Order of Contents
Catechisms 4
General Works 4
Preparation 2
Administration of 3
Common Cup 1
Sitting at the Table 1
Barring from the Table 7
Not a Converting Ordinance 2
Transubstantiation 3
Kneeling Before 1
Rome: Taking the Cup Away 2
Don’t Like Alcohol or Physical Disability? 1
Whether Judas Ate Thereof? 1
Catechisms
Palmer, Herbert – An Endeavor of Making the principles of Christian religion, namely the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Sacraments plain and easy, 1644 47 pages
Sedgwick, Obadiah – A Short Catechism being a brief instruction of the most ignorant before the receiving of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper ToC
Twisse, William – A Brief Catechetical Exposition of Christian Doctrine. Divided into Four Catechisms, comprising the doctrine of the 1. Two Sacraments. 2. Lord’s Prayer. 3. Ten Commandments. 4. And the Creed, 1632 62 pages
General Works
Bolton, Samuel – The Guard of the Tree of Life, or, A Sacramental Discourse showing a Christian’s privilege in approaching to God in ordinances, duty in his sacramental approaches, danger if he do not sanctify God in them ToC Buy
Burroughs, Jeremiah – Gospel Worship, or, the Right Manner of Sanctifying the name of God in general, And particularly in these three great ordinances, namely, 1. Hearing the Word. 2. Receiving the Lords Supper, and 3. Prayer Buy 1647 297 pages
Reynolds, Edward – Meditations on the Holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, 169 pages, 20 Meditations, in Works, vol. 3, pp. 2-171
Vines, Richard – A Treatise of the Institution, Right Administration and Receiving of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, 20 sermons 420 pages
Preparation to Partaking
Burgess, Anthony – A Treatise of Self-Judging, in order to the worthy receiving of the Lord’s Supper. Together with a Sermon of the general Day of Judgement ToC
Tozer, Henry – Directions for a Godly Life, especially for communicating at the Lord’s Table ToC
The Administration of the Lord’s Supper
The Westminster Standards on the Administration of the Lord’s Supper
Excerpts from the Standards, specifically with regard to a Common Cup and Sitting at the Table
Henderson, Alexander – The Order of Ministering the Communion, or, the Lord’s Supper, 6 pages, being The Government and Order of the Church of Scotland, pp. 20-25
Henderson describes the practice of the Church of Scotland in his day, which corresponds to Rutherford’s description below.
Rutherford, Samuel – The Administration of the Lord’s Supper, 1642, 6 paragraphs, being Chapter 20, Article 6 of his A Peaceable and Temperate Plea for Paul’s Presbytery in Scotland
Rutherford describes the Biblically rich way the Church of Scotland practiced the Lord’s Supper during his day, with a preparatory sermon the day before, the singing of psalms, sitting at a table, using a common cup, with Table addresses by the minister, etc.
The Common Cup
George Gillespie on the Common Cup 2 paragraphs
Christ gave the disciples the Common Cup and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves…” Some contemporary presbyterians argue that distributing the wine before hand into individual cups embodies this principle. This is similar to the Independent argument at the Westminster Assembly. Gillespie demonstrates that Christ commanding the dividing of the cup by the communicants themselves (and not the minister) is an act of communion amongst themselves, is participatory, and is not to be passive.
Sitting at the Table
Gillespie, George – Of the Use of a Table in the Lord’s Supper, from his Treatise of Miscellany Questions, ch. 18, 1649, 20 paragraphs, with a four paragraph Introduction by Bobby Phillips. There is also a short appendix on Gillespie on the Common Cup.
This is the fullest and most Biblically detailed article defending the practice. Gillespie gives six arguments for sitting at a table in the Lord’s Supper. See here for a summary of his arguments.
Barring from the Table
Gillespie, George – ‘That 1 Cor. 5 proves excommunication and (by a necessary consequence, even from the Erastian interpretation) suspension from the sacrament of a person unexcommunicated’, 6 pages, being Chapter 7 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming.
Gillespie, George – ‘That if it could be proved that Judas received the Lord’s Supper, it makes nothing against the suspension of known wicked persons from the sacrament’, 4 pages, being Chapter 10 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming.
Gillespie, George – ‘Whether it be a full discharge of duty to [only] admonish a scandalous person of the danger of unworthy communicating; and whether a minister, in giving him the sacrament, after such admonition [and not barring him from the Table], be in no way guilty?’ 6 pages, being chapter 11 of of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming
Gillespie, George – ‘Whether the admission of scandalous and notorious sinners to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper be a pollution and profanation of that holy ordinance? And in what respects it may be so called.’ 6 pages, being chapter 15 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming
Gillespie, George – ‘An argument of Erastus (drawn from the baptism of John), against the excluding of scandalous sinners from the Lord’s Supper, examined.’ 1 page, being chapter 16 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming
Gillespie, George – ‘The Antiquity for the suspension of all scandalous persons from the sacrament, even such as were admitted to other public ordinances’ 8 pages, being chapter 17 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming
Palmer, Herbert – A Full Answer to a Printed Paper entitled, ‘Four Serious Questions concerning excommunication and suspension from the sacrament, etc.’, Wherein the several arguments and texts of scripture produced are particularly and distinctly discussed: and the debarring of ignorant and scandalous persons from the sacrament is vindicated ToC
The Lord’s Supper is not a Converting Ordinance
Gillespie, George – ‘Whether the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper be a converting or regenerating ordinance?’ and ‘Twenty arguments to prove that the Lord’s Supper is not a converting ordinance’, 7 & 9 pages, being chapters 12 & 13 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming
Gillespie, George – ‘Mr. Prynne’s twelve arguments, brought to prove that the Lord’s Supper is a converting ordinance, discussed and answered’, 8 pages, being chapter 14 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming
Transubstantiation
Featley, Daniel – A True Relation of that which passed in a conference, at the end of Paternoster-Rowe, called, Amen, Touching Transubstantiation, April 18, 1623, 1624, 32 pages, the pages are numbered: 117-149.
Kneeling Before the Lord’s Supper
Nye, Phillip – The Lawfulness of Hearing the Public Ministers of the Church of England proved, by Mr. Philip Nye and Mr. John Robinson, two eminent Congregational divines. Together with the judgment of Dr. Goodwin, Dr. Owen, and other independents, as well, ancient as modern, concerning forms of prayer, parish churches, and communion with them, and the judgment of other nonconformists about kneeling at the sacrament Toc
Romanists’ Taking the Cup Away From the People
What if I don’t Like, or have Health Problems to, Alcohol?
Whether Judas Partook of the Lord’s Supper?
Gillespie, George – ‘Whether Judas received the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper’ and ‘Whether Judas received the sacrament of the Passover that night in which our Lord was betrayed’, 12 and 6 pages, being Chapters 8 & 9 of Book 3 of Aaron’s Rod Blossoming
Related Pages
The Administration of the Lord’s Supper
All of the Writings of the Westminster Divines Online
All of the Writings of the Westminster Divines Online by Topic