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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<P>CERTAIN QUERIES Concerning the Receiving of the Sacrament. Preached in a SERMON ON Saint <HI>Luk.</HI> 9. <HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 30, 31.</P>
<P>By <HI>Richard Standfa&s;t,</HI> M.A. Rector of <HI>Chri&s;t-Church</HI> with|in the City of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>Charles Allen,</HI> Book&s;eller in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> 1680.</P>
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<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>CERTAIN QUERIES Concerning the Receiving of the SACRAMENT.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t was Transfigured on the Holy Mount, in the pre&s;ence of Saint <HI>Peter, James,</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> who were eye-witne&s;&s;es of his Glo|ry: <HI>For behold, there talked with him two men, which were Mo|&s;es and Elias, who appeared in glory, and &s;pake of his decea&s;e, which he &s;hould ac|compli&s;h at Jeru&s;alem.</HI> By which pa&s;&s;age it is manife&s;t, that among all the Sub|jects
<PB N="2" REF="3">in the world, there is not any that doth more de&s;erve our diligent inquiry, meditation, di&s;cour&s;e, and conference, than the Death and Pa&s;&s;ion of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour.</P>
<P>And from hence it will appear how much they de&s;erve to be blamed, who profe&s;&s;ing Chri&s;tianity, and living in a Church where this Sacrament may be had, duly admini&s;tred according to Chri&s;ts own In&s;titution; (and &s;uch we are &s;ure the Church of <HI>England</HI> to be) &s;hall yet, either out of ignorance, fa|ction, or prophane&s;s, live in the conti|nual neglect of it, as if the Table of the Lord were a contemptible thing, and this ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament a needle&s;s matter, and lightly to be e&s;teemed. E&s;pecially con&s;idering that this ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament was ordained by Chri&s;t him&s;elf, for the continual remembrance of his Death, and of the benefits which we receive thereby.</P>
<P>For who&s;e conviction and reformati|on the&s;e few lines were intended, where|unto if they prove effectual, I have my
<PB N="3" REF="3">de&s;ire: However I have endeavoured to deliver my own &s;oul.</P>
<P>The <HI>Queries</HI> are the&s;e following.</P>
<P>Quer. 1. <HI>Whether the deliverance of mankind from the &s;lavery of &s;in and Satan, Death and Hell, do not as well de&s;erve to be kept in remembrance, as the deliver|ance of the people of I&s;rael out of the land of</HI> Egypt, <HI>and the hou&s;e of bondage? Or, which is in &s;ub&s;tance all one, Whether there be not as much or more rea&s;on for celebra|ting of the Lords-Supper, than there was of old for ob&s;erving of the Pa&s;&s;over?</HI></P>
<P>See <HI>Exod.</HI> 12.25, 26, 27. their bon|dage was but a Type of our &s;lavery un|der Satan; their deliverance a Type of ours; their Pa&s;chal Lamb a Type of our Je&s;us; the &s;prinkling of the blood of the Lamb &s;ecured them from the de|&s;troying Angel; the &s;prinkling of the blood of Je&s;us upon us will &s;ecure us from the wrath to come, for which we are bound to prai&s;e God for ever.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="4">
<P>Surely if they had rea&s;on to keep their Pa&s;&s;over, we have as much, if not more rea&s;on to ob&s;erve the Lords-Sup|per, for a memorial that Chri&s;t our Pa&s;&s;over is &s;acrificed for us.</P>
<P>Qu. 2. <HI>Whether the celebrating of the Lords Supper, be not as much under com|mand now as ever the ob&s;erving of the Pa&s;&s;over was of old?</HI></P>
<P>God gave the <HI>Jews</HI> a &s;pecial command about ob&s;erving the Pa&s;&s;over, in&s;omuch that the Pa&s;&s;over is called the ordinance of God; yea, an Ordinance to them and their &s;ons for ever; <HI>i.e.</HI> as long as their State and Political Government did continue, <HI>Exod.</HI> 12.24. We al&s;o have a command for the Lords-Supper, when our Savour &s;aid, <HI>Do this in re|membrance of me;</HI> which words of com|mand belong not only to Chri&s;ts Clergy, Di&s;ciples, but even to all; for if &s;ome are bound to take, break, and ble&s;s, others mu&s;t be bound to eat and drink, if &s;ome are bound to admini&s;ter,
<PB N="5" REF="4">others are bound to receive, or el&s;e what need of any admini&s;tration? Nor doth this command &s;hew only what may be done, but what mu&s;t be done, and &s;o make it not only a free-will offering, but a nece&s;&s;ary duty, in&s;omuch that to neglect it is the breach of a Command|ment, and mu&s;t needs be &s;inful before God.</P>
<P>Nay there are circum&s;tances which will aggravate the &s;in; for this was in|&s;tituted by a loving Ma&s;ter, by a dying Saviour, as his la&s;t words, Will and Te&s;ta|ment in memorial of the greate&s;t love that ever was &s;hewn, and it was ordain|ed to be an Ordinance for ever: In do|ing <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> we &s;hew forth the Lords death till he come; <HI>i.e.</HI> 'till he come again to Judgment. As long as we live here up|on earth, we &s;hall have need of frequent Communicating; when we come to Heaven, we &s;hall have no need of any Sacrament, for we &s;hall then enjoy the &s;ub&s;tance it &s;elf: but while we live here, Chri&s;t hath comply'd with our infirmi|ty, and hath made it an Ordinance for
<PB N="6" REF="5">ever, even to the end of the World; and therefore they mu&s;t needs be the more &s;inful before God that &s;hall to|tally neglect it.</P>
<P>Qu. 3. <HI>Whether the breach of this command do not as well de&s;erve to be as &s;everely puni&s;hed, as the not keeping the Pa&s;&s;over?</HI></P>
<P>Almighty God was &s;o careful for eve|ry man to keep the Pa&s;&s;over, that if he were not in a condition fit to keep it on the time appointed; <HI>&s;cil.</HI> the four|teenth day of the fir&s;t Month, he was to keep it on the fourteenth day of the &s;e|cond Month; and if having no lawful impediment he did not ob&s;erve it, he was to be cut off from his people, and to bear his &s;in, <HI>Numb.</HI> 9.5, 11, 13. <HI>Ex|&s;cindetur a populis &s;uis,</HI> i.e. <HI>Hic &amp; in fu|turo &s;aeculo a &s;anctorum con&s;ortio exclude|tur:</HI> So <HI>Junius,</HI> he &s;hall be &s;hut out from the Communion of Saints both here and hereafter.</P>
<P>Now where there is a parity of &s;in,
<PB N="7" REF="5">there may well be feared a parity of judgment; and he that thus excludes him&s;elf from the &s;ociety of Gods people here, is not like to be numbred with the Saints hereafter.</P>
<P>Qu. 4. <HI>Whether there can be any better way for the commemoration of the death of Christ, than that which was in&s;tituted by Chri&s;t him&s;elf for that very purpo&s;e?</HI></P>
<P>In this we &s;hew forth the Lords death, and Chri&s;t is &s;et forth lively crucified; neither is the bread and wine only a bare &s;ign or repre&s;entation of the body and blood of Chri&s;t thus crucified, and thus &s;hed for us, but it is <HI>&s;ignum exhibi|tivum,</HI> it is the Communion of the body and blood of Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.16. <HI>i e.</HI> the Communication; for therein there is a real exhibition, a true tender and proffer of the body and blood of Chri&s;t unto every Communicant for the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins, and &s;alvation of our &s;ouls, and this nothing can do but Chri&s;ts own in&s;titution.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="6">
<P>Crucifixes, whether in picture, or in carving, either in wood or metal, are but the imperfect and dangerous inven|tions of men. Imperfect, for they may de|lineate one &s;uffering upon a Cro&s;s, which may be as well one of the Thieves as Chri&s;t, and can repre&s;ent but the &s;uffer|ing of the body, not of the &s;oul; and but of his Humanity, but cannot repre|&s;ent his Divinity; nor can they repre|&s;ent the benefits of his Pa&s;&s;ion: And thus far they may be dangerous, that thereby men may be invited to &s;uper|&s;tition and Idolatry; and at be&s;t, it is but the invention of man, and no way fit to come into competition with the command and in&s;titution of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour; &amp; if we &s;hall think that we can continue the remembrance of the Death of Chri&s;t as well by any other means as the Sacrament, I &s;hould think this were to di&s;parage the Wi&s;dom of Chri&s;t, and to make our &s;elves wi&s;er than him; and how he will like of &s;uch doings, judg ye.</P>
<P>Qu. 5. <HI>Whether the receiving of this
<PB N="9" REF="6">Ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament be not the great badg of our Chri&s;tian, Prote&s;tant profe&s;&s;ion, and witne&s;s of our Chri&s;tianity, a di&s;crimina|ting of us from all fal&s;e Religions, and evidencing to the world our dependance upon Chri&s;t for our remi&s;&s;ion, righteou&s;|ne&s;s, peace, &s;anctification, re&s;urrection and &s;alvation?</HI></P>
<P>He that is baptized in the name of Chri&s;t in his infancy, may renounce it, and revolt from it when he comes of years: He that is a <HI>Jew,</HI> a <HI>Turk,</HI> yea a <HI>Papist,</HI> 'tis po&s;&s;ible that &s;uch men may come into our publick A&s;&s;emblies, we do not u&s;e to &s;hut our doors, or to keep any out from hearing of the Go&s;pel, or from being pre&s;ent at our prayers, un|le&s;s they are Excommunicate; &s;o that by all this outward appearance no man can certainly di&s;cover what we are; but if we con&s;cientiou&s;ly come to this Holy Table, and partake of this ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament, even by &s;o doing we do declare to the world, as much as out|ward actions can di&s;cover it, that we are
<PB N="10" REF="7">Chri&s;tians, that we are Prote&s;tants, and that we do depend upon the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t only, for pardon of our &s;ins, and &s;alvation of our &s;ouls: In&s;o|much that he who lives in the total neglect of this &s;o nece&s;&s;ary a duty may very well be thought to give the world too much occa&s;ion to think, that either he hath as yet his Religion to chu&s;e, or that he is not willing the world &s;hould know what Religion he is of.</P>
<P>Qu. 6. <HI>Whether the great neglect of this holy duty doth not ju&s;tly de&s;erve to have it altogether taken from us, and pro|voke God to &s;end it to another people that &s;hall be more thankeful for it, and make a better u&s;e of it?</HI></P>
<P>The fountain of Goodne&s;s cannot en|dure to be laden at with unthankful hands; and this we mu&s;t needs grant, that the vouch&s;afing of us the liberty of his Table, &s;avours of extraordinary fa|vour, and love ine&s;timable: While we have this favour, the glory of God abi|deth
<PB N="11" REF="7">among&s;t us, and the Almighty Goodne&s;s is plea&s;ed in a &s;pecial manner to communicate Him&s;elf unto us; and it mu&s;t needs be a high priviledg for us &s;inful creatures to be admitted to be fea&s;ted with him at his Holy Table.</P>
<P>Now the greater mercy it is for God thus to conde&s;cend unto men, the grea|ter mu&s;t needs be the &s;in in the neglect|ing of it, and the greater comfort there may be had in this ble&s;&s;ed Ordinance, the more are we enemies to our &s;elves in the neglecting thereof; and we can|not but confe&s;s that God may ju&s;tly take that from us which we &s;o little care for, and which we &s;o undervalue as totally to neglect it.</P>
<P>Is it not thus among men? who will continue favours to tho&s;e that care not for them? to tho&s;e that &s;light and ne|glect them? and 'tis but rea&s;onable that God &s;hould leave us to our &s;elves, and to our own inventions, that ac|count his favours needle&s;s things, and &s;hall undervalue &s;o great &s;alvation.</P>
<P>We are told of &s;ome gue&s;ts that
<PB N="12" REF="8">were invited to a great fea&s;t, and they took occa&s;ion to be out of the way, which was &s;o di&s;plea&s;ing to the great fea&s;t-maker, that he re&s;olved that not one of them that were bid|den &s;hould &s;o much as ta&s;te of his Supper. And if God &s;hould deal &s;o by us, and either take this ble&s;&s;ed Or|dinance quite from us, or &s;uffer us to be cheated with an Idolatrous Ma&s;s in the &s;tead thereof, we cannot accu&s;e God of any inju&s;tice, but mu&s;t needs acknowledg that he hath dealt with us but according to our de&s;erts.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t needs confe&s;s, that if God &s;hould give us up as a prey to tho&s;e that hate both us, our Religion, and our Peace, which God in mercy pre|vent: I am very apt to think that the great neglect of this ble&s;&s;ed Sa|crament would be one of the chief rea&s;ons which would provoke God &s;o to do.</P>
<P>Qu. 7. <HI>Whether the pre&s;ence of any unworthy Communicant can be a &s;uffici|ent
<PB N="13" REF="8">excu&s;e for our neglecting of our duty?</HI></P>
<P>Far be it from me to plead one word in the behalf of tho&s;e that are in deed and in truth unworthy Com|municants; and it were to be wi&s;ht, that Di&s;cipline were &s;o vigilant, and put in &s;uch due execution, that tho&s;e that are really unworthy, might be de|bar'd this holy Communion, 'till they had manife&s;ted an hearty &s;orrow for their pa&s;t offences, and a &s;erious re&s;o|lution for the reforming of their ways; but if we will allow their pre&s;ence to be a &s;ufficient excu&s;e for the omi&s;&s;ion of our duty, no man can have any comfort in his own Communicating, unle&s;s he could be a&s;&s;ured that no hy|pocrite were pre&s;ent, which cannot be done but by Divine revelation.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides this, let me de&s;ire you to take notice of that pa&s;&s;age, <HI>Joh.</HI> 13.10, 11. <HI>Ye are clean, but not all, for he knew
<PB N="14" REF="9">who &s;hould betray him; therefore &s;aid he, Ye are not all clean.</HI> Upon which words Saint <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> doth thus de|&s;cant: If the pre&s;ence of <HI>Judas</HI> could have polluted the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles, Chri&s;t would have &s;aid, there are none of you clean, becau&s;e there is one a|mong&s;t you that doth defile you; and he would have &s;tay'd till <HI>Judas</HI> had been gone out, and then he would have &s;aid, Now ye are clean, becau&s;e he is gone that did defile you; but Chri&s;t &s;aith while <HI>Judas</HI> was pre&s;ent, Now are ye clean, but not all, be|cau&s;e there was one among&s;t them that was unclean. Whereby, &s;aith he, it is manife&s;t, that, <HI>In eodem caetu ho|minum etiam Sacramenta &s;umentium, aliquorum immunditiem aliis obe&s;&s;e non po&s;&s;e:</HI> As my worthine&s;s cannot bene|fit another, &s;o neither can his unwor|thine&s;s be any hinderance to me, if I come rightly prepared. And this I am per&s;waded the rather to believe, becau&s;e among the Gue&s;ts which came
<PB N="15" REF="9">to the Wedding, he that came with|out a Wedding-garment, was the on|ly man that was que&s;tion'd for his unworthine&s;s; it was not &s;aid to the re&s;t, Why came ye along in this mans company? or there are none of you welcome becau&s;e this man is in your company; but only, <HI>Friend, how came&s;t thou in hither?</HI> Mat. 22.12. And this I am &s;ure is according to Saint <HI>Paul</HI>'s Doctine, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.29. <HI>He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to him&s;elf,</HI> not to another. And therefore this can be no &s;ufficient excu&s;e.</P>
<P>Qu. 8. <HI>Whether real unworthine&s;s,</HI> i.e. <HI>whether living in Drunkenne&s;s, Adultery, Envy, Hatred,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>can be &s;ufficient to exempt us from the obligati|on to our duty?</HI></P>
<P>Now to this I an&s;wer, that none of the&s;e can exempt us from the obliga|tion
<PB N="16" REF="10">to our duty, the obligation is &s;till upon us, for we are under a com|mand; and whatever our condition be, the command is in force: But what then, mu&s;t we come though we be un|worthy? No, by no means, but we are bound to put away our unworthi|ne&s;s, that we may the better perform our duty.</P>
<P>I know it will be &s;aid, I fear I am not worthy; and if I come unworthily, I become guilty of the body and blood of the Lord Je&s;us, and &s;o eat and drink to my &s;elf damnation; and were it not better for me to forbear, than to come unworthily? Unto this I have many things to &s;ay.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Here's a fair &s;hew and pre|tence of humility, and &s;ome pretended reverence to the Ordinance of God; but pretence of humility, may po&s;&s;i|bly prove one of the depths of Satan; this brought in of old the wor&s;hipping
<PB N="17" REF="10">of Angels, <HI>Col.</HI> 2.18. for in pretence of humility they would not make &s;o bold as to make their addre&s;&s;es unto God immediately them&s;elves, becau&s;e they were &s;uch unworthy creatures, and therefore thought it fitter to make their approaches by the mediation of Angels; and what mi&s;chief this pre|tence of humility was like to have done Saint <HI>Peter,</HI> we may find, <HI>Joh.</HI> 13.8. for had he had his de&s;ire at that pre&s;ent, it would have excluded him from having any part in the Lord Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, thou feare&s;t thou art un|worthy; but let me ask, Is it thy fear that makes thee &s;o to think? the more fearful any man is, the more careful he will be to avoid the danger; what makes any man fear? hath he examined him&s;elf? if not, it is his own fault; if he hath examined, and finds him&s;elf &s;o to be, it is his greater fault if he doth not reform him&s;elf. Self-examination is
<PB N="18" REF="11">not to keep us from, but to fit us for the Sacrament. Let a man examine him&s;elf, and &s;o let him eat, not &s;tay away. And our Saviour hath taught us, when we come to offer our gift, and there remember that our brother hath ought again&s;t us, not to carry our gift away, but to leave it there, and to go fir&s;t and be reconciled to our brother, and then come and offer the gift, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.23, 24.</P>
<P>If thou art not fit, thou mai&s;t be; Gods commands bring no men into &s;nares: and therefore here it will be worthy to know what that is that makes us unworthy Communicants.</P>
<P>There is a twofold worthine&s;s, the one is in &s;trictne&s;s of ju&s;tice, and &s;o there is none &s;o worthy but that he mu&s;t confe&s;s with the Church, <HI>We are not worthy &s;o much as to gather up the crums that are under thy Table.</HI> And there is a worthine&s;s of acceptation,
<PB N="19" REF="11">a meetne&s;s and fitne&s;s to be partakers of the&s;e holy My&s;teries, according to which we may every one &s;ay with <HI>Hezekiah, The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to &s;eek God, the Lord God of his Fathers, though he be not clean&s;ed according to the pu|rification of the Sanctuary,</HI> 2 Chron. 30.18, 19.</P>
<P>There is al&s;o a twofold unworthi|ne&s;s: The one of Infirmity: The other of an evil Con&s;cience. That of Infir|mity is what the be&s;t are liable unto, when by rea&s;on of our frailty we come not up to that height which is required of us: The other is of an evil Con&s;cience, which is, when we know that we live in &s;ome &s;ins that we are re&s;olved not to part with, nor repent of; this alone is that unwor|thine&s;s which will make us unworthy Communicants; and he that is thus un|worthy is an enemy to his own Sal|vation, becau&s;e he loves to go on in
<PB N="20" REF="12">wickedne&s;s, and how can that man ex|pect the mercy of God? And yet this unworthine&s;s cannot exempt us from the obligation to our duty, neither doth God nece&s;&s;itate any man to do evil, for he requires us to Communi|cate, and &s;hews us the way to do it worthily; and that is, by repenting us truly of our &s;ins, and &s;tedfa&s;tly pur|po&s;ing to lead a new life. And this be &s;ure of, he that fears to come un|worthily for fear of damnation, that man will be as much afraid to &s;tay away unworthily for fear of wilful di&s;|obedience again&s;t God.</P>
<P>We u&s;e to &s;ay, <HI>Of two evils, chu&s;e the lea&s;t;</HI> but this holds true in penal only, not &s;inful evils; for of &s;inful we are to chu&s;e neither. Nor doth God ever bring men into &s;uch &s;traits, but that he &s;hews a way how to come out of them; and therefore the ca&s;e is not rightly &s;tated, which is better, but which is wor&s;e; for both of them
<PB N="21" REF="12">are &s;inful before God; and he that refu&s;eth to receive upon this account, may as well refu&s;e to hear the Word of God, le&s;t it &s;hould become the &s;a|vour of death unto death, in refu&s;ing to conform him&s;elf to the Directions thereof.</P>
<P>Qu. 9. <HI>Whether he that lives in &s;uch an unworthine&s;s, as makes him really to be an unworthy Communicant, be not al&s;o unfit to hear, pray, or die? and he that is &s;o, mu&s;t needs be in a &s;ad condition.</HI></P>
<P>To repent truly of our &s;ins, to have a lively faith in Gods mercy through Chri&s;t, and to be in charity with all men, will make a man a meet Com|municant; and without this a man can neither be fit to pray, hear, nor die.</P>
<PB N="22" REF="13">
<P>That we may hear as we ought, we mu&s;t lay apart all filthine&s;s, and receive the ingrafted word; and we mu&s;t believe, for it profits not if not mixt with faith in them that hear it; and we mu&s;t be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, or el&s;e it will never &s;ave our &s;ouls: and that Word requires that all our works be done in charity.</P>
<P>Would we pray? how &s;hall we call upon him in whom we have not be|lieved? and if we regard wickedne&s;s in our hearts, he will not hear us; and how can we pray to God to for|give us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, unle&s;s we for|give them that tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us? And if we die in impenitence, unbelief, and di&s;obedience, how can we expect the Re&s;urrection of the body unto life everla&s;ting? If we are fit for the&s;e, we are fit for the Sacrament: if we &s;till neglect the Sacrament, we may as
<PB N="23" REF="13">well be thought to neglect all the re&s;t; and he that lives in that neg|lect, he is not worthy the name of a Chri&s;tian.</P>
<P>Qu. 10. And la&s;t, <HI>Whether in all excu&s;es that we make for our neglect, wilfulne&s;s be not the principal ingredient? and if we are re&s;olved to follow our own wills more than the will of God, how can our conver&s;ation be &s;uitable to the Go&s;pel?</HI></P>
<P>In St. <HI>Luk.</HI> 14.18. we find mention of a man that made a great Supper, and bad many, and they &s;traitway be|gan to make excu&s;e; they were but be|ginning, they never made a compleat excu&s;e; they began, but they never fi|ni&s;hed; and indeed there's no end of making excu&s;es; but their excu&s;es were in effect but denials; and Saint <HI>Mat|thew</HI> &s;aith in a like ca&s;e, that when
<PB N="24" REF="14">they were bid, they would not come, <HI>Mat.</HI> 22.3.</P>
<P>There's the truth of the matter, and &s;o it will be interpreted another day. And the more wilful &s;uch neg|lect is, the more &s;inful it will be found before God.</P>
<P>For the clo&s;e of all.</P>
<P>I will only add this one particular.</P>
<P>It is Chri&s;t alone that is the Con|&s;olation of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> neither is there &s;alvation in any other; and there is none of us all, but when we come to die, we would be willing to pray with Saint <HI>Stephen, Lord Je&s;us receive my &s;pirit;</HI> but if our Con&s;ciences &s;hould then &s;ay unto us, You have often refu&s;ed to receive Chri&s;t here|tofore, and how can you now think he will receive you? You have often refu&s;ed to receive Chri&s;t in the way
<PB N="25" REF="14">of his own in&s;titution, and how can you expect he &s;hould receive you in|to everla&s;ting habitations? would not this be a &s;ad thought at your la&s;t departure?</P>
<P>Think on this.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="postscript">
<PB REF="15">
<HEAD>A POSTSCRIPT to the Chri&s;tian Reader.</HEAD>
<P><HI>THE great neglect of that Ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament is &s;o common among&s;t us, that it is, and ought to be ju&s;t matter of a &s;ad lamentation; this was the occa&s;ion of the fir&s;t compo&s;ing, and is now of the pre|&s;ent publi&s;hing of this little paper; it is but a little one, and yet big enough through the ble&s;&s;ing of God to convince the guilty. And as little as it is, it will one day be found to be a great witne&s;s again&s;t &s;uch as con|tinue ob&s;tinate; and it will al&s;o witne&s;s for me, and of my aim and de&s;ire to do good.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Who am thine in the Lord Je&s;us,</HI> R. S.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<PB REF="15">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
