times none at all. But still they mistook themselves to be obliged in duty and conscience to consecrate and receive it themselves, although they had none to receive with them. And this mistake, I suppose, gave the first occasion to that multitude of private masses which have been so much abused in the Church of Rome; where the priest commonly receives himself, although he hath never a one to communicate with him; and so there can be no communion at all. And as that abuse, so the disuse of the Holy Sacrament, sprang first from men's coldness and indifferency in religion, which hath prevailed so far in our days, that there are many thousands of persons who are baptized, and live many years in the profession of the Christian religion, and yet never receive the Sacrament of CHRIST'S Body and Blood in all their lives. And but very few that receive it above once or twice a year; which is a great reproach and shame to the age we live in; but none at all to the Church: for she is always ready to administer it, if people could be persuaded to come to it. But that they cannot, or rather will not be; they have still one pretence or other to excuse themselves, but none that will excuse them before God and their own consciences another day.

What their pretences are, I shall not undertake to determine. They are so many, that they cannot easily be numbered. And many of them so vain and trifling, that they are not worth rehearsing. But the bottom of them all is this; men renounced the world, the devil, and the flesh in their baptism, but they are loth to do it in their lives: they then promised to serve God, but now they find something else to do. They have all one sin or other that reigns over them, and captivates their hearts and affections, so that they cannot endure the thoughts of parting with it. And they think, as they ought to do, that if they come to the Holy Sacrament, they must first examine themselves, repent of all their sins, turn to GOD, renew their baptismal vow, and resolve to lead a new life. But this they are resolved not to do. And if they should come to the Sacrament, it would but disturb their quiet, make them uneasy in their minds, and hinder them from enjoying the pleasure they were wont to take in all their sins. And for their part, they had rather displease GOD than them

selves; and neglect their duty rather than leave their sins. And so add sin to sin, and "treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of GOD." This is plainly the case of most of those who live in the neglect of His Holy Commandment. And what can be said to such men? so long as such, they are not fit to come to the Communion. And therefore all that can be said to them, is only to beg of them to consider their condition before it be too late, and repent as soon as they can: lest they die, as they have lived, in sin, and so be punished with "everlasting destruction from the 'presence of the LORD, and from the glory of His power."

she would oblige This is a mistake

But there are others who do receive the Sacrament of CHRIST'S Body and Blood sometimes, as perhaps two or three times in a year; and my charity prompts me to believe, that they would do it oftener, if they thought it to be their duty. But there are some things which at first sight may seem, at least to them, to plead their excuse; and therefore deserve to be duly considered by us. As first, they say, our Church requires them only to receive three times a year and they do not question but them to receive it oftener, if it was necessary. that a great many have fallen into, and by that means have been kept from the Sacrament more than otherwise they would have been. I call it a mistake; for it is so, and a very great one. For as in all things else, so particularly in this, our Church keeps close to the pattern of the Apostolic and Primitive Church; when, as I have before observed, the LORD's Supper was administered and received commonly every day in the week, but most constantly upon the LORD's Day. And our Church supposeth it to be so still, and therefore hath accordingly made provision for it. Which, that I may fully demonstrate to you, it will be necessary to inquire into the sense and practice of our Church in this point all along from the beginning of the Reformation, or, to speak more properly, from the time when she was restored to that Apostolical form which she is now of, as she was at first; which we date from the reign of King Edward VI.

For in the first year of that pious prince, the Liturgy, or Book of Common Prayer, was first compiled; and in the second it was

settled by Act of Parliament.

In which book it is ordered, that the Exhortation to those who are minded to receive the Sacrament, shall be read; which is there set down, much the same that we read now. But afterwards it is said, "in Cathedral Churches, or other places where there is daily Communion, it shall be sufficient to read this Exhortation above written once in a month. And in Parish Churches upon the week-days it may be left unsaid." Fol. 123. Where we may observe, first, that in those days there was daily Communion in Cathedral Churches, and other places, as there used to be in the Primitive Church. And accordingly I find, in the records of St. Paul's, that when the plate, jewels, &c. belonging to the said Cathedral, were delivered to the King's Commissioners, they, upon the Dean and Chapter's request, permitted to remain, among other things, "two pair of basyns for to bring the Communion Bread, and to receive the offerings for the poor; whereof one pair silver, for every day, the other for festivals, &c. gilt." (Dugdal Hist. of St. Paul's, page 274.) From whence it is plain, that the Communion was then celebrated in that Church every day. And so it was even in Parish Churches. For otherwise it needed not to be ordered as it is in the Rubric above mentioned, that in Parish Churches upon the week-days the said Exhortation may be left unsaid. And to the same purpose it is afterwards said, "when the Holy Communion is celebrated on the work-day, or in private houses, then may be omitted the Gloria in Excelsis, the Creed, the Homily, and the Exhortation." Fol. 132.

Next after that we quoted first, this Rubric immediately follows; "And if upon the Sunday or Holy-day, the people be negligent to come to the Communion, then shall, the Priest earnestly exhort his parishioners to dispose themselves to the receiving of the Holy Communion more diligently, saying," &c. Which shows, that upon all Sundays and Holy-days people then generally received; the Church expected and required it of them. And if any Minister found that his parishioners did not always come, at least upon those days, he was to exhort and admonish them to dispose themselves more diligently for it; and that by the command of the Church itself; whereby she hath sufficiently

declared her will and desire, that all her members should receive the Communion as they did in the Primitive times, every day in the week if possible; and if that could not be, yet at least every Sunday and Holy-day in the year.

In the Rubric after the Communion Service, there are several things to the same purpose; for it is there ordered, that upon Wednesdays and Fridays, although there be none to communicate, the Priest shall say all things at the Altar appointed to be said at the celebration of the LORD's Supper, until after the Offertory. And then it follows: "And the same order shall be used whensoever the people be customably assembled to pray in the Church, and none disposed to communicate with the Priest." Fol. 130. Whereby we are given to understand, that upon what day soever people came to Church, the Priest was to be ready to celebrate the Holy Sacrament if any were disposed to communicate with him. And if there were none, he was to show his readiness, by reading a considerable part of the Communion Service.

There is another Rubric in the same place, that makes it still plainer. Which I shall transcribe, because the book is not commonly to be had; neither can it be expressed better than in its words, which are these: "Also, that the receiving of the Sacra"ment of the Blessed Body and Blood of CHRIST, may be most "agreeable to the Institution thereof, and to the usage of the "Primitive Church, in all Cathedral and Collegiate Churches "there shall always some communicate with the Priest that minis"tereth. And that the same may be also observed every where "abroad in the country, some one at the least of that house in "every Parish, to whom by course, after the ordinance herein "made, it appertaineth to offer for the charges of the Com"munion; or some other whom they shall provide to offer for 'them, shall receive the Holy Communion with the Priest; the "which may be the better done, for that they know before when "their course cometh, and may therefore dispose themselves to "the worthy receiving of the Sacrament. And with him or "them, who doth so offer the charges of the Communion, all "other who be then godly disposed thereunto, shall likewise re"ceive the Communion. And by this means the Minister having

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'always some to communicate with him, may accordingly solem"nize so High and Holy Mysteries, with all the suffrages and "due order appointed for the same. And the Priest on the weekday shall forbear to celebrate the Communion, except he have 66 some that will communicate with him."

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Here we see what care the Church took that the Sacrament might be daily administered, not only in Cathedral, but likewise in Parish Churches. For which purpose, whereas every Parishioner had before been used to find the Holy Loaf, as it was called, in his course; in the Rubric before this, it is ordained that every Pastor or Curate shall find sufficient Bread and Wine for the Communion; and that the Parishioners every one in his course, shall offer the charges of it at the Offertory to the Pastor or Curate; and in this it is ordained that every such Parishioner shall then in his course communicate, or else get some other person to do it, that so the Communion may be duly celebrated; and all there present that were godly disposed might partake of it. Which one would have thought as good a Provision as could have been made in the case. But notwithstanding, through the obstinacy or carelessness of some, in not making their said offering as they were commanded, it sometimes failed; as appears from the Letter written about a year after by the Privy Council, and subscribed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and others, to the Bishops, to assure them that the King intended to go on with the Reformation, wherein among other things they say: "And far"ther, whereas it is come to our knowledge that divers froward "and obstinate persons do refuse to pay towards the finding of "Bread and Wine for the Holy Communion, according to the "order prescribed in the said book, by reason whereof the Holy "Communion is many times omitted upon the Sunday. These are "to will and command you to convent such obstinate persons "before you, and them to admonish and command to keep the "order prescribed in the said book. And if any such shall refuse "so to do, to punish them by suspension, excommunication, or "other censures of the Church." (Hist. of Reform. Part II. Coll. p. 192.) From whence we may also learn how much they were troubled to hear that the Holy Sacrament was any where omitted