Luke

I Cor. 9.

when he gave the Bread, This do in Remembrance of me, and when he gave the Cup, This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in Remembrance of me, have a manifeft Relation to the Bread and Cup us'd at the Paffover-Supper, and direct nothing New, but that the Disciples (who Chrift knew very well would continue in the Practice and Obfervation of the Paffover, as well as other Jewish Rites and Ceremonies) should as often as they practis'd that Rite, do it in Remembrance of him. They had been us❜d to eat the Paffover-Supper, as other Jews did, in Remembrance of the great Deliverance their Fore-Fathers had out of Egypt; but Chrift taught them, that fomething more was typify'd by the Bread and the Cup.

WHEN he * brake and gave the Bread, he said, this is my Body, and when he gave the Cup, this is the new Teftament in my Blood, therefore as often as you do this, do it in Remembrance of me. Now the Words as often as you do this, are not imperative or commanding, they are not the Words of a new Inftitution, they neither pofitively command nor direct; they neither prefix a Time When, nor dọ they prescribe a Manner How, the Thing fhould

be

* Auguftine Jays Our Lord made no Difficulty of faying this is my Body, when be only exhibited the Sign of his Body. Epift. contra Adamantum. τουτο εστι το σωμα μου This is my Body, TOUTO, this, which is of the Neuter Gender, cannot be relative to apros Bread, which is of the Masculine Gender: TOUTO here refers to exλaoe, daxev. Luke 22. 19. this Breaking, this Giving, is a Symbol or Representation of the Breaking my Body for you, as St. Paul; of the giving my Body for you, as St. Luke; of giving my Life a Ranfom for you, as St. Matthew Chop xx. 28. The Stile is the fame here, as was us'd Exod. xii, 11. Ye shall eat in Hafte, it is the Lord's Paffover. See the Note od Mat. xxvi. 26. in the new Teftament Greek and English.

be perform'd, but without any pofitive Injunction, leave it to be done as before.

Now we cannot conceive how a pofitive Rite or Ordinance can properly be faid to be inftituted, when neither the Time When, nor the Manner How, it fhould be perform'd is prefcrib'd, therefore we conclude that Chrift did not inftitute a new Supper after the Paffover-Supper, as fome have imagined. For can it be thought all the four Evangelifts would have been filent, and have taken no Notice of fuch a Supper, if their Lord and Master had folemnly inftituted it; a Supper too of that vaft Importance as fome would make it. But fo it is, for not one of them do so much as mention, or take any Notice of a new Supper inftituted by Chrift, but most exprefly call the Supper which Chrift eat with his Difciples, the Night in which he was betray'd, the Paffover, and Luke, in particular, relates that Chrift himself call'd it the Paffover, With Defire, fays he to his Difciples, I have defir'd to eat this Passover with you before I fuffer. And,

WE think there needs no ftronger Argument to prove that Chrift inftituted no new Supper, than the Disorders amongst the Corinthians in eating the Lord's Supper When ye come together, fays

Luke 227

.15.

* Not only the Disorders which were in the Corinthian Church, are a ftrong Argument, That no Fix'd Time or Rule had been eftablifh'd for obferving that Supper, butalfo the great and long Controverfies which were between the Eaftern and Weftern Churches, beginning foon after the Apoftles, about obferving the Feaft of Eafter; each, fays Dr. Cave, ftanding very ftifly upon their own Way, and juftifying themselves by Apoftolical Practice and Tradition. The Eaftern Churches alleg'd, That the 14th Day of the Life of Polycarp. Moon ought to be observed as the Salutary Feaft of Eas ter; viz. The fame Day whereon the Jews were com- Eufeb.Lib. manded S. Ch. 23.

See Cave's

1 Cor.11.

fays the Apoftle, into one Place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating every one taketh before another his own Supper, and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What have ye not Houfes to eat and to drink in? Or defpife ye the Church of God, and fhame them that have not? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praife you not. Is it probable, or any ways likely, if Christ had ordained a new Supper to be folemnly kept and obferv'd in the Place of the Paffover-Supper, that the The firfl E-Corinthians in fo fhort a Time as about 25 Years piftle to the after the Inftitution, could fo grofly pervert and Corinthimistake the Defign of it. 'Tis moft reasonable thought to therefore, we think, to conclude, that no new Supbe written per was inftituted by Chrift; but that the Corin59, that is thians did celebrate, tho' in an irregular and difabout 25 orderly Manner, the Paffover-Supper. And we Years after are induced to think fo from the Words of the Chrift's Apoftle

ans is

in the Year

Death.

'manded to kill the Lamb. The Western Churches alleg'd from Apoftolick Tradition, that it ought to be kept no • other Day fave that of the Resurrection of our Saviour: But in Oppofition to this Polycrates at the Head of the Bifhops of Afia fent an Epiftle to Victor Bishop of Rome, who had threatned to excommunicate all the Churches of Afi, if they would not follow his Practice; in which he says, • We observe the true and genuine Day, having neither added any Thing, nor taken any Thing from the uninterrupted úfage deliver'd to us. Notwithstanding this, Eufebius fays, Victor did immediately attempt to cut off from the common Unity the Churches of all Afia, together with the adjoining Churches, as having given their Affent to Heterodox Opinions. Here we fee the Tradition of one Apoftle pleaded against the Tradition of another, which fhows very evidently, that what was done by the Apoftles, Cave's was not from any eftablish'd Rule, or pofitive Or dinance of Primitive Chrift, bnt rather in Imitation of the Jewish Paffover: And Cbriftia this is confirm'd in a manner, by the Controverfy which is nity, ch.9at this Day between the Greek and Latin Church, whether in the Eucharift or Lord's Supper, it ought to be leavened or unleavened Bread.

Apoftle, For I have receiv'd * of the Lord that which alfo I deliver'd unto you, That the Lord Jefus

ver.26,27,

the fame Night in which he was betray'd, took Bread, 1 Cor. 11. and when he had given Thanks he brake it, and faid 23,24,25. take eat, this is my Body which is broken for you, this do in Remembrance of me. After the fame Manner alfo he took the Cup when he had fupped, faying, This Cup is the new Teftament in my Blood, this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in Remembrance of me. This is what the Apoftle tells the Corinthians he had deliver'd to them, but this is no other than a Relation of the Paffover-Supper, according to the Words of Luke the Evangelift. But the following Words are a Declaration of the Nature and Defign of that Supper, in the Manner Chrift had 28,29,30 explain'd it to his Difciples, and alfo a Caution that none of them for the future, might celebrate it as they had done, in an indecent and unworthy Manner. For as oft, fays the Apostle, as ye eat this Bread, and drink this Cup, ye do fhew the Lord's Death, till he come. Wherefore whosoever fball eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily, fhall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a Man examine himself, and fo let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. For be that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself, not difcerning the Lord's Body. For this Caufe many are weak and fickly amongst you, and many fleep.

THESE

* Pool's Annot. Some think that Paul received this 'from the Lord by immediate Revelation, (as it is thought Mofes receiv'd the Hiftory we have in Genefis, and Part of Exodus, which relates to a Time before he was born, or arrived to Man's Eftate) Others think that he receiv'd it ⚫ from St. Luke's Writings, (for the Words are quoted according to his Gofpel) Others think he received it from*fome other of the Apoftles: Certain it is, that he did re ceive it from the Lord, how, is uncertain.

THESE Words of the Apoftle, we take it, were principally given as a Caution to thofe Corinthians, who had fo fhamefully behav'd themselves at that folemn Feaft, and therefore he fays, whosoever fhall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily, fhall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But tho' this was a very neceffary Caution to prevent for the future, fuch diforderly Perfons as were among the Corinthians, from prophaning a Supper which typify'd the Death of Chrift, yet the Apostle neither commands nor enjoyns the Corinthians to celebrate that Supper: He only fays, For as oft as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup, ye do fhew the Lord's Death till he come.

Thefe Words do not pofitively command or enjoin: They are not obligatory or binding upon the Corinthians to eat the Bread and drink the Cup us'd at that Supper.

BUT, fome will have it that the Apostles Words, as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do fhew the Lord's Death till he come, do import the neceffary Obfervation of what they call the Lord's Supper, until the Coming of Chrift to Judgment at the End of the World. This we conceive is an Opinion which has no Foundation in Scripture, but is grounded upon a Mistake; fince it does not appear that the Words, till be come, import or imply the Coming of Christ at the End of the World, in the Sense of those who object it: For by Scripture it is very evident that Chrift fpake of his coming very fuddenly, and the Difciples had receiv'd a Notion that he would come again, even whilft fome of them were living, this 'tis likely they might ground upon the Words of Christ, when he spake of the Destruction of Jerufalem, and the Calamities that would precede it. For they ask'd him privately saying,

tell