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Chap. VI. different from this*, though either of them I take to be in a more primitive method than our own.

The anti

SECT. XXII. Of the Prayer of Consecration. THE ancient Greeks and Romans would not taste of quity of it. their ordinary meat and drink till they had hallowed it by giving the first parts of it to their gods 69: the Jews would not eat of their sacrifice till Samuel came to bless it and the primitive Christians always began their common meals with a solemn prayer for a blessing"1: a custom so universal, that it is certainly a part of natural religion: how much more then ought we to expect the prayers of the Priest over this mysterious food of our souls, before we eat of it? especially since our Saviour himself immediately after which the Minister received, and distributed to the congregation. And during the Communion time the Clerks were to sing, beginning as soon as the Priest received, O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy upon us: O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, Grant us thy peace. When the Communion was ended, the Clerks were to sing the Post-Communion, which consisted of the following sentences of Scripture, which were to be said or sung, every day one, viz. Matt. xvi. 24. xxiv. 13. Luke i. 68, 74, 75. xii. 43, 46, 47. John iv. 23. v. 14. viii. 31, 32. xii. 36. xiv. 21. xv. 7. Rom. viii. 31, 32, 33, 34. xiii. 12. 1 Cor. i. 30, 31. iii. 16, 17. vi. 20. Ephes. v. 1, 2. This done, the Salutation passed between the Minister and People, The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. And then the Minister concluded the office with the second prayer in our present Post-Communion and the blessing. How these several forms or the rubrics that belong to them differ from the forms that we use now, I must shew as I am treating upon the several particulars: I only set down the order of them here, to give the reader a general view of the whole.

* In the Scotch Liturgy, after the prayer of Consecration follows immediately a prayer of Oblation, (which is the same with the first prayer that follows the Lord's Prayer in our Post-Communion, beginning, O Lord and heavenly Father, &c. but introduced with a proper introduction, which shall be given by and by.) After this prayer of Oblation follows the Lord's Prayer; then comes the Address, and then the Priest receives and administers. After all have communicated is said the prayer, Almighty and everliving God, &c. and so on as in ours.

69 Alex. ab Alex. Gen. Dier. 1. 5.

C. 21.

70 1 Samuel ix. 13.
71 Tert. Apol. c. 39. p. 32. B.

did not deliver this Bread and Wine until he had consecrated them by blessing them, and giving thanks 72. So that this prayer is the most ancient and essential part of the whole Communion office; and there are some who believe that the Apostles themselves, after a suitable introduction, used the latter part of it, from those words, Who in the same night73, &c. and it is certain that no Liturgy in the world hath altered that particular.

Sect.

XXII.

scent of the

Church.

§. 2. But besides this, there was always inserted in the A prayer primitive forms a particular petition for the descent of the for the deHoly Ghost upon the Sacramental Elements, which was Holy Ghost also continued in the first Liturgy of King Edward VI. in always used very express and open terms. Hear us, O merciful Father, by the pri we beseech thee, and with thy Holy Spirit and Word vouch-mitive safe to bless and sanctify these thy gifts and creatures of Bread and Wine, that they may be unto us the Body and Blood of thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, who in the same night, &c. This, upon the scruples of Bucer, (whom I am sorry I have so often occasion to name,) was left out at the review in the fifth of King Edward; and the following sentence, which he was pleased to allow of, inserted in its stead; viz. Hear us, O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee, and grant that we receiving these thy creatures of Bread and Wine, according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy Institution, in remembrance of his Death and Passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood, who in the same night, &c. In these words, it is true, the sense of the former is still implied, and consequently by these the Elements are now consecrated, and so become the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ.

buted the

In the rubric indeed, after the form of Administration, To which the Church seems to suppose that the Consecration is they attri made by the words of Institution: for there it says, that Consecraif the consecrated Bread and Wine be all spent before all tion of the have communicated, the Priest is to consecrate more according Elements. to the form before prescribed; beginning at [Our Saviour Christ in the same night, &c.] for the blessing of the Bread; and at [Likewise after Supper, &c.] for the blessing of the Cup. This rubric was added in the last review: but to what end, unless to save the Minister some time, does not appear. But what is very remarkable is, that it was taken from the Scotch Liturgy, which expressly calls the words

72 Matt. xxvi. 26. 1 Cor. xi. 14.

73 Alcuin. de Divin. Offic. c. 39.

Chap. VI. of Institution the words of Consecration*; though the compilers of it had restored the sentence that had been thrown out of King Edward's second Common Prayer, and united it with the clause in our present Liturgy†, imagining, one would think, that the Elements were not consecrated without them. For though all churches in the world have, through all ages, used the words of Institution at the time of Consecration; yet none, I believe, except the Church of Rome, ever before attributed the Consecration to the bare pronouncing of those words only that was always attributed, by the most ancient fathers, to the prayer of the Church 74. The Lutherans and Calvinists indeed both agree with the Papists, that the Consecration is made by the bare repeating the words of Institution75; the reason perhaps of which is, because the words of Institution are the only words recorded by the Evangelists and St. Paul, as spoken by our Saviour, when he administered to his disciples. But then it should be considered, that it is plain enough that our Saviour used other words upon the same occasion, though the very words are not recorded: for the Evangelists tell us, that he gave thanks, and blessed the Bread and Wine and this sure must have been done in other words than those

*To the end there may be little left, he that officiates is required to consecrate with the least, and then if there be want, the words of Consecration may be repeated again, over more, either Bread or Wine: the Presbyter beginning at these words in the prayer of Consecration, (Our Saviour in the night that he was betrayed, &c.) Scotch Liturgy, in the fifth rubric at the end of the Communion Office.

+ Hear us, O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee, and of thy Almighty goodness vouchsafe so to bless and sanctify with thy Word and holy Spirit these thy gifts and creatures of Bread and Wine, that they may be unto us the Body and Blood of thy most dearly beloved Son; so that we receiving them according to thy Son our Saviour's holy Institution, in remembrance of his Death and Passion, may be partakers of the same his most precious Body and Blood; who in the night, &c. Scotch Liturgy.

74 Τὴν δι' Εὐχῆς—εὐχαριτηθεῖσαν gop. Just. Mart. Apol. 1. c. 86. p. 129. Προσαγομένους ἄρτους ἐσθίομεν σῶ μα γενομένους διὰ τὴν εὐχήν. Orig. contra Cels. lib. 8. See also Constit. Apost. 1. 8. c. 12. Cyril. Hieros. Catech. Mystag. 3. p. 289. Optat. adv. Parmen. lib. 6. Basil. de Spir. Sanct.

c. 27. Chrysost. Homil. in Cometerii Appellationem. August. de Trinitat. 1. 3. c. 4.

75 See their Book of Reformation of Doctrine, Administration of their Sacraments, &c. printed at London, by John Day, 1547.

Sect.

which he spoke at the delivery of them to his disciples: for blessing and thanksgiving must be performed by some XXII. words that are addressed to God, and not by any words directed to men: and therefore the words which our Saviour spake to his disciples could not be the whole Consecration of the Elements, but rather a declaration of the effect which was produced by his consecrating or blessing them. And therefore I humbly presume, that if the Minister should at the consecration of fresh Elements, after the others are spent, repeat again the whole form of Consecration, or at least from those words, Hear us, O merciful Father, &c. he would answer the end of the rubric, which seems only to require the latter part of the form from those words, Who in the same night, &c. be always used at such Consecration.

And this is certainly a very essential part of the service. For during the repetition of these words, the Priest performs to God the representative sacrifice of the death and passion of his Son. By taking the Bread into his hands, and breaking it, he makes a memorial to him of our Saviour's Body broken upon the Cross; and by exhibiting the Wine, he reminds him of his Blood there shed for the sins of the world; and by laying his hands upon each of them at the same time that he repeats those words, Take, eat, this is my Body, &c. and Drink ye all of this, &c. he signifies and acknowledges that this commemoration of Christ's sacrifice so made to God, is a means instituted by Christ himself to convey to the Communicants the benefits of his death and passion, viz. the pardon of our sins, and God's grace and favour for the time to come. For this reason we find, that it was al- Breaking ways the practice of the ancients, in consecrating the Eu- the Bread, a charist, to break the Bread, (after our Saviour's example,) always used to represent his Passion and Crucifixion 76. The Roman by the anChurch indeed, instead of breaking the Bread for the cient Communicants to partake of it, only breaks a single Wafer into three parts, (of which no one partakes,) for the ing the Eusake of retaining a shadow at least of the ancient custom. charist. They acknowledge, it is true, that this is an alteration from the primitive practice: but then they urge that they had good reasons for making it, viz. lest in breaking the Bread some danger might happen of scattering or losing some of the crumbs or particles 77; as if Christ himself

76 See this proved in Mr. Bingham's Antiquities, book 15. chap. 3.

vol. vi. page 713, &c.

77 Salmero. Tract. 30. in Act. Ap.

ceremony

Church in

consecrat

Chap. VI. could not have foreseen what dangers might happen, or have given as prudent orders as the Pope, concerning his own institution.

Signing with the Cross, an

used at the

Very judiciously therefore did our good Reformers (though they ordered these words before rehearsed to be other cere- said, turning still to the Altar, without any elevation or mony that shewing the Sacrament to the people, yet) restore these was always other ceremonies to avoid superstition: and yet this very same time. restoration of them is charged as superstitious by Bucer79; who therefore objects to them, and prevails for the leaving them all out, as well as the above-mentioned petition for the descent of the Holy Ghost, together with the crossings that were then also used during the pronunciation of the said petition. The taking of the Bread and the Cup into the hands, has indeed since been restored, viz. first to the Scotch Liturgy, and then to our own, even at the request of the Presbyterians, at the last review 80. But the signing of them with the Cross has ever since been discontinued: though I do not know that there is an ancient Liturgy in being, but what shews that this sign was always made use of in some part or other of the office of Communion. Such a number of crossings indeed as the Roman Missal enjoins, renders the service theatrical; and are not to be met with in any other Liturgy: but one or two we always find; so much having been thought proper, on this solemn occasion, to testify that we are not ashamed of the ross of Christ, and that the solemn service we are then about is performed in honour of a crucified Saviour. And therefore as the Church of England has thought fit to retain this ceremony in the ministration of one of her Sacraments, I see not why she should lay it aside in the ministration of the other. For that may very well be applied to it in the ministration of the Eucharist, which the Church herself has declared of the Cross in Baptism, viz. That it was held in the primitive Church as well by the Greeks as the Latins, with one consent, and great applause: at what time, if any had opposed themselves against it, they would certainly have been censured as ene

Chamier. de Euch. 1. 7. c. 11. n. 26.
p. 384.

78 Rubric after the prayer of Con-
secration in the first book of K. Edw.
VI.

79 Censur. apud Script. Anglican.

p. 472.

80 See the Proceedings of the Commissioners, &c. page 18. and the Reply, page 130.

81 Vide et Chrysostom. Demonstrat. Quod Christus sit Deus, c. 9. et Aug. Hom. 118. in Johan.

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