A help to holy walking, or, A guide to glory containing directions how to worship God, and to walk with him in the whole course of our lives / by Edward Bury.

CHAP. X. Directions in Receiving the Sacrament.

THE next Duty to be spoken to, is the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which is an Ordinance of God, wherein by the Ex∣ternal signs of Bread and Wine, set apart, and Sanctified to that End and Use, and duly Ad∣ministred by God's appointment, the Lord signifieth, and Sealeth up the Truth of his Covenant to his Elect; and they Seal up their Covenant with him. This Sacrament is a Sign to Represent, a Seal to Confirm, and an Instrument to convey Christ, and all his Be∣nefits to a Believing Soul. The principal Efficient Cause, or Author of this Sacrament, is the whole Trinity, but especially Christ, who is the Angel of the Covenant; he it is that made the Covenant, and ratified it with his Blood; and therefore it must be he that adds the Seals, he makes the Promises, and must make them good. The Essential parts, or Matter of the Sacrament, are either Ex∣ternal, or Internal, the one perceived by our Bodily Eyes, the other by the Eye of Faith: The External is the outward Signs, or Sym∣bols, viz. Bread and Wine; which, though they are not changed into the Body and Blood

of Christ, as the Papists Teach; yet are they not naked, bare, or empty things; but such as really exhibit, yea, Seal Christ, and all his Benefits to a Believing Soul: No other Bread nor Wine in the World, though a drop, a bit were worth a Kingdom, are to be compa∣red hereunto. The Internal Matter is Christ, and all his Graces; these are signified, resem∣bled, exhibited, and applyed by the outward Elements. The Form is that which gives a Being, and perfection to the Matter, without the which this Bread and Wine would be but Common Bread and Wine: This also is Ex∣ternal or Internal; the External Form consists in the Lawful Administration, and participati∣on of it, according to God's Word; the In∣ternal Form is the Union between the Sign and the thing signified. Now, this Sacramental Union is an Act of God's Spirit, by whose vir∣tue Christ his Merits, and Benefits are not on∣ly resembled, and presented to the mind, but are really made one, with the Elements; yet this Union is not Natural, according to place, for there is no mutation of the Sign into the thing signified; neither is the thing signified included, or fastened to the thing signifying, it cannot be a local Union, that Christ's Body should be locally present with the Sign; for Christ's Body, though Glorified, cannot be in all places at once. Neither is it a Physical Union, as if of two United, losing their pro∣per Forms, should by a mixture make a third; but 'tis a Spiritual Union, whereby the Lord

Jesus is really conveyed to the Soul; for be∣sides his Divine presence, and the presence of his Spirit, he is present with his Body and Blood, not locally, but Sacramentally; he is Symbolically present to the mind, he is pre∣sent Spiritually by the Eye of Faith; Efficaci∣ously present, though absent in Place; yet we find the fruit of his presence in our Spirits, the Ends of the Sacrament are the confirmati∣on of our Faith, the Sealing of the Covenant of Grace, and to be a Badge or Note of our Profession, to be a pledge of our Obedience to, and Communion with Christ, and a Te∣stimony of our Society with the Church; and may seem as a Prospective Glass to view Christ afar off. In the Covenant, God pro∣mises to be our God, and the God of our Seed, and sets to his Seal; and we Seal the Counter∣pane, and ingage that we and ours will Serve the Lord; and by virtue of this Covenant; so mutually entred into, all the Promises and Be∣nefits of the Covenant are ours: so that you see a right receiving of this Sacrament is of very great Concernment, and the unworthy Receiving is very dangerous. Here is Manna for a believing Soul, but Poyson to an unwor∣thy Receiver: This nourished Peter, but Poy∣soned Judas; it feeds the good, but kills the bad; it makes some better, and some worse; some more Holy, and some more Prophane; it increaseth Grace where Grace is, but in∣creaseth Guilt where Grace is wanting: 'Tis like the Sun when it shines upon a Garden

of Herbs, it makes them smell more odori∣ferously, when upon a Dung-Hill it makes it smell more fulsomly: 'Tis like the passing through the Red Sea, safe to Israel, dangerous to the Egyptians; he that brings strange Fire he shall be burnt by it, Lev. 10.3. God will be Honoured by those that draw near to him; he that comes without a Wedding Garment, shall go away, not with Grace in his Heart, but with Bolts upon his Heels, Mat. 22.12. According to a mans preparation, such is like to be his Entertainment: He that Sows no∣thing, shall Reap nothing; and he that Sow∣eth Vanity, shall Reap Folly; and he that Sows sparingly, shall Reap little, 2 Cor. 9.6. He that taketh most care and pains is like to have the best Crop. Me-thinks there needs no more Motives to perswade you, than the benefit of worthy Receiving, and the danger of the contrary; the one hath his Grace in∣creased, the other his sin; the one hath his Sal∣vation Sealed up; the other, without Repen∣tance, his Damnation: He hath God's Curse under Seal, and they Eat and Drink their own Damnation, and are guilty of Christ's Death.