Gen. xxvii. 41. with the long covered malice of Esau, with the 2 Sam. iii. 27. dissembled falsehood of Joab, dare yet presume to come up to these sacred and fearful mysteries. O man, whither rushest thou unadvisedly? It is a table of peace, and thou art ready to fight. It is a table of singleness, and thou art imagining mischief. It is a table of quietness, and thou art given to debate. It is a table of pity, and thou art unmerciful. Dost thou neither fear God, the maker of this feast? nor reverence his Christ, the refection and meat? nor regardest his spouse, his? beloved guest? nor weighest thine own conscience, which is sometime thine inward accuser? Where-c fore, O man, tender thine own salvation; examine and try thy good will and love towards the children of God, the members of Christ, the heirs of the heavenly heritage; yea, towards the image of God, the excellent creature thine own soul. If thou have offended, now be reconciled. If thou have caused. any to stumble in the way of God, now set them. up again. If thou have disquieted thy brother, now pacify him. If thou have wronged him, now relieve him. If thou have defrauded him, now restore to him. If thou have nourished spite, now imbrace friendship. If thou have fostered hatred and malice, now openly shew thy love and charity; yea, be prest and ready to procure thy neighbour's health of soul, wealth, commodity, and pleasure, as thine own. Deserve not the heavy and dreadful burden of God's displeasure for thine evil will towards thy neighbour, so unreverently to approach to this table of the Lord.

Chrysost, ad
Pop. Ant.
Hom. 60.

In Levit. cap. xxii.

Hom. 14.

of

Last of all, as there is here "the mystery peace" and the Sacrament of Christian society, whereby we understand what sincere love ought to be betwixt the true communicants, so here be the tokens of pureness and innocency of life, whereby we may perceive that we ought to purge our own soul from all uncleanness, iniquity, and wickedness, "lest, when we receive the mystical bread," as Origen saith, "we eat it in an unclean place, that

out

is, in a soul defiled and polluted with sin." In Luke xvii. Morses' law the man that did eat of the sacrifice Numb v. 2: of thanksgiving with his uncleanness upon him ix.; XIX, 15, should be destroyed from his people: and shall we think that the wicked and sinful person shall be excusable at the table of the Lord? We both read in St. Paul that the Church of Corinth was scourged 1 Cor. xi. 30. of the Lord for misusing the Lord's Supper; and we may plainly see Christ's Church these many years miserably vexed and oppressed for the horrible profanation of the same. Wherefore let us all, universal and singular, behold our own manners and lives, to amend them. Yea, now at the least let us call ourselves to an account, that it may grieve us of our former evil conversation, that we may hate sin, that we may sorrow and mourn for our offences, that we may with tears pour them out before God, that we may with sure trust desire and crave the salve of his mercy, bought and purchased with the blood of his dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, to heal our deadly wounds withal. For surely, if we do not with earnest repentance cleanse the filthy stomach of our soul, it must needs come to pass that, "as wholesome meat re- Chrysost, ad -ceived into a raw stomach corrupteth and marreth Pop. Ant. all, and is the cause of further sickness," so we shall eat this healthsome bread and drink this cup to our eternal destruction. Thus we, and not other, must throughly examine, and not lightly look over, ourselves, not other men; our own conscience, not other men's lives: which we ought to do uprightly, truly, and with just correction. "O," saith St. Ad Pop. Ant. Chrysostom, "let no Judas resort to this table; Hom. bọ, let no covetous person approach. If any be a dis

Hom. 6

ciple, let him be present. For Christ saith, With Matt. xxvi. my disciples I make my passover." Why cried the 18. deacon in the primitive Church, "If any be holy, let him draw near"? Why did they celebrate these mysteries, the choir door being shut? Why were the public penitents and learners in religion commanded at this time to avoid? Was it not because

t

I John ii. 1.

this table receiveth no unholy, unclean, or sinful guests? Wherefore, if servants/dare not presume to an earthly master's table whom they haye of fended, let us take heed we come not with our sins unexamined into this presence of our Lord and Judge. If they be worthy blame who kiss the prince's hand with a filthy and unclean mouth, shalt thou be blameless, which with a filthy stinking soul, full of covetousness, fornication, drunkenness, pride, full of wretched cogitations and thoughts, dost breathe out iniquity and uncleanness on the bread and cup of the Lord?

Thus you have heard how you should come reverently and decently to the table of the Lord, having the knowledge out of his word of the thing itself and the fruits thereof, bringing a true and constant faith, the root and wellspring of all newness of life, as well in praising God, loving our neighbour, as purging our own conscience from filthiness. So that neither the ignorance of the thing shall cause us to contemn it, nor unfaithfulness make us void of fruit, nor sin and iniquity procure us God's plagues; but shall, by faith in knowledge, and amendment of life in faith, be here so united to Christ our Head in his mysteries to our comfort, that after we shall have full fruition of him indeed to our everlasting joy and eternal life. To the which he bring us that died for us, and redeemed us, Jesus Christ the righteous: to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true and eternal God, be all praise, honour, and dominion for ever. Amen.

the sole of

(

パ

of

AN HOMILY

CONCERNING

THE COMING DOWN OF THE HOLY GHOST AND
THE MANIFOLD GIFTS OF THE SAME.

FOR WHITSUNDAY.

BEFORE We come to the declaration of the great and manifold gifts of the Holy Ghost, wherewith the Church of God hath been evermore replenished, it shall first be needful briefly to expound unto you whereof this feast of Pentecost or Whitsuntide had his first beginning. You shall therefore understand that the feast of Pentecost was always kept the fiftieth day after Easter, a great and solemn feast among the Jews, wherein they did celebrate the memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt, and also the memorial of the publishing of the Law, which was given unto them in the mount Sinai upon that day. It was first ordained and commanded to be kept holy, not by any mortal man, but by the mouth of the Lord himself; as we read in Levit. xxiii and Deut. xvi. The place appointed for the observation thereof was Jerusalem, where was great recourse of people from all parts of the world; as may well appear in the second chapter of the Acts, wherein mention is made of Parthians, Acts ii, 5-11. Medes, Elamites, inhabiters of Mesopotamia, inhabiters of Jewry, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, and divers other such places; whereby we may also partly gather what great

and royal solemnity was commonly used in that
feast.

Now, as this was given in commandment to the Jews in the old Law, so did our Saviour Christ as it were confirm the same in the time of the Gospel, ordaining after a sort a new Pentecost for his disActs ii. 1-11. ciples; namely, when he sent down the Holy Ghost visibly in form of cloven tongues like fire, and gave them power to speak in such sort, that every one might hear them, and also understand them, in his own language. Which miracle, that it might be i had in perpetual remembrance, the Church hath thought good to solemnize and keep holy this day, commonly called Whitsunday. And here is to be noted, that, as the Law was given to the Jews in the mount Sinai the fiftieth day after Easter, so was the preaching of the Gospel through the mighty power of the Holy Ghost given to the Apostles in the mount Sion the fiftieth day after Easter. And hereof this feast hath his name, to be called Pentecost, even of the number of the days. For, as St. Luke writeth in the Acts of the Apostles, when fifty days were come to an end, the disciples being all together with one accord in one place, the Holy Ghost came suddenly among them, and sat upon each of them, like as it had been cloven tongues of fire. Which thing was undoubtedly done, to teach the Apostles and all other men, that it is he which giveth eloquence and utterance in preaching the Gospel; that it is he which openeth the mouth to declare the mighty works of God; that it is he which engendereth a burning zeal toward God's word, and giveth all men a tongue, yea, a fiery tongue, so that they may boldly and cheerfully profess the truth in the face of the whole world: as Esay was indued with this Spirit. The Lord, saith Esay, gave me a learned and a skilful tongue, so that I might know to raise up them that are fallen with the word. The Prophet David crieth to have this gift, saying, Open thou my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For our

Ira. 1. 4.

Ps. li. 15.