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3. Spiritual Strength needed. And first by the reception of this Holy Sacrament our souls receive strength. Situated as we are in this world, inheriting a sin-infected nature, and exposed to the assaults of our spiritual Foe1, we "have no power of ourselves to help. ourselves," we cannot always stand upright," we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us," and are liable to continual falls3. We need, therefore, constantly to be strengthened for our spiritual warfare; we require that the weakness of our mortal nature should from time to time be fortified for our daily contest, that the wounds we continually inflict upon ourselves in our encounter with the world, the flesh, and the devil should be healed.

4. Spiritual Strength supplied. And what thus, as long as the days of our warfare last," we sorely need, He, who is the Bread of Life (Jn. vi. 35), and without whom we can do nothing (Jn. xv. 5), of His mercy and goodness vouchsafes to supply. For as often as with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive this holy Sacrament, our communion with Him, who is "the Strength of all them that put their trust in Him5," is renewed, we dwell in Him, and He in us, and He im,

things." Compare (1) Rom. i. 25, Who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature (T κτίσει) created objects, rather than the Creator; (2) 1 Tim. iv. 4, For every creature (πâv ктíσμα) of God is good. 1 See above, p. 131, and the notes.

=

2 Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Advent.

3 See Hammond's Practical Catechism, p. 397.

4"As long as the days of our warfare last, during the time that we are both subject to diminution and capable of augmentation in grace, the words of our Lord and Saviour Christ will remain forcible, Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you, Jn. vi. 53. Hooker's Eccl. Pol. Bk. v. Chap. lxvii. 1.

5 Collect for the First Sunday after Trinity.

parts to us grace and strength1 according to our day and our needs (2 Cor. xii. 9). As often, again, as we fall into sin through ignorance, or frailty, or the violence of any temptation, He who is our Advocate with the Father (1 Jn. ii. 1), in the symbols of His Body broken and His Blood shed for the remission of sins (Mtt. xxvi. 28) gives us the seal and pledge of His willingness to "forgive us all that is past3," and thus "our sinful bodies are made clean by His Body, and our souls washed through His most precious Blood” (1 Jn. i. 7, 9), and we are once more strengthened for our daily warfare (Phil. iv. 13).

5. Need of refreshment. Again in the valley of this mortal life, being in ourselves full of infirmity and weakness, and our consciences grieved and wearied with the burden of our sins, we are apt to be often disquieted and cast down (Ps. xlii. 5), to fear that God has shut up His tender mercies in displeasure, or that He has forgotten to be gracious (Ps. lxxvii. 9). Often also we are afflicted and distressed in mind, or body, or estate; we are tossed about with many perplexities and troubles; the path set before us is toilsome; the burden laid upon us seems more than we can bear; and we long to be refreshed and cheered, to be quickened and revived (Ps. xlii. 1).

6. Spiritual Refreshment vouchsafed. And the refreshment we thus need is in this holy Sacrament Vouchsafed. He, who knoweth our frame, who remem

1 "By the communion of the holy supper of the Lorde, we are preserued and strengthened, that we maye be able stedfastly to stand and fyght, against the violent inuasions of sin and the power of the Deuel." Cranmer's Catechism, p. 206; see also Hammond's Practical Catechism, pp. 396, 397 2 Hence the need of special confession of sins before the reception of the Communion. See the Communion Service. 3 See the Confession in the Communion Service.

bereth that we are dust (Ps. ciii. 14), speaks to us His comfortable words, saying, Come unto Me all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you (Mtt. xi. 28). He cheers1 us with the assurance of His favour and goodness towards us. He refreshes us with the Glad Tidings of the abundance of His Mercy, and of the continuance of His Intercession at the right hand of His Father (1 Jn. ii. 1). In the Holy Mysteries which He hath instituted, He gives us pledges that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from His love (Rom. viii. 38, 39), which endured the bitter pains of the Cross for us. Thus He encourages us to endure unto the end (Mtt. xxiv. 13), so to run that we may obtain (1 Cor. ix. 24), so to contend that we may overcome (Rev. ii. 7), so to labour that we faint not (Rev. ii. 3; Heb. iii. 6).

CHAPTER V.

REQUISITES FOR APPROACH TO THE LORD'S SUPPER.

1. Connection. Such being the dignity of this Holy Mystery, and such the benefits whereof we are therein made partakers, the Catechism proceeds to treat lastly of the attitude of heart and feeling with which we should approach it. It therefore asks, “What

1 Ps. xlii. 1; Isai. liv. 11.

2 See Nicholson On the Catechism, p. 228.

3 "Seying oure Savioure Christe doth gyue vs Hys Bodye to be our meat, and His Bloude to be oure drynke, and thereby doth declare that He will effectually dwel in vs, strengthen and preserue vs to euer lasting lyfe we may stedfastly belieue that Christ doth work in us, and that He will give us ghostly strength, and stedfastness, that we lyke grene braunches maye continue in the Vine and so be ful of sappe, and bryng forth good fruit." Cranmer's Catechism.

is required of them who come to the Lord's Supper?" To this the answer we are taught to give is, To examine themselves, whether

(i) They repent them truly of their former

sins, stedfastly purposing to lead a new life; whether

(ii) They have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of His death; whether

(iii) They be in charity with all men1?

2. The duty of self-examination before the reception of this Sacrament is directly taught us by St Paul. For after severely rebuking the Corinthians for the irreverent way in which they profaned this holy Banquet, making no distinction between it and an ordinary meal, and not discerning the Lord's Body (1 Cor. xi. 29), he continues, But let a man examine2 himself, and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup (1 Cor. xi. 28), and adds in reference to the temporal chastisements3 with which they had been

1 Compare the Exhortation in the Communion Service. "Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord; (1) repent you truly for your sins past; (2) have a lively and steadfast faith in Christ our Saviour; (3) amend your lives; and (4) be in perfect charity with all men; 80 shall ye be meet partakers of these holy mysteries." also the Exhortation before Confession.

See

2 AokiμašÉT ÉαUTóv=let him put himself to the test, which "notes a diligent and exact enquiry, such as lapidaries and goldsmiths use, to find out true metal from counterfeit, good from bad." Nicholson On the Catechism, p. 232. Compare for (1) the etymological sense of the word, i Pet. i. 7, xpvolov dia Tupas dokiμašoμévov, for (2) its secondary sense, I Thess. ii. Gal. vi. 4; 1 Cor. iii. 13; 2 Cor. xiii. 5; Eph. v. 10. See 1 Cor. xi. 30, and above, p. 174, n., and compare the Exhortation in the Communion Service, "We provoke Him to plague us with divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death." Κρίμα, “ non dicit τὸ κατάκριμα condemnationem, sed judicium aliquod, morbum, mortemve corporis." Bengel in loc.

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visited, If we had judged ourselves1 we should not have been judged; but now that we are judged, it is by the Lord that we are chastened2, that we may not be condemned with the world (1 Cor. xi. 31, 32).

3. Repentance. The first point, then, respecting which we are to examine ourselves, is whether we repent us truly and sincerely of our former sins, and at the same time, since, as we have seen3, all genuine repentance includes resolutions of amendment for the future, whether we stedfastly purpose to lead a new life, "following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in His holy ways 4."

4. Faith. The second point for self-examination is whether we have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ. Without faith, indeed, it is impossible to please God (Heb. xi. 6), and the possession of faith is the condition of the answering of any petition (Mk. xi. 24). But a settled persuasion that for the sake of the meritorious cross and passion of His dear Son God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. i. 9) is essential to a due participation of this Sacrament of our Redemption.

1 Εἰ ἑαυτοὺς διεκρίνομεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐκρινόμεθα. Διεκρίνομεν, dijudicaremus ante factum, éкpivóμela, judicaremur post factum. Bengel.

2 Пaιdevóμela, per molestias eruditio, August. Enarr. in Ps. CXIX. 67. Trench's Synonyms, p. 108. Compare Lk. xxiii. 16; Heb. xii. 5, 7, 8.

3 On μerάvoia and the nature of genuine repentance (Jer. xxiv. 7; Joel ii. 12, 13), including (a) godly sorrow (2 Cor. vii. 8, 9), (b) confession of sin (Ps. xxxii. 5; Lk. xv. 18; 1 Jn. i. 9), (c) full purpose of amendment (Prov. xxviii. 13; and 2 Pet. ii. 20-22) see above, p. 158, n.

4 See the Exhortation in the Communion Service.

5 "Thus we see, beloved, that resorting to this Table, we must pluck up all the roots of infidelity, all distrust in God's promises, that we make ourselves living members of Christ's Body." First Part of the "Homily concerning the Sacrament."