OF RECEIVING THE COMMVNION IN THE COMPANY OF such; whom we conceive not so good, holy, and rightly principled, as we wish they were.  JOH. 13.30. 
He then having received the sop, went immediately out: and it was night.  
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OXFORD, Printed for RICHARD DAVIS. 1651.   

Of Receiving the Communion in the company of such, whom we conceive not so good, holy, and rightly principled, as wee wish they were.  

I.  
JESUS CHRIST gave the Communion to Peter, who he knew, would deny him with cursing and swearing; and indeed so did[ Matth. 26.34.— Thou shalt deny me thrice. vers. 70.— He denied before them all. v. 72. He denied with an oath. v. 74. he began to curse and to swear, I know not the man] and to all the Disciples, who as Peter, did not yet believe the resurrection, nor a great while after neither, nor could they be brought to it, Mar. 16.11.[ And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. and vers. 13. [ And they two went and  told it to the residue: neither believed they them.] Nay the words of eye-witnesses seemed to them, as idle tales, Luk. 24.11. where also vers. 13. and so forward, a story of two Disciples( and Cleopas one) who did not yet believe that he was he that should redeem israel, vers. 21. nor did they in any tolerable manner understand the chief Scriptures concerning Christ, much less all, till v. 45. Christ opened their understandings, that they might understand the Scriptures. Thomas said, he would not believe but upon manifestations, that himself had proposed, Joh. 20.25. [ Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nailes, and put my finger into the print of the nailes, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.] Nay more then all this, the very morning before the Ascention we find the eleven in an expectation of Christs Being a temporal King, Act. 1.6. This was no less then 40. daies after his resurrection, and yet were they in the same error, that those two disciples were in, on the very day of his Resurrection, Luk. 24.21. So slow and dull were they to believe, though Jesus Christ himself had taught them for 3. years together before; and yet God bare with them still.  
Prolepsis. Not that any hence should bee suffered to curse and swear, or be contented with his dulness or slowness, or be encouraged to go on in ignorance and unbelief;( there are other scriptures enough against these things, and otherways for preventing and reforming of these things commanded to us in these scriptures, and not Exclusion or Suspension from the Sacrament) But that, when men desire and endeavour to approve themselves to bee disciples, as the disciples here did; Their present ignorance, failings and slenderness can be no sufficient ground, either to any knowing and worthy believer to forbear communicating with them, or to any Minister to suspend or exclude them from the Sacrament; no more, then it was to Jesus Christ to withhold the Ordinance from his ignorant and unbelieving disciples, who did desire and endeavour to be better, and were in a way to be so, and indeed were so very shortly after.   

II.  
The place, that to some men seems to be most against Judas his being present at the Sacrament is John. 13. verse 30. [ he then having received the sop, went immediately out: and it was night] though indeed this very place considered with all circumstances seems unanswerably to prove the Contrary. For,  
First, vers. 2. Supper, that is, the Passeover was ended; and that( according to the season of the year, the custom of the country, and the law also of the Passeover) in the twilight, before day was quiter in, that is, before dark night.  
Secondly, After Supper, and before the Communion, was done and said all from v. 2. to v. 17. and are thus recorded by no other Evangelist.  
Thirdly, Our Saviour intimating, that one of the twelve should betray him, 
Paralipomena scribebat Johannes, omittens aliis dicta, nisi siquid contextus historiae desiderabat.  is in the gospel storied of him to have been no less then three times given out by him. First in Joh. 6.70. Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? vers. 71. He spake of Judas Iscariot, &c. A time mentioned by no Evangelist else. The second by S. Matthew, and S. mark to have been at the Passeover, Mat. 26.21. And as they did eat[ the Passeover, v. 10.20.] he said, Verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me, and Mar. 14.18. And as they sate and did eat.[ the Passeover, vers. 16, 17.] Jesus said, Verily I say unto you one of you which eateth with me, shall betray me. And the third by S. Luke to have been after the Passeover, and at the Communion for certain, if not a little after. Luke 22. for v. 21. But behold the hand of him that betrayeth me, is with me on the table; when just before, to wit, ver. 19.20. We have the Communion given by Jesus Christ & received by the disciples. And this time( by what has been said but just now in the second observation) is that, questionless, which is meant in this Joh. 13.18, 19 & 21. I speak not of you all, I know whom I have chosen: but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me, hath lift up his heel against me. 19. Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am He. 21. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit and testified, and said, verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. So that these words in vers. 21. One of you shall betray me, are to be conceived not another speech from v. 18.19. but onely the speaking out plainly ( testified and said) what was darkly said before out of the Prophet. And whereas the words here are many more and differing from those in S. Luke, that is not at all material, for it is usual in the Evangelists, for one to record some words, and another other some, of the same speech, spoken by Christ at one and the same time.  
Fourthly, The dipped sop was a piece of the blessed and broken bread, dipped into the wine for distinction sake, that John might have known the traitor according to our Saviours signification, v. 26. But so slow and heedless notwithstanding was he sure, as well as the rest( if they also did hear that Intimation to John) that, for ought we find in the Gospels, they understood nothing, no not of this, which they seemed so desirous to know. And that their slowness and slenderness not long before this was very great, we find plainly by Luk. 18.34. They understood none of these things, and this saying was hide from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. add hereunto, that whereas that speech of our Saviour Joh. chap. 13. vers. 27. That thou dost, do quickly; was meant wee all know, of Judas his betraying him;( as if he should have said, I know the wickedness of thy heart, what mischief against me thou hast conceived and art resolved upon, but know this, I am provided to bear every thing, and therefore be as quick as thou canst, I am ready.) Had the disciples by this time known that Judas was the man, that would betray him, they would sure have understood this in the right sense. But that so they did not, is plain by the next words, vers. 28.29. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, &c. So that, that speech of our Saviour to Judas, Matth. 26.25. Thou hast said; must needs be understood, either to have been so whispered into his ear, that the other disciples did not hear( He sitting next unto Christ on one side, or at lest very near him) or else to have been no better understood by them, then this, Joh. 13.27. That thou dost do quickly.  
Fiftly, Supper, that is, the Passeover was ended by Twilight, v. 2. but Judas went not out, till it was dark night, v. 30. [ He then having received the sop, went immediately out: and it was night.) That is, Not till he had had his feet washed by his Master, v. 4. and also been made partaker of the Communion, which was not in the twilight, but in the very night, and Supper being ended, v. 2. and 4. He riseth from Supper. But now the sop is given to Judas a good while after, viz. not before, v. 26. he it is, to whom I shall give, &c.  
sixthly, Admit it could be proved, that Judas was not at the Communion; yet what is this to prove that such mixed Communions, as we now have, are not lawful? All that could follow( admit Judas his not communicating could be made out most clearly) is onely this, That that one plea for our use, is none of the soundest. But at no hand would it follow, either that the other pleas( for instance, that in the first Position) are not most sound and orthodox; or, that the usage itself is Polluting, sinful, and by Saints not to be endured.   

III.  
Not discerning the Lords body] is held forth to be a great and perilous sin to those that are guilty of it; yet neither in that place, nor any else, held forth, either to people, to be ground to them to forbear communicating in the company of those whom they suspect to be such; or to a Minister, either to suspend, or exclude, all those, who he onely fears are such Not-discerners.   

IV.  
To communicate with not-discerners, and otherwise unworthy receivers, is not in 1 Cor. 11.29, 30. held forth to us to be any cause of temparall, much less eternal judgement to those, that are worthy, though communicating in the company of the unworthy; But onely undiscerning and unworthy receiving affirmed to be the Provocation in those, that were judged and chastened, as there the Apostle shows, and especially in v. 30. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep, viz. many of those among you, that have eaten and drunken unworthily( in the verse just before, viz. v. 29.) not discerning the Lords body. And mark it, There seems to be this emphasis also in the word, many; namely, Many, not All: As if he should have said, The whole body of you are not punished for the fault of some; No, nor yet all the offenders themselves ( pus scilicet Deus partem percussit sententiae suae gladio, ut partem corrigeret exemplo, as salvian.) Yet many of them; that they that were spared, might be the more surely scared and warned.   

V.  
In the Ordinance of the Lords and Commons( as in all laws) The Law-makers sure intended, an equity, & justprudence should take place; Not that in all places, concernning all persons, and at all times, the Letter of the Ordinance should be pressed, even to rigour and extremity; But where Circumstances concur, there to press, or for bear according to the occasion. For instance, In case I know a man to order, or to have ordered his life soberly, justly and godlily( as the Apostle speaks) though he be able perhaps to give little or no account almost of his faith in words; Yet, besides many other things in gods word, Very charity requires me to hope and persuade myself, That had he not a good measure of Christian faith and knowledge in his heart, he would never have shewed so much in his life and conversation; And so forbids me to pursue the utmost of the Ordinance about such an one; Nor, I believe, would any of the Law-makers, were they consulted with, direct otherwise.   

VI.  
Concerning the meaning of these words, This is my body; Let that Apoththegme of Q. Elizabeth bee much thought-on; who being examined( in her sisters reign) about the real presence, and in great danger, made this Answer( which 'tis said saved her life) 
Christ took the bread and broke it;  
he was The Word, that spake it;  
And what that Word did make it;  
I do receive and take it;   
All Controversies are best shut-up with such short Resolutions of faith and practise, as this is.   

VII.  
Nor all, nor any one of these six positions would we be understood to have been thought and written, out of any design against the Ordinance of the Lords and Commons, concerning suspension from the Sacrament of the Lords Supper; taken in that sense in which by them it was published, to wit, as an Act of Christian prudence and ecclesiastical policy, no way contrary to the Word of God( for in this notion we hearty desire and earnestly endeavour that it may obtain, and do zealously exhort all sorts to submit unto the Examination therein expressed; the abler sort of people, for the good example of the slender ones; and the weaker, that they may learn, and in time, by gods blessing upon their using the means, attain unto such notable abilities, as they see in others.) No, But our true and onely intent in them is this, To give notice unto the world that the way, that wee were in heretofore, was not defective in any thing that is held forth in the Word of God, as praeceptively to worthy receiving necessary, and that what now is added is onely matter of spiritual prudence; And that in walking according to the purpose thereof, to say the most that can be said, we shall only do better; but yet that heretofore wee did well; and still shall do well, Authority so allowing, wee do charitably live and practise according to the Rules and rubrics, that heretofore have been our direction, and which for a long time good Christians have followed, to the glory of God, the comfort of their own souls, and the edifying of one another in faith and love.   
FINIS.