischiefs that have happened since men took their Liberties and forsook the Sacrament. Parishes now may better be computed by the number of Non-Communicants, and those that run from the Sacrament, rather than of those that come to it.  
I cannot in this place forbear mentioning the substance of what I lately heard from a very Aged, Grave, and Pious Person, who is now very conformable to the Church of England. We were lamenting that the people would not be persuaded to come to the Sacrament, and that their absenting was occasioned by the sad Distractions and Divisions that are in the Church: I was, said he, one of those who in the beginning of the late troubles found fault with the Surplice and with the Cross in Baptism, and there were others who were discontented at those things, who were good and holy men. But I am confident, if they could have foreseen the dreadful mischiefs that have happened unto the Church, they would never have so much as opened their lips, much less have done any thing against the Church as it then was.  
I know there aught to be great care taken to keep off scandalous Communicants, and there would be greater care taken if the Divisions of the Church did not hinder it. But I think all sober People will say, that if all the vicious men in England came to the Sacrament, it would not be so great a scandal to Religion, as the dreadful Divisions and Separations that have been in the Church, since the People took their liberty to turn their backs upon that holy Ordinance, and many Ministers made it their business to make them afraid of it, by Preaching the danger of Unworthy Receiving, but not of Unworthy Neglecting of it.  
Another great Evil which is the Consequence of Noncommunicating is horrid Debauchery and Profaneness; such as never was or could be whilst the Sacrament was Frequented. There are thousands in this age who call themselves Christians, and often say that they hope to be saved, but are so far from living like Christians, that they would be abandoned by sober Heathens as unfit for Humane Society. If we look into the Records of ancient times we shall find, that though there were grievious Wickednesses & Impieties, yet they were attended with some kind of fear and shame; but in our age Wickedness insults, as if it hoped to have a better reputation than Piety and Virtue in the World. The Apostle speaking of the sins of Heathens Eph. 5.11. calls them the unfruitful Works of Darkness. And in the next Verse he tells the Ephesians, that it is a shame to speak of those things which are done in Secret. But in our age wickedness appears Openly, as if there were no fear or shame that belonged to it.  
In former times they that were drunk were drunk in the Night, but now 'tis Scarcely accounted a sin, and therefore is become a Noonday Entertainment. In former times it was the sin of a rude ungoverned Rabble. When Hannah was falsely accused of being drunk, count not, said she, thine handmaid for a Daughter of Belial; Belial signifies without Yoke, and it is as if she had said, I am none of those unruly forlorn Miscreants that will be drunk. I suppose the proverb may be very ancient As drunk as a Beggar. But now 'tis the sin (if I may be so bold as to call it so) of Lords and Gentlemen, and is in as much Esteem amongst too many of them, as if it were some brave Achievement, for which a man is willing to adventure the Ruin of himself and family.  
Whoredom is another sin which hath exceedingly abounded. It is an Old sin, but the Impudence that attends it is new. In Jobs time the eye of the Adulterer waited for the twilight, Chap. 24.15. The Whore which Solomon speaks of, Prov. 7.9. was only to be found in the Twilight, in the Evening, in the black and dark night, and she was accounted to have an impudent face, v. 13. But how impudent are those Whores who appear in the open streets at noon day, tempting all that pass by to their filthy Embraces? We read in the Scripture of the Attire of a Harlot, but now there is in this immodest age no distinction; but by the show of women we may suspect that the Attire of Harlots is all the fashion.  
These two Sins have of late years so much abounded, that there are thousands who are so far from living like Christians, that they are degenerated from the common Principles of Humanity, and would be a shame to Heathens if they lived amongst them. These sins have made many to become worse than beasts in the esteem of all that are virtuous. And I am sure they have made them become Devils to themselves and families.  
There is another dreadful Sin which abounds, and that is profane Swearing. A Sin which men commit only because the Devil will have it so; for there is neither profit nor pleasure in it. Some are seldom guilty of it but when they are provoked to Anger, and then they must be revenged by abusing the name of God & destroying their own Souls: which lets us see what fools the Devil makes them that forsake Religion. Sometimes it is attended with mirth and jollity; Laughter and Swearing go together, as if to abuse the Holy Name of God were a help to Mirth. But the reason of it is this, the Devil will not have his servants to have innocent Mirth; if they should, their Damnation would not be increased as he would have it upon all occasions. Sometimes we observe men swearing in their ordinary Converse as if it were a grace to their speech: Of which the truest account that I can give is; that their Hearts are so full of Wickedness, & of contempt of God and of Religion, that it continually, as a thing in course, runs out at their Mouths.  
I may add another Impiety which doth exceedingly increase, and that is Contempt of Religion upon the Lord's Day. Men of other Religions may call it the Devil's Day, considering what horrid Wickednesses men are guilty of on that Day. He hath more service done him on that day than in all the week besides. 'Tis become the Ale-house-keepers Market or rather Fair-day. If Christians should regard their Souls on that day, they could not pay their Rents.  
These Wickednesses and many more have abounded since the days of Noncommunicating. If these Ungodly Wretches had not turned their backs upon the Sacrament at first, when they were of years in which they might have been capable of Receiving it, and the Church required it; if they had been under a Necessity of receiving it; no man can imagine that they could have been guilty of such horrid Sins, and have lived such wicked Lives. 'Tis possible that they might have been in a sinful State, and so have been Unworthy Communicants, and thereby have eaten and drank Damnation to themselves; But now they do most apparently damn their own Souls to the bottomless Pit of Destruction, and they damn the souls of others; and in a sense they may be said to damn all Religion.  
If these profligate Wretches were strictly required to come to the Sacrament, they would be under a Necessity of reforming that they might be admitted to it. There would be an Admonition from the Minister. There would be trerible Checks from their own Consciences, which the Sacrament would rouse and cause to terrify them. And if after (upon their promise of Amendment) they are admitted to the Sacrament, they shall return to their former courses; Other Communicants would take notice of them, and give them friendly and godly Admonitions, and if those prevail not, they would at length complain to the Church, by which they should be forced to live better, or be abandoned the society of Christians. But when men turn their backs upon the Sacrament, they are then strangers to their Neighbours, or at least, there is no acquaintance with them as they are Christians. They are little or nothing concerned with one another in the things of Religion. And if they are reproved, they answer to the Reprover, that he is nothing concerned with them; which they could not do if they Communicated together at the Blessed Sacrament. There is a great complaint of Unworthy Communicants (and I hope it is greater than there is Cause for:) But what a fearful cause is there to complain of the Unworthiness, of the horrid and shameful Wickednesses of Non-Communicants?  
The consequence of Noncommunicating may come likewise under a more special Consideration. There are Thousands that are not openly scandalous and profane, whose condition would not be so bad as it is, if they frequented the Sacrament. There would not be so much guilt and trouble in their minds when they are in health, nor so much fear and disquietment when sickness comes. This is a plain case, and almost every days Experience proves the truth of it. Let every man who lives in any known Sin examine his own Mind, whether, if he were under a necessity of Receiving the Sacrament, he would not be more afraid to commit that Sin; whether he would not be more afraid to neglect his Duty to God both in public and private? And when he hath Received after a solemn and devout manner, and know that he must shortly renew his engagement to God again; He would not be more careful of his ways? I know there are a great many who are afraid to come to the Sacrament; but if they Examine themselves, and seriously consider the state of their own Minds, they will have cause to conclude, That it is from a suggestion of the Devil, and that he makes them afraid to Receive, that they might be the less afraid to sin. He may be Unworthy who does Receive, he may be one that lives a sinful Life; but we have much more cause to think him Unworthy and in a sinful state, who Receives not at all.  
There is likewise a more dreadful Consequence, in respect of Grief and Sorrow when the Non-Communicant is sick, and forced to look back upon his former Life; which I have had such frequent occasion to take notice of, that I visit the Sick with some kind of Fear, lest I should find their Neglect of the Sacrament tormenting their Consciences. I never yet heard any say, that they had damned their Souls by Receiving the Sacrament; although I must confess I have heard some lament, that they did not come to it so qualified as they might have done. I never yet heard any say, I wish I had never received the Sacrament; although in some cases, as I shall show, there may be cause for Persons to wish so. But, that Men and Women have not received, is the Torment of their departing Souls; because than their guilty minds tell them, that they ought to have received it, and might have done it to their great Benefit and Advantage. I lately heard this Expression from a Sick bed, which I mention because I think very useful. As for the Sacrament I was afraid in my health to receive it, but I think if I had received it, I should have been more careful of my ways than I have been. We do for the most part find, that Persons are Comforted or Tormented upon their Sick-Beds, according to their Communicating or Noncommunicating in the time of their Healths. I know not which is more rare, in visiting the Sick, to find a Communicant troubled in mind, or a Non-communicant that is not.  
There is another dreadful Evil which is the consequence of Noncommunicating, (which I might have mentioned under the former head) and that is most gross and scandalous Ignorance. There never was any Age in which there were Ministers more able to instruct the People, and it is well known their way of Preaching the Gospel is most plain and intelligible to the meanest Capacities. And yet The People perish for want of Knowledge. In many places, by reason of the vast number of Inhabitants, it is impossible there can be a particular care of their Souls by Converse with them in Private, which is of great necessity and benefit; and there are a great many who would not endure it, but take occasion to run from the Church. In the mean while there are thousands who have lived long enough to be teachers of others, but had need themselves to be taught which are the First Principles of the Oracles of God; Men that can give no Account of their Faith, nor upon what Account it is that they expect Salvation. And I am sure one great Cause of this, hath been Neglect of Receiving the Lords Supper. For if men were frequent Communicants, they would be under a great Necessity and Obligation to inquire after Truth, that they might understand, at least, the Principles of their Religion. They would be sensible of their Ignorance, and come to their Minister, or Converse with other Communicants concerning the things of God and of Religion. The Sacrament would be a Means by which they would grow in Grace and Knowledge. But whilst they are only concerned to come sometimes to the House of God, and think that it is enough that they have been there, though they neither know nor Practise more than they did before; and neglect that Solemn Institution, which would make them more deeply concerned in the things of Religion: they remain most grossly Ignorant. I do not think that any man will say, that the frequent Communicants are as Ignorant as those are, that never come to the Sacrament.  
By this time I hope I have sufficiently proved my Assertion, viz. That there is generally more danger in Unworthy Neglecting, than there is in Unworthy Receiving; and therefore the Sinner is not secure, unless it be in his Sin, who turns his back upon this Ordinance from a supposition that he avoids danger, or that of two Evils he doth choose the least: Yet I am not willing to pass to another head of Discourse, till I have earnestly entreated all Persons, that they would not make an ill Use of what I have said. As the Apostle never intended, by telling the Corinthians the danger of Unworthy Receiving, that any should absent from the Sacrament; So far be it from me to design by showing the danger of Unworthy Neglecting, that any should come unworthily to Receive it. There is no Need, nor any Reason, for such an ill Inference to be made from it. Besides I have only asserted that it is GENERALLY more dangerous. I do not say that it is so in every Particular Case. It may be there are some who come to the Sacrament on purpose to carry on wicked Designs, that they may be accounted not only Upright towards men, but likewise Religious towards God. 'Tis possible, there may be some who come to the Sacrament, that they may covertly carry on Treasonable and Rebellious Designs; but I am loath to suppose that there are any such who are no friends to Popery. If there be, it had been well for those Judas' that they had never been born, and it would be well for the world too if a Millstone were hanged about their Necks, and they were cast into the Sea. Or it may be there are some who come to the Sacrament, that they might be thought fit to be entrusted with the Concerns of Others, and in the mean while intent to cheat them. No man can think, but it had been better for such men if they had never come to the Holy Ordinance: Whether their Designs be against public or private Persons, (though the first is the most dreadful Case) It was not Christ and his Commands, but the Devil and his Instigations that brought them to the Sacrament, and from him they must expect their reward in the place of Torments.  
There is (besides open debaucheries) another particular Case, which renders the Condition of men so bad, and is in some the Occasion of so great a scandal to Religion and to the Holy Ordinance, that I will not say but it had been better if those that are Communicants had never been so; And that is, That men should Receive the Sacrament only for the sake of their Employments, and that they may keep places of Trust, which are profitable and beneficial to them. Christians are to receive the Sacrament, because it is an Ordinance which Christ Commanded; but these receive it not upon any such account. So long as it was only the Command of Christ, they regarded it not; but when it became the Command of the King they made haste to it.  
Christians are to receive the Sacrament for the good of their immortal Souls, that having begun a Religious Life, they may grow in Grace, and be more and more confirmed and strengthened in the ways of Religion and of Godliness. But this is none of their business: These men come to the Sacrament about a business in which their Souls are nothing concerned. And well it were for them if their Souls could be nothing concerned in it. He that will be a Worthy Communicant, must Examine himself, whether he can be content to forsake the World, and all the Enjoyments in it for the sake of Religion? He is a Worthy Communicant indeed, who is satisfied, that the Love he hath for his Saviour is such, that he had rather quit the World and all the Enjoyments of it, than live without this Ordinance. But this man, upon Examination of himself, finds, that instead of being willing to forsake the World for the Love he hath to the Sacrament, he could be very well content to forsake the Sacrament, if it were not for the regard that he hath to the World.  
If, when men are under a Necessity of receiving the Sacrament, that they may continue in Places of Profit as well as Trust, they take this opportunity to Examine their own Minds, Whether they are in the number of those that fear God, and sincerely mind the things of Religion, and find that they might have been Worthy Receivers, and that it hath been their great fault, that they lived in the Neglect of the Sacrament, which hath been the Case of many? Or if upon Examination they find, that they are impenitent Sinners, that have allowed themselves in sins, either of Commission or Omission, and do resolve that for the time to come, Sin shall not have Dominion over them, but they will every day Pray to God in their Closets, which our Saviour requires every one of his Disciples to do; and that they will attend the Prayers of the Church with Devotion, and the Reading and Preaching of the Word with honest Hearts? If they are truly penitent for their former sins, and resolve to avoid the Occasions of Evil for the time to come? If in order to these things they go to their own Minister or to some other, whom they may think more fit to give them Advice (which the Church allows, because it is a very tender Case;) And if they resolve that they will be frequent Communicants for the time to come? They may then bless God for that happy occasion of bringing them to the Sacrament. But if men are Communicants only for the sake of worldly Profits, I will not say, but it had been a less evil to have lived in the Neglect of it; It being a great Affront to our Blessed Saviour to come to his Supper for the sake of this world; a great Contempt of the Ordinance, and of very ill consequence to others, who will by such Examples be brought to a very low Esteem of it.  
But may it not be Objected, That it is therefore a very grievous thing that the Sacrament should be imposed? Is it not that which tends to the dishonour of Religion, and the prejudice of men's Souls?  
Ans. I know this is Objected, and there is a fearful Stir about it amongst men of discontented Spirits, who cry, What have Governors to do to deprive me of the liberty of Receiving then, and then only, when I find myself most fit for it? Why should it be required that All should come to the Sacrament, when it is not to be imagined, but most are unfit for it? Can it be supposed, that All men have true Grace in them? Do All belong to the Election of Grace? These and such like Questions we meet withal. But I do earnestly desire the Reader, to consider in the first place, who they are that are thus offended. I have known none, or very few, but those who Receive not at all, who make this Cavil. And the truth is, there is more Reason why we should pity and pray to God for them, than that we should otherwise regard what they say. They have two very pernicious designs in it; One is to indulge their Lusts, which make them afraid to Receive the Sacrament, any where; The other is, to do mischief to the Church; for they do thereby endeavour to exasperate others against a lawful Command, that they might separate from her Communion.  
That the King may Command his Subjects to Receive the Sacrament, is so reasonable, that I wonder any should offer to Object against it. I should think him very Arrogant, who should say, that although Christ said, This Do, yet Christian Kings and Princes are not at all concerned to see it done: That although Kings under the Old Testament-Dispensation, were favoured or rejected of God, according to their Care, that the people should observe the Ordinances of God, or their Neglect in that great Concern; yet under the New-Testament-Dispensation, Kings are not to be concerned whether the Ordinances of Christ be observed; but are to leave every one to their liberty. I could almost as well say, that Constantine was to blame for settling Christianity in his Dominions by a Law, as that Christian Kings in succeeding Ages are to blame for taking Care, that the Ordinances of that Religion should be duly observed. If any say, that the King must then Command the Receiving it after the manner that our Saviour prescribed; I answer, that that Objection will only serve to throw the Ordinance out of the World; for neither Christ nor his Apostles prescribed any way. But more of this under another Head.  
As to what is said concerning the Qualification of Persons, That all have not the grace of God, All are not of the number of the Elect, etc. I shall give no other Answer but this. When there comes a man to me and tells me, that he is required to Receive the Sacrament, and in order to it he hath striven against his Lusts with his utmost diligence: He hath implored the Grace and holy Spirit of God with the greatest earnestness, and yet he is forced to continue under the power of his sin, and must eat and drink his own Damnation: I will then conclude, that the Objection is of great force; but till then I wish that all persons would take care of passing such a Construction of obscure places of Scripture, as shall make them contradict the plainest Expressions of it, and the Experience of every man that comes into the world.  
This Objection being answered (for the sake of which I have made an unwonted Digression) let me desire every one who is required to Receive the Sacrament, as a Test to prove, that he fears God and is fit to be entrusted, take heed that what I have said concerning the great Danger of Unworthy Neglecting, do not encourage him to go to the Sacrament without due Examination and Preparation for it. I would be very loath to be the occasion of his Deathbed anguish of mind, when his departing soul shall be full of horror to think that he is going hence, and must appear before the Judgement Seat of him whom he regarded not; but for the sake of this present World.  
It must likewise be considered, that I have been speaking of those who live in the Neglect of the Sacrament, and not of those who seldom Communicate. I know it is the great fault of Christians in this age, that they do not Communicate so often as the Reverence which is due to the Ordinance, and the Necessities of their Souls do require. But their fault is not to be compared to the fault of those who live in the continued Neglect of it. I have no design to extenuate the danger of Unworthy Receiving in any: For although I have I hope, made it appear, that the danger of Unworthy Refusing the Sacrament is the greatest; Yet when I consider what a fearful thing it is for Sinners, who do not fear God, and savour the things of Religion, to come as the true Disciples of Christ, to this Ordinance; I scarce know how to say that their danger is less. Let not therefore an ill use be made of what I have said, but let every one conclude, having often heard the danger of Unworthy Receiving, and now read the danger of Unworthy Neglecting; That the Sacrament is a great and solemn. Ordinance which lies in the sinner's way to stop him in his broad way that leadeth to destruction, and is a great argument to him to enter into the path of Life. For it is on one hand a dreadful thing, that the Children and Servants of the Devil who yield Obedience to him, should come to the Lords Supper amongst those that are the Children and Servants of God, as if they could come undiscovered to the Allseeing God: That those whom Christ calls his enemies, because they will not suffer him to Rule over them, should come as if they were his Friends and Subjects. And on the other hand for men to turn their backs upon this Ordinance for the sake of their Sins, and thereby to throw away the great Institution of him from whom they declare that they expect Salvation: This admits of greater aggravations. Let every one therefore resolve that he will avoid both these Rocks, by betaking himself to the sincere Practice of Religion, and by frequenting this Holy Ordinance, by which he will enjoy great Pleasure and Satisfaction to his mind in this world, and obtain good Assurance of everlasting Glory and Happiness in the World to come.  
iv The Non-Communicant is Unworthy in that he doth not only cast Contempt upon the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, but upon the Sacrament of Baptism likewise, and so both the positive Institutions of our Saviour are insignificant and of no account to him.  
The two Sacraments have a special relation to each other. The Lord's Supper is a high Privilege which Christians have valued above their lives. It is the Souls Feast of Fat Things. It is that Spiritual Banquet with which our Saviour entertains those who are dearer, than his Life was, to him. Baptism is the Ordinance which opens the door and lets us in to the Banqueting-house: None but those who are Baptised are to be admitted to the Lords Supper. If then the Non-Communicant regards not the Lords Supper he doth not regard but slights his Baptism, at least, so far as it hath relation to it. He that slights the Feast, must needs slight that which gives Admission to it. The Sacrament of the Lords Supper is a renewing of that Covenant which we made with God in our Baptism; and is not only a renewed Engagement on our parts to Believe in God and to Serve him, but on God's part likewise by which he seals to us the Forgiveness of our sins, that we are his Children and Heirs of Eternal Life. If we care not for renewing this Covenant, it is a sign that we value not the first Agreement that we made with God in our Baptism. Besides, the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is a great means for our obtaining Grace to enable us to keep the Covenant of our Baptism. If we come not to it, 'tis a sign that we have no mind to perform what we promised, which of ourselves we are not able to perform.  
Were it not a little besides my present purpose, I could easily show that those who are Non-Communicants, if they had not been Baptised in their Infancies, would never have received that Ordinance. No adult person can be admitted into the Church of Christ by that Ordinance, who doth not own the Faith and Solemnly engage to live as becomes the Gospel. And those that perform this which Baptism engages men to, are Worthy Communicants.  
If we ask the Non-Communicant how he came to be called a Christian, he must say, My Father made me so when I knew not what was done, and he or others promised that which I never intent to perform.  
I would argue thus with the Non-Communicant. Either you own your Baptism or you do not? If you do not, why do you not declare it? Why do you call yourself a Christian, and profess that you expect Salvation from him, who appointed that Ordinance to all that expect to enter into the Kingdom of God? If you do own your Baptism, why do you not take care to perform that reasonable and necessary Engagement which you made in it, by going to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper for Strength and Power to perform it?  
But I had rather make another digression, which I hope the Reader will excuse, considering that it may tend to the satisfaction of many who are in doubt concerning Baptism, as it is now generally used in the Church of Christ. As there are a great many whose Practices show, that they make no great account of their Baptism, so there are a great many whose Principles are utterly against it, and especially against Infant-Baptism. And in regard that the practice of the Church depends more upon Grounds and Reasons from Scripture, than from any Express Instances in it; and there are some places which seem, to some, rather to speak against it than for it, and to disallow of it rather than to commend the practice of it; I shall for the satisfaction of those who incline to the Anabaptists, and are willing to be satisfied (such as have not taken up an Opinion and are resolved to stick to it what ever any say against it; which is the great Cause of all errors) lay down these following Assertions, which I desire all such persons soberly, and with humble and modest, and not with haughty and stubborn minds to consider.  
1. Children were members of the Jewish Church as well as Adult Persons, and there was an Ordinance appointed for them which was their great Privilege: And it is not to be imagined that our Saviour, who took little Children up in his arms and blessed them, should allow no Ordinance for them by which they should be admitted into his Church.  
Wheresoever God entered into Covenant with the Parent, he entered into Covenant likewise with the Children of that Parent, that is, the Children were included in the Covenant, and the Blessing of that Covenant belonged to the Children as well as to the Parent  
2. Our Saviour took this Ordinance of Baptism from the Custom of the Jews, who were wont to Baptise those who forsook Heathenism and embraced the true Religion: And whensoever they made Proselytes, they did not only Baptise the Parent but the Child likewise, upon engagement that the Child should be brought up in the same Religion: So that it was not necessary, that our Saviour should give an Instance of that which every one to whom he came knew was practised, But it was necessary that he should have declared his Exceptions against Infant's Baptism if he intended their exclusion.  
To what purpose should our Saviour declare, that Infants should have the Seal of a Covenant, when 'twas never otherwise? Or, how can we imagine, that our Saviour sent to Baptise Nations in which Infants had been commonly Baptised before, and yet intended that they should be excluded? If indeed our Saviour had declared that Infants should not be Baptised: Or if we had read of the Apostles Refusal of them: Or if there had been no Infants Baptised before nor any Ordinance for Infants; the Anabaptists opinion had been built upon a good Foundation, but otherwise 'tis very weak.  
3. As a consequent of this, Infants were all along Baptised in the Primitive Church, by the Holy Martyrs that Suffered for Christianity, of which those who writ against the Anabaptists have given undeniable proof. And we are sure, that if our Saviour had intended their Exclusion, they would never have done it. And it is not to be imagined, that Anabaptists know better what was the Mind of Christ than those Christians did. If those who are now of that persuasion had lived in those days, and had considered from whence our Saviour took that Ordinance, with the Grounds and Reasons of it; they could not have been of that Opinion which they have now espoused; because then the Original of it was fresh in the World, and the Use and Practice of it was continued by the most Holy men in the World. It is not only great Haughtiness of mind, by which men think themselves wiser than the most Holy and Learned men in all ages of the World, but Ignorance through length of time that makes an Anabaptist.  
4. Infants are Believers in a sense or else they could not be saved, nor have any right to the promises of Christ in the Gospel. And if they are in any sense such Believers as are entitled to Salvation, they are such Believers as have a right to Baptism. If the Estate belongs to a Child in the Cradle, the Indentures and Seals of that Estate belong to him likewise. The Child of a Believer may as well be called a Believer, as the Child of a Proselyte was called a Proselyte. If God gives Children but the Denomination of Believers, it is sufficient to entitle them to Baptism.  
5. Those that consider the Case of the Anabaptists must needs be of another Opinion. This in conjunction with the former Arguments must needs be of great force to those that are serious and considerate, and not conceited and resolute in a case which they have espoused.  
As the condition of the Jews is a living Argument of the Truth of Christianity, and the badness of their case: So I may say, that the Condition of the Anabaptists and their Unsuccessfulness in all their attempts to establish their Opinions doth show, that God doth not, nor ever did show any such Favour to them, as might give any sober person cause to think that they were God's Church and People, however they plead his Word to be their Rule; but that Infant-Baptism is an Ordinance which God allows of and hath countenanced ever since there was any opposition made to it.  
There is a Writer yet alive who gives a large and strange account of the mischievous Practices of the Anabaptists in Germany and other places, what Disturbers and not Promoters of Religion they have been wheresoever they have come. But I wave all that can be said against them either in this Nation or beyond the Seas, and will only say, That if I had the highest Opinion of them for their Morals that I have for any sort of men in the World, yet I could never believe, That all the Primitive Christians who owned and practised Infant-Baptism, and the Martyrs in all Ages, were not Members rightly admitted into the Church of Christ: That not only the Papists, but all the Reformed Churches in the World, are mistaken in this point; and that the Anabaptists are the only True and Rightful Members of Christ's Body. He must be very weak and notorously partial, who considers these things, and doth not conclude that they are a Sect that Separate from the True Church which God hath owned in all Ages, and not the True Visible Church of Christ. This I thought fit to mention in Conjunction with other Arguments, by which many wavering minds have been established in the Truth; and God grant there may be the like success to those in the like case, who shall read them.  
V Those Excuses which men generally make for their not Receiving, are so far from Justifying their Neglect, that they do not so much as extenuate it: Nay, they exceedingly aggravate the Gild of most Non-Communicants. The Truth is, no Excuses must be made in such a weighty matter as the Sacrament is. There may be Interruptions, but there must be no Excuses. An Interruption is when a man really intends to receive the Sacrament, but somewhat happens by which he is prevented, and it is a great trouble to his mind that he is so. It is with Christians in this case, as it was with those Israelites which we read of Num. 9.6, 7. who being hindered from eating the Passover by the legal defilement of a Dead Corpse, were extremely troubled and came to Moses to know what they should do. There were certain men who were defiled by the dead body of a man that they could not keep the Passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day; And those men said unto him, we are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed Season, among the Children of Israel. Observe how far those men were from making Excuses for neglecting God's Ordinance, in that they were extremely troubled at an interruption which probably they could not help; for he that was in a Tent in which a man died, or came into it, was unclean, chap. 19.14. and continued so Seven-days. This being of great moment, Moses said unto them, stand still and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you. And we read that God in that Case appointed that they should keep the Passover the next Month. God allowed of the Interruption for that time, but there must be no Excuse. We read Num. 9.13. that the man who was not thus hindered, if he did not keep the Passover at the time appointed, The same soul shall be cut off from his people, because he brought not the Offering of the Lord on his appointed Season. A place of Scripture very fit for Non-Communicants to consider, who if they have no Impediments will make Excuses instead of them, they will pretend somewhat to be the cause of their Neglect which is not really the cause; but the little regard which they have for the Ordinances of their Religion is the cause of their Neglect. I shall first consider what the General Excuses are, and then consider some more special Cases.  
1. Some pretend that the Solemninity of the Ordinance is the cause of their Neglect: It is a very great Ordinance and they durst not adventure to make their approach to it. I know that there are some very good Christians to whom this is not an excuse, but is a real Cause of their absenting from the Sacrament. They think that it is too great an Adventure for such as they are, to come to their Lord's Supper, although they are such as love him and do sincerely desire and endeavour to keep his Commandments. What I have already said, may give satisfaction in this Case, viz. That Humility and a Sense of Unworthiness is a good qualification for a Communicant; and that as the Sacrament is a great and Solemn Ordinance, so it is a very great Duty to partake of it; and therefore Christians must take care that they do not compliment our Saviour, but that the examine themselves, and reverently observe his Institution. Great men do sometimes allow of such excuses when they make Invitations, but the Great God commands when he invites, and there can be no Neglect but it is a great sin, as I have already showed.  
But this is not the Case I have now in hand: My design is to speak of those who make this a Pretence for their Noncommunicating. They say the Sacrament is a solemn Ordinance, and therefore they dare not come to it. But I would have such persons to consider, whither they go when they turn away from this Solemn Ordinance. If it be to their Lusts, and a continuance in a sinful course of Life, their condition is unspeakably miserable. What an Affront is this to the Great God and our Blessed Saviour? I may say to them as the Apostle to the Galatians, Be not deceived God is not mocked. The best that can be said, is; That you do very reverently mock Christ and his Ordinance: You are afraid to come to such a Solemn Ordinance, and you are not fit for it, and therefore you rather choose to live in the breach of his Commandment, which you find yourselves more fit for: This is Hail Master: This is to Crucify Christ from a Reverend respect to him. And as he is guilty of great Contempt of God under a pretence of Reverence to him, so he is guilty of most prodigious Folly. O foolish Non-Communicants who have bewitched you, that you should think to avoid danger by neglecting a great and Solemn duty; that you should turn from the Sacrament to the Commission of sin to avoid Damnation! The Scripture saith He that comitteth sin is of the Devil. The Non-Communicant absents from the Ordinance of Christ, & goes to the Service of the Devil to avoid Damnation.  
All men should consider, that the Solemnity of the Ordinance is as well a great Reason why men should partake, as it is why they should prepare; because it is an Argument that God expects the Observance of it, and that his heart is the more set upon it. When Servants are negligent of their Duty, they hope to come off best by neglecting that which they think to be of least moment. No man ever said, I omitted my Duty, and I hope to be excused because it was a great Command, and I was required to take great care in the observance of it. Let not any therefore think, that the Solemnity of the Ordinance will be their excuse for not observing it, but that it will be their great Condemnation.  
2. A second Pretence, which is a consequent of the former, is, That men are not prepared for it, and therefore they had better let it alone. I earnestly desire such persons to consider that, 

1. This can be no Plea, because they may be prepared if they please. I know that there are a great many who would charge the sin of Noncommunicating upon Almighty God, pretending that he must prepare them for it; or else they cannot receive worthily. But let me tell the sinner, that his Contempt of God which brings destruction to him is of himself. Though no man can be prepared without the grace of God and the assistance of his holy Spirit, yet this is not the Cause of his being unprepared, for God hath promised his Holy Spirit to them that ask it. And the Experience of every sinner, who is not strangely hardened in his impiety, cells him that in this he doth exceedingly provoke God; because he knows that God is so far from being wanting to him, that he doth secretly solicit him to prepare, that he may worthily partake, and he will not. That sinner is in a very evil condition, who charges God of requiring that of him which he can by no means perform.  
2. Your not being Prepared is of itself a sin, and therefore it must not be pleaded for a neglect of your Duty. This is to excuse one sin with another. It is as well a Duty to prepare as to partake, and the Neglect of it is a sin which God doth as surely punish, Luke 12.47. That Servant that knew his Lords will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many Stripes. The man in the Gospel that came to the Feast without the Wedding Garment was Speechless. No man must plead Unpreparedness; because he may be prepared, and it is his sin if he be not.  
3. This is is a mere Delusion of the Devil, by which he would keep men secure in a sinful course of life. This is not an Unpreparedness which brings grief and trouble to the mind, as it ought to do; but it is a contented Unpreparedness. The People love to have it so. He that searcheth the heart knows that the Language there, is, I have no mind to be prepared; and that renders the condition of the Non-Communicant to be very dreadful.  
4. This Pretence is endless. Art thou Unprepared, when will it be otherwise? The longer that any one Neglects the Sacrament, the more Unprepared he is for it. There are many, who when they were young pleaded they were not prepared, are prepared now; but it is to scoff at Religion, and to contemn all that is Holy. And those that are not openly Profane are more unprepared than they were, by an increase of the Love of the World, and the fixing of Evil Habits. The Sacrament is an Ordinance which comes to pluck up Sin at the Roots, and if that be kept off, Sin must needs grow apace. He that being desired to receive the Sacrament pleads that he is Unprepared, may as well say that he never intends to receive, for he is more Unprepared now than he was formerly, and is like to be more Unprepared for the time to come than he is now.    
But it may be some will plead, That though every one may prepare, and it is his Duty so to do, and his Sin if he do not; yet the case of many is such that they cannot find Time to prepare: There had need be some days set a part on purpose for Preparation: What shall Servants do that work all the week from Morning till Night, & have no more than time enough for the necessary supports of Nature, that are forced to rise early and go to Bed Late? And what shall those do that have nothing but from hand to mouth, must they for the sake of the Sacrament suffer their Families to want? To this I must answer; that every man hath or may have Time enough to prepare without any prejudice to his Worldly affairs; though the Servant doth not steal time from his Master, nor the poor man from the necessities of his Family, and that may appear if we consider.  
1. That which bespeaks a man to be a Worthy Communicant, is not so much his particular Acts of Piety and Devotion, as the general Habit and Bend of his Mind. The great Question is, whether a man really fears God, and whether he be Spiritually minded? He that lives in known sins without Repentance and Amendment of Life, and intends to continue so, cannot be prepared for the Sacrament, though he spends never so much time in Religious Duties; because he himself is not Religiously dissposed. If a man should for many Days and Weeks abstain from Sinful Acts which he hath been Guilty of, and if he should spend as much time in Religious Services both public and private as preparatory to the Sacrament, without a Resolution not to return to the same course of Life again, it would not render him a Worthy Communicant. This were but for a Child of the Devil to dress himself in the counterfeit habit of God's Children, and then to return to his Father again. This is a most certain Truth; He that is Religious and Fears God in the General course of his Life, is more fit to receive the Sacrament without any special Preparation for it, than the other can be, how much time soever he sets apart in Order to his Receiving. His coming to the Sacrament would not be like the Disciples of our Lord who had left all to follow him, and did by this Ordinance engage themselves to live and die in the Faith, and in Obedience to his Commandments; but like the Whore which Solomon speaks of, who said, I have paid my Vows, therefore came I forth to meet thee, etc. Prov. 7.14, 15. Some are so dissolute as to think, that having Received the Sacrament, and spent some time to put themselves into a good mood in Order to it, they shall easily obtain a Pardon for the time to come, having made even with God for the time past. But as the Whore was a Whore still for all her Vows, so this Wicked man remains a Wicked man still, notwithstanding his Preparation and Communicating, And his Sacrifice was an Abomination to the Lord. It is not enough for a man to say, I must not sin this Week, but avoid Temptations, because I intent to Receive the Sacrament; but I must change the habit of my Mind, I must become a New Creature, I must resolve, that because I have done Iniquity, I will do no more, or else all the Preparation that can be made will signify nothing. There is a great difference in the Design of these Communicants. He that is Religious in the General course of his Life, comes to the Sacrament that he may be kept from sin for the time to come. He that is only Religious in Order to his Receiving, comes to it that he may sin again with less regret of mind than he did before. The First is one who desires that Christ may dwell in his heart, and bear rule in him: The Other is one of those who now and then gives God an unwellcome Visit, and then returns to dwell with his sins again. He must needs be an Unworthy Communicant, that comes to the Sacrament that he may with the greater freedom serve his sin after it. 'tis not any particular Preparation, how much time so ever any one hath for it, that bespeaks a man to be a Worthy Communicant, if he be not hearty resolved to become a good man.  
2. There is no Time prefixed for preparation to Communicate, but men are left to the grace of the Gospel and of the New Covenant. We read in the Old Testament of a special Time which God appointed for Preparation, when the People were to make their solemn approaches to him: When God appointed the People to meet him upon the Mount he required two Day's preparation, Exod. 19.15. When God sent a Summons to the Seventy Elders to appear before him, he required a Day's preparation. Say unto the People, Sanctify yourselves against to Morrow; & more Instances might be given. But under the Gospel God accepts the Will for the deed. He that would spend time if it were his own, in a solemn Preparation for the Sacrament, is as welcome to God as if he had really spent so much time in order to his Receiving. Where Time is wanting, there may be, and doubtless is a supply from the grace of God. Solomon saith, Prov. 16.1. The preparation of the heart is from the Lord. And it is not to be doubted, but through the Grace of God, those who have but little time to prepare, do receive as much to their comfort, and find as great benefit by it as those who have spent more time in Preparation for it.  
I know that some very Pious Ministers have so much insisted upon the spending of some considerable Time as preparatory to the Sacrament, that they have discouraged many good Christians from coming to it, who have not had time from their unavoidable Occasions, to prepare themselves for it. I will readily grant, that it is of great Concern, that those who intent to Communicate should spend Time in preparing themselves, and the more they spend the more Comfort and Satisfaction it is to them: But this must not discourage Servants and others from Communicating who want time, and whose time is not properly their own. The Scripture hath given no Standard in this case; and from thence it is that some very pious Christians from an humble Sense of their Unworthiness and Unfitness to receive, think they have not spent Time enough in preparing, and therefore they will stay till the next Communion; and when that comes they still think they have not spent Time enough; and by this means the most Worthy guests are kept from the Lords Supper. I would have such persons, and all that are pious and devout Christians, to consider the case of the Corinthians before mentioned. They had Received Unworthily and thereby provoked God to Anger: The Apostle admonishes them to Examine themselves before they received again, but he doth not prescribe any Time that they should spend, nor doth he tell them that it would be Convenient for them to forbear coming to the Sacrament for some time; But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup; when 'tis probable there was to be a Communion the next day.  
3. It is possible that men in this case of Preparation may be over Righteous, nay it is possible they may be Superstitious too. They are over-Righteous who spend that time in preparation for the Sacrament, which they cannot spare from necessary Occasions. If the Poor man neglects his family, or the Servant his Master's business, though it be for the sake of the Sacrament; God may say to them, who hath required this at your hands?  
Some may be Superstitious in their Preparations: Such as think they shall be accepted of God according to the number of Meals which they have abstained from; Or the Hours they have spent in Reading, Prayer or Meditation. Whereas, as to the first, Abstinence in itself signifies nothing. It is only to be used so far as it may keep the mind from being indisposed for that which is good. And to some persons their Constitutions cannot bear fasting, and if they abstain they are more indisposed than if they continue their wont Meals. And by numbering the Hours or Prayers (as Papists do) a man may place Religion wrong, and all that he doth in his Religious Service may be without that Devotion of mind, which alone is acceptable to God and preparatory to this holy Ordinance.  
Let men take heed that they mistake not; & set bounds & measures where God hath set none. Let them not think, that unless they had so much Time for Preparation, God will not accept of them, for God hath made no such appointments. 'tis not Time allowed that is of absolute necessity, but a sincere Desire and endeavour to obey the commands of our Saviour that makes a man a Worthy Communicant.  
4. Let him that complains of the Want of Time take heed, that he doth not neglect that time he hath or may have to spend in preparing for the Sacrament. What man is there in the World who for some additional Advantages would not find time to spare from his necessary occasions? There are many who will work harder than ordinary for the sake of a little Liberty: Others to gain some Profit and Advantage to themselves. Surely such persons, if they have a desire to walk in the pleasant ways of Religion, may make haste to dispatch their business, that they may have a little time to Examine themselves, to bethink themselves of the State of their minds, and how the great affairs stand between God and their own Souls. They may find time to consider what Sins they have to repent of, and hearty to beg God's grace that they may escape them for the time to come, and if they do so they are Worthy Communicants, though they have had but little time for the dispatch of these great Concerns.  
I cannot think there is any man so employed but he may find time in the Morning & Evening to pray to God, & if he cannot make it a set Duty, & be alone, and be undisturbed; Yet there may be Fervent Ejaculations, by which he may lift up his heart to God, which God will hear and have a special regard to: And by the Use of them his mind will be kept in such a Religious Frame and Temper, that he will be a Worthy Communicant, and a welcome Guest at the Lords Table.  
5. Let those who make this Excuse, that they want time to prepare, consider the ill consequences of Neglecting the Sacrament. They that complain they want Time to prepare for the Sacrament, find time enough to commit those sins which make them unfit for that or any other Religious Duties. Whatever business they have to do, they find time to harden their hearts against God and against Religion, so that no impressions of Good may be made in them. He that at first thought he might not come, because he wanted Time to prepare, will afterwards refuse to come, though he hath more time than he knows what to do with. Nay, he will rather throw it away, and his Soul with it, by spending it in the Service of the Devil, than in preparing, that he may be a Worthy Communicant.  
There is another Pretence for Unpreparedness, and that is the Temptations which attend the dispatch of necessary business. Men say they are forced to converse with sinful men, and are unavoidably betrayed to that which is Evil, and therefore it is in Vain for them to think of Preparing for the Sacrament. I desire such to consider.  

1. It may be they complain without a Cause, and that in dispatch of their business, they are not Tempted to that which is really Evil. It may be this man thinks, that he cannot Prepare because his business will unhinge the Devotion of his mind, and put it out of that Religious Frame and Temper which he would keep it in, if he intended to partake. He thinks that a man may not Receive the Sacrament, unless he can for some time keep his mind so free from such Encumbrances, as not to have a Thought of worldly Business entertained by him. There is no Reason why this should hinder his Receiving. The lawful Dispatch of Worldly business must not hinder men from the Sacrament, nor must the Sacrament hinder men from the dispatch of Worldly business. We have no such Rule. If a man spends that time with his Customers, which he intended to spend with God in secret Devotion, and there hath been Innocent Mirth, this is no Offence to God, only it is Adviseable that at his return he reduce his mind to Seriousness and Devotion in order to his Receiving, and then he needs not fear but he shall be welcome at the Lords Table.  
2. If in the Dispatch of business men do that which is really evil: If they defraud, or if they are guilty of Drunkeness (which is become such a Concomitant with Trade, that there are a great many whom the Devil will not suffer to dispatch their Business with their Customers, unless they dispatch their business with him at the same time) and it happens some days before the Sacrament; Let him repent and humble his soul to God, to think that he hath forgotten God and his own Soul at that time when he should have prepared for the Blessed Sacrament. And if he be sincerely Penitent he need not omit it. Nay, he hath the more need to receive it, by how much he sees how prone he is to fall into Temptations, that he may be kept from them. And if this hath happened a little before the Sacrament, and so near to it that he cannot be satisfied of his Repentance, so as to come to the Sacrament the next time of Administration, let him go to his Minister, and bewail the Cause of his not Receiving: Let him think how happy they are that are Worthy Communicants, and what a sad thing it is that he should do that, for the sake of which he dare not appear at the Lords Table. But if this be the Case, that he hath Neglected to Receive, and hopes that this will excuse him; if he be not in the snare of the Devil, and under the Dominion of Sin, I am sure no man in the World is. He may as well speak plainly, and say, I love my sin better than the Sacrament, and Sinful Companions better than Pious Communicants. And I suppose these are the men, as well as others, who keep from the Sacrament to avoid Damnation.  
3. If Worldly Business brings men into ill Company, and is the Occasion of Sin, let them make haste to dispatch it, and tell the company that they are to Communicate. Our Saviour said, If any shall be ashamed of me before men, of him will I be ashamed before my Father. He doubtless spoke it in reference to the Derision with which Jews and Heathens thought to make men ashamed of Christianity (which was the reason of the Cross in Baptism:) But in Our age we had need make use of it to encourage one Christian, whom another derides for observing the Institutions of our Saviour. If there be any that are so ashamed of Christ and his Ordinance, that they will rather go on to commit sin for Company sake than give such a reason; they are Unworthy indeed: For it appears plainly, that they are ashamed of the Sacrament, but not of their Sin. The Sacrament was appointed to keep men from sin, but if they may not both be entertained, the Sacrament must keep off.  
4. Let these Persons consider what manifest Contempt they cast upon all other Ordinances of Christ. They can go to Prayers and Sermons all the year long, and it signifies nothing; but they can go to their sinful Companions all the week after, and it may be on the Lord's day as soon as the Public Service is done; as if it were in Defiance of those little things of Religion. They can confess their sins, and, instead of forsaking, run to them as soon as they have done. They can pray to the Great King of Heaven for Pardon, and make haste to Rebel again. They can hear what the great God commands, and what he promises, and what he threatens, but it all signifies nothing to them. Pharaoh and Ahab regarded more what Ministers said, than the do. 'Tis only the Sacrament that they are afraid of, because they have some Gild and Fear which will not suffer them to make that approach to God, which they think is nearer and more Solemn. This shows the Case of the sinner to be very desperate. It appears plainly that he is resolved to live a sinful Life, and that he will not have to do with Religion any farther than it shall leave him Irreligious. Praying and Hearing are weak things which his Sin keeps under, and doth not suffer them to prevail to the subduing of it; and because he looks upon the Sacrament to be of greater force, therefore he will not come at it.  
5. If this be the Case of the sinner 'tis never like to be otherwise. This man doth not intent to leave his Trade, and therefore he intends not to Communicate.  
6. Let all Persons consider that the more worldly Business any one hath, the more necessary it is that he should be a frequent Communicant. I mention this, because many think that they who have most Leisure from worldly business ought to be most frequent Communicants, and that it cannot be expected from those that have many or great Concerns. This supposeth that the Sacrament is only an Ordinance which was appointed, that Christians should pay their respects and acknowledgements to Christ by it, and not that it is appointed also for the good of men's Souls, and to keep up in them a quick Sense of the Love of Christ to them, and to preserve them from the Power of Temptations, which hinders the growth of Grace and Piety. The Rich man or the man that hath many Worldly Concerns should say: I have more need to frequent the Sacrament than others. I am in great danger of loving the World more than Christ, and he hath declared that he will not account such to be Worthy of him. I am in more Danger, than others, of my heart being stolen away from God, and therefore I will frequent that Ordinance, that my Riches or the Desire of them may not ruin me. He that pleads Business and neglects the Sacrament, doth plainly declare that the World is uppermost in his esteem, and that the Sacrament must not be regarded, but when the World will give way to it.   
To Conclude this; Let me tell every such Pretender, that he casts a most manifest slight and Contempt upon the Sacrament. If the King should send for him, and he were afraid of his displeasure, neither Business nor Company must hinder, but that Christ commands his attendance is a little thing to him. If any news were brought to him of an Estate or Legacy, or any great Worldly advantage, business and company must give way; but the Sacrament is only the concern of his Soul, and therefore it may be let alone.  
3. There is another general Pretence, and that is the danger of Relapsing. There are many who would receive the Sacrament, but they are afraid they should fall into sin again. Let such Persons consider, 

1. Their Case is very dangerous whilst they neglect it. It is the Spiritual Food of the Soul. Men do not forbear their nourishment for fear it should breed diseases. It is the Souls Physic to purge away sin. Men do not refuse a Remedy for fear of a Relapse. He that pleads this doth not consider the Necessity of Communicating, but only the Danger which may be to him that Receives.  
2. It is not expected that any can wholly avoid Temptations to sin after they have received, but that they should be the more careful to avoid them. And that they should not allow themselves in them, but repent and amend. If men could be so holy as this Pretence supposeth, no man should need to receive above once. But the Sacrament is appointed to be a continued Means by which men are more and more enabled against their Corruptions, which supposeth a continued Contest, but not an absolute Victory. Every man may resolve, that he will for the time to come strive against his sin, and whensoever his Conscience accuseth him of sinful Compliances, that he will repent and beg God's Pardon: and God's Grace to withstand it for the time to come; and this every man must do that expects Salvation, though he were not required to receive the Sacrament; and if he do so, he is a Worthy Communicant.  
3. Those that enter upon a Religious Life, and resolve to come to the Sacrament, upon serious debates, have no cause to be Discouraged by the fear of Relapses. If indeed a man comes to the Sacrament upon a sudden Fit, in hope that it will remove some particular Trouble from him, and so make it an Experiment only, and sin after he hath Received; this is no Relapse into Sin, for he never came off from it. But those who from a serious consideration of their Duty, and of their danger whilst they Neglect their Duty for the sake of their Sin, do resolve to enter into a new course of Life, and with serious Resolutions and hearty Prayers for God's Grace and Blessing, come to the Sacrament, they need not fear but they shall persevere in the ways of Religion. For 1. The Grace of God will not be wanting to them. 2. Those Arguments which induced them to be Religious, will continue & be of no less force for their Perseverance in the Practice of Religion. Such a man cannot say, that when he began to be Religious he did not well consider to what end he should be so, and therefore upon second thoughts he finds it best to go back again. 3. The Pleasure of Religion will continue and increase. No man hath cause to say, 'tis such an uncouth and unpleasant thing to be Religious that I had better leave it off: He cannot say the Non-Communicant who slights Religion, and avoids the thoughts of his own condition, hath more pleasure in his mind than he that Examines himself, & so eats of that Bread, and Drinks of that Cup. These things considered, there is no such danger of Relapsing as the Non-Communicant is afraid of. 4. The good Success of Communicating shows that there is no such great danger. It may be said indeed, that there are some who are Communicants who live sinful Lives, but this is no reason why any should keep from the Sacrament for fear of relapsing into such practices; Because 'tis too probable that such Persons receive the Sacrament, chief from their regard to the Profession of Christianity, and because it is the Duty of every Christian, and not that they may be the more Holy and Religious. This is a great Reason why you should Communicate from Principles of true Piety, but no reason why you should fear relapsing, because they never relapsed but are the same that ever they were. He that suggests this to keep men from the Sacrament, knows the contrary. If there were such a Probability of revolting from God, he would not be so busy to keep men from engaging themselves to him. Where there is one sinner that perisheth by returning to sin, there are thousands that perish because they never began to be Religious.    
These are the Pretences by which men turn their backs upon their Saviour. By these do men gratify the great Enemy of their Salvation. These are his Devices by which he gets Advantage against men. By these he cheats men of the greatest Pleasures in this Life, and of Pleasures for ever more in the Life to come.  
God of his Infinite Mercy grant, that Non-Communicants may consider of it, how much they have Neglected their Duty and their Benefit: What Dishonour they have occasioned to the Christian Religion, and What Destruction they are bringing to themselves, whilst they foolishly think they are avoiding it. There never was a Pretence, nor ever shall he, that will serve a man's turn for the Neglect of his duty. God hath made the way plain before every man, and if he turns out of it, 'tis because he is resolved he will not walk in it. The Sacrament is a very cheap and not a costly Sacrifice. No man is the Poorer, but every man may be the Richer for it. God requires nothing of any man in order to his Observance of it but what he may do, and if he neglects to do this in Remembrance of his Saviour, he cannot expect to be remembered by him in his Heavenly Kingdom.  
FINIS.