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 week"day shall forbear to celebrate the Communion, except he have 66 some that will communicate with him."

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 66 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

even upon the Sunday, upon any Sunday; how great a fault and scandal they judged it to be, and what care they took to prevent it for the future.

This was the state of this affair at the beginning of the Reformation, and it continues in effect the same to this day. About three or four years after the aforesaid Book of Common Prayer first came out, it was revised, and set forth again with some alterations in the form, but none that were material in the substance of it. Only the former way of the Parishioners finding Bread and Wine for the Communion every one in his course, being now found not so effectual as was expected; that was now laid aside, and it was ordered to be provided at the charges of the Parish in general, in these words: "The Bread and Wine for "the Communion shall be provided by the Curate and Church"wardens, at the charges of the Parish; and the Parish shall be discharged of such sums of money or other duties, which hitherto "they have paid for the same, by order of their houses, every "Sunday." Where we may take notice, that as hitherto it had been provided every Sunday by the houses of every Parish, as they lay in order, it was now to be provided by the Minister and Churchwardens, at the charges of the whole Parish, but still every Sunday, as it was before; which being the most certain way that could be found out for it, it is still continued. The first part of this Rubric, whereby it is enjoined, being still in force. But the latter part, from these words, "and the Parish shall be discharged," &c. is now left out, as it was necessary it should be, after the former course had been disused for above an hundred years.

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Now this Book of Common Prayer, which was thus settled by Act of Parliament, in the fifth and sixth year of Edward the VI., was that which was afterwards confirmed in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, with one alteration or addition of certain lessons to be used on every Sunday in the year, and the form of the Litany altered, and corrected, with two sentences only added in the delivery of the Sacrament to the Communicants. These were all the alterations that were then made, or indeed that have been ever made since that time to this, except it be in words or

phrases, in the addition of some prayers, and in some such inconsiderable things, as do not at all concern our present purpose. For the care of our Church, to have the Holy Communion constantly celebrated, hath been the same all along, from the time that the Book of Common Prayer before spoken of, was first settled. As may be easily proved from that which was established by the last Act of Uniformity. Which therefore I shall now briefly consider, so far as it relates to the business in hand; that we may understand the sense of our Church at present concerning it.

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For this purpose therefore we may first observe that the Communion Service is appointed for the Communion itself, and therefore called the Order for the Administration of the LORD'S. Supper, or Holy Communion. Now our Church supposing, or at least hoping that some of her members will receive this Holy Communion every day, hath taken care that this service may be used every day in the week, as appears from the Rubric immediately before the proper lessons, which is this: "Note also, that "the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel appointed for the Sunday, shall serve all the week after, where it is not in this book otherwise "ordered." But the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel are part of the Communion Service, for which there is no occasion on the weekdays; neither can it be used except the Communion be administered, which therefore is here supposed to be done every day in the week. And so it is also in the celebration of the Communion itself, where there are proper prefaces appointed to be used upon certain days. Upon Christmas-day and seven days after. Upon Easter-day and seven days after. Upon Ascension-day and seven days after. Upon Whit-Sunday and six days after (the next day being Trinity Sunday, which hath one peculiar to itself). Now to what purpose are these prefaces appointed to be used seven days together, or six, none of which can be a Sunday, if the Sacrament ought not to be administered upon all those days, and so upon week days as well as Sundays? They are all, as I intimated before, to be used in the actual Administration of it, and therefore plainly suppose it to be actually administered upon each of those days, which being for the most part neither Sundays nor