An humble inquiry into the rules of the Word of God, concerning the qualifications…

The Actions at the Lord's Supper thus implying in their Nature and Signification, a renewing and confirming of the Covenant, there is a declarative explicit Covenanting supposed to proceed it; which is the Profession of Religion, before spoken of, that qualifies a Person for Admission to the Lord's Supper. And there doubtless is, or ought to be, as much explicitly professed in Words, as is implicitly professed in these Actions; for by these significant Actions, the Communicant sets his Seal but to his Profession. The established Signs in the Lord's Supper are fully equivalent to Words; they are a renewing and reiterating the same Thing which was done before; only with this Difference, that now it is done by speaking Signs, whereas before it was by speaking Sounds. Our taking the Bread and Wine is as much a professing to accept of Christ, at least as a Woman's taking a Ring of the Bridegroom in her Marriage is a Profession and Seal of her taking him for her Husband. The Sacramental Elements in the Lord's Supper do represent Christ as a Party in Covenant, as truly as a Proxy represents a Prince to a foreign Lady in her Marriage; and lour taking those Elements is as truly a professing to accept of Christ, as in the other Case the Lady's taking the Proxy is her professing to accept the Prince as her Husband. Or the Matter may more fitly be represented by this Similitude: It is as if a Prince should send an Ambassador to a Woman in a foreign Land, proposing Marriage, and by his Ambassador should send her his Picture, ⟨p. 77⟩and should desire her to manifest her Acceptance of his Suit, not only by professing her Acceptance in Words to his Ambassador, but in Token of her Sincerity openly to take or accept that Picture, and so Seal her Profession, by thus representing the Matter over again by a symbolical Action.

The Actions at the Lord's Supper thus implying in their Nature and Signification, a renewing and confirming of the Covenant, there is a declarative explicit Covenanting supposed to preceed it; which is the Profession of Religion, before spoken of, that qualifies a Person for Admission to the Lord's Supper. And there doubtless is, or ought to be, as much explicitly professed in Words, as is implicitly professed in these Actions; for by these significant Actions, the Comumnicant sets his Seal but to his Profession. The established Signs in the Lord's Supper are fully equivalent to Words; they are a renewing and reiterating the same Thing which was done before; only with this Difference, that now it is done by speaking Signs, whereas before it was by speaking Sounds. Our taking the Bread and Wine is as much a professing to accept of Christ, at least as a Woman's taking a Ring of the Bridegroom in her Marriage is a Profession and Seal of her taking him for her Husband. The Sacramental Elements in the Lord's Supper do represent Christ as a Party in Covenant, as truly as a Proxy represents a Prince to a foreign Lady in her Marriage; and lour taking those Elements is as truly a professing to accept of Christ, as in the other Case the Lady's taking the Proxy is her professing to accept the Prince as her Husband. Or the Matter may more fitly be represented by this Similitude: It is as if a Prince should send an Ambassador to a Woman in a foreign Land, proposing Marriage, and by his Ambassador should send her his Picture,