by them the inward Grace X. Also there are the spiritual invisible and credible yet most true and really present objects of Faith the Body and Blood of Christ that is Christ Jesus himself whom by Faith I consider as suffering for my sins and cast my Soul by the Mercy offered me by the merits of his Death these two materials of the Sacrament are so united that it may truly be said not in a Gross and Physical but Divine and Sacramental sence the Bread and Wine are the Body and Blood of Christ and Christ's Body and Blood are Bread and Wine Joh. 6. Meat indeed and Drink indeed not by transmutation of Nature but by a similitude of vertues and proportionableness of effects by a Sacramental Union and Relation depending upon the Truth Authority and Divine Power of the Institutor Jesus Christ XI Whose appointment of these Elements to such an use or end and uniting them in this near Relation to his Body and Blood by the solemn Consecration of them makes up the firm and true Being of a Sacrament Which requires a Truth and Reality both of the signs and symbols and that which is by them represented and signified also a Truth and Certainty of relation and connexion one with another so that I receive not only Panem Domini the Bread of the Lord but also Panem Dominum my Lord Jesus Christ the true Bread of Life Eternal to my Soul and Body this latter as truly and really as the former together with all the benefits which flow from Christ XII On the other side whoso unpreparedly and irreverently and so un vorthily receives the one contracts a guilt of Damnation for neglect indignity and irreverence offered to the other that is the Body and Blood of Christ which Faith only discerns and receives in this great Mystery and whoso violates and contemns the Seal and authentick Letters of the King becomes guilty of indignity and offence to the Authority and Majesty which is not only restrained to his Person but also in separably anexed to any sign or token by which he is pleased to manifest his Royal Will and pleasure thus rightly informed as I hope in the nature of this Sacrament what it is in it self what it may be to me of how Divine a Mystery and dignity it is in it self to my Soul either of Comsort and Salvation in a worthy receiving or of Guilt and Damnation in an unworthy receiving of it Fifthly How we ought to propare our selves I. Which is by laying my hand upon my heart and feeling how the pulse of my Soul beats whether doth it move as quick now I am thinking of my Maker as it doth when my thoughts are upon the World that which God and my Conscience requires of me is that I consider my self the state and condition of my Soul for what is past of my will and affections for the present of my purpose and intentions for the future to all which it is necessary that I have a regard and by a self-examining see what fitness there is in me answerable to these holy mysteries and the Grace of God by these offered to me and most effectually conveyed except the unpreparedness and indisposition of my heart do frustrate and put an obstacle II. In the contemplation of my self I may not nor can avoid the sight of that which makes me unworthy of God and my self that is my sin and that evil both of my inclinations to which I am conscious I know by long and miserable Experience that in me dwelleth no Good of my self but a Proness to sin at the best oftentimes a violence and power of sin which makes me not only passive as in Temptations but active in the will to do and delight in sin this my Conscience witnesseth with so much truth in so many unhappy instances and with so many just aggravations that nothing appears to me more numerous more unreasonable more to be abhorred than my sins nor more miserable than my self III. I know by an inward and undeniable Dictate that since I have my Being from and dependance upon a higher and better Being than my self it is most just I should be at his Will and disposing whose power is not greater above me than his goodness is abundant towards me and his wisdom perfect in giving laws to me for the ordering my Being according to his Will and Word the perfect rule of holiness and the only and certain way to happiness that nothing can be more injurious injust ingrateful than for a Creature to offend against the will of its Creator who as he is the highest and happiest Good so on the contrary sin in me must needs be the lowest Evil and sink me to the deepest Misery by setting me at an Eternal distance from the Love and Favour of God which is Life it self as an object of his hatred and Eternal displeasure IV. So that when I look upon the deformity of my heart and life comparing them with the Beauty of Reason and Religion wherein the Image of God infinitly appears in Holiness and goodness I have cause to admire that infinite Patience which hath so long witheld the hands of Justice from punishing and damning a Creature doing and deserving so much and to deplore my own depraved and damnable Estate over whom sin so far prevaileth and exerciseth its Tyranny that neither my thoughts words nor actions natural civil nor religious do escape the brand or blemish of it so that it is not only ignorance forgetfulness or suddenness that gives sin advantage against me in many Vanities Passions and Omissions but a Predominancy and high Hand wherewith oftentimes I am led away Captive to sin with such violence that neither the force of Reason nor better Resolutions and Purposes are sufficient to rescue my Soul from the Speculation and Practice of that which should not be thought much less done with the least delight and pleasure since it is displeasing to God V. So that I see not only a habitude and propensity to any sin which is often restrained through want of matter or occasion to make it flame into action but an Empire and rule of some whose power excites by innate disposition and comfirm'd by custom seems to have made an utter conquest of me and does compel me against all my Knowledge Prayers and Vows to exchange my Souls happiness in the Love of God and Christ in Heaven for a moment of earthly content for a sensual imaginary pleasure which when the dream of this Life is past and vanish'd and by that immutable Law of mortality I am compell'd to leave the World and all things in it will betray me to endless and irrecoverable misery In the mean time it estranges my heart from that care intention and delight which I ought to have in holy duties and conversation with God and his Holy Spirit It robs and deprives my Soul of all that joy peace hope and assiance I might have in the service love
Confession O Almighty God whose nature and property is always to have mercy and to forgive receive these my humble petitions made unto thee at this time and though I be tyed and bound by the chains of my sins yet let the pittifulness of thy great mercy loose them through Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer for Faith O Almighty God whose nature is above our reach and whose secret operations no humane reason can conceive give me that faith without which no man can know thee and without which no soul can please thee Lord I believe but to believe unto righteousness O God increase my Faith Concerning the great Sacrament of thy precious body and blood I believe that in the same night that thou O Lord Jesus wast betrayed thou didst give to thy Disciples Bread and Wine which thou didst call thy Body and Blood with a charge to eat and drink and do the same in remembrance of thee for as thou wast upon thy departure thou wouldest leave them and me a sign of thy Body a figure of thy Blood and a memorial oâ— thy bitter Death and bloody Passion lest I should forget thee who wast ready to lay down thy life for me who am the worst and vilest of sinners II. Therefore I take these Elements of Bread and Wine for holy signs of thy Body and Blood believing that though they remain after the Consecration in their substance both Bread and Wine yet they are more than common Bread and Wine being made by prayer and thy holy word the figures of thy Flesh and Blood which in the action and use of the Sacrament are really and effectually taken by the faithful So though I feel and tast Bread and Wine yet by the eye of Faith I eat thy Body and Drink thy Blood in remembrance that thou didst die for me and for all mankind III. O then let the operation of thy blessed Spirit apply to my Soul the merits of thy Death and Passion and O Lord I beseech thee let me love and die in this faith and never be ashamed to confess thy holy name who hath suffered such an ignominious Death for my redemption O let my Soul live and it shall praise thee and magnifie thy all glorious name thou hast said that he that eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood hath eternal life and thou wilt raise him up at the last day O Lord I beseech thee confirm my faith and grant that it fail not either concerning this or any other point of holy mysteries for thine alone sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen Our Father c. Meditations for Fryday Evening on the Holy Sacrament GOD alone who is the author of our life is likewise the object of our trust as being the Fountain and fulness of all our comfort and strength all our grace and holiness all our glory and happiness Wherefore O my God I trust in thee as a Creator to sustain me as a Lord to govern me as a guide to direct me as a rock to defend me and as a Father to succour me all which relations thou hast taken upon thee in a merciful regard to my weakness and wants that thou mightest the more manifestly declare thy goodness and love which goodness and love now seal unto my Soul by a Communion with thee in the Lord Jesus II. And the best way to strengthen our trust in God is by renewing our resignation and when can we more seasonably do it than at our receiving the Blessed Sacrament in which we have exhibited the fulness of Christs merits as the propitiatory Sacrament and atonement for our Souls by whom we have access unto the Father to receive a blessing of pardon and peace of life and salvation from him do we then with all humble devotion make this sincere resignation at the Table of the Lord even offer and present unto God from our hearts as we profess with our tongues offer and present our selves our Souls and Bodies as a reasonable Holy and lively sacrifice unto him casting our selves upon him in the mercy and truth of his promise in the wisdom and power of his providence III. And upon this total resignation he seals us this assurance that he will exercise those his properties imploy those his attributes for our comfort and protection for our support and salvation and this beyond what our wits can design our wishes can desire or our thoughts can conceive and let not any penitent though a languishing Soul be discouraged from this Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there to renew his resignation and strengthen his trust IV. And here this treasury is open in this Blessed Sacrament come and receive of this mercy of thy God dispensed by the bountiful hand of thy Jesus who with that mercy gives his merits his benefits his spirit his whole fulness even himself wherefore rouse up thy Soul to receive the bounty of thy God and of thy Saviour with an humble a thankful and a devout heart not forgetting the price Christ gave for thee to redeem thee from the slavery of Sin and Satan A Prayer for Fryday Evening on the most Holy Sacrament BLessed for ever be thy holy Name O thou God of Infinite Compassions who art both truth and holiness it self in thine Essence and therefore strictly requirest truth and sincerely in the hearts of thy Children and holiness and righteousness in their lives and Conversation look not upon those sinful failings of my Corrupt heart but graciouâ—ly behold me in the righteousness of Christ forgive me my many sinful Complâ—ances with nature abberations from grace and deviations from goodness which have caused these my sinful Errors which might thereby deprive me of present grace and hopes of future Blessedness II. Lord suffer me not any longer thus wretchedly to delude mine own Soul but make me truly such as thou would'st have me to be a zealous and sincere Christian that so my Spirit which for those my Sins thou hast much broken by afflictions may much more abundantly rejoyce in thee by heavenly Consolations Lord accept of these my sinful desires and let my loss of tears repair my loss of truth and loss of time in thy service assist my weakness accept my willingness forgive my sinfulness cherish the blessed motions of thy holy Spirit daily in me and for thy mercy sake remove the danger of my own Corruption from me III. O Lord to thy glory and my own deserved shame I willingly confess that I am most impure and sinful even in the very best of all my holy performances I therefore humbly beg of thee that as thou hast graciously afforded me the light of thy sacred word to discover me unto my self so thou wilt also give unto me the Sword of thy holy Spirit to deliver me from my self deliver me from the evil man O Lord even from the close Corruptions and secret Abominations of mine own evil and Corrupt heart Lord pardon and pass by the many
for the rich it is the staff of our life and signifies that body of thine which thou gavest for the life of the World thou hast by thy holy Mystery made this Bread and Wine spiritual food as well as temporal O Lord I beseech thee let the operation of it be such as to strengthen my soul that it may withstand all Temptations whatsoever and evermore serve thee in spirit and in truth Amen When the Minister breaks the Bread and pours out the Wine use these Meditations O Holy Jesus thy Blessed Body was torn with Nails upon the Cross and thy precious Blood was inhumanely spilt by the Crucifiers but I an unworthy Wretch by my manifold sins have occasioned more torments to thee they Crucified thee but once but I crucifie thee dayly they Crucified thee because they knew thee not but I have known thee what thou art in thy self the Lord of glory and what thou art to me a most tender and Merciful Father and yet I have still continued to Crucifie thee afresh O do thou work in me first a great sorrow for my sins past and then a great hatred and a firm resolution against them for the time to come When the Minister receives in both kinds himself say 1. Thou that hearest Prayers unto thee shall all flesh come 2. Blessed is the Man whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee he shall dwell in thy Court and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy Holy Temple 3. Thou shalt guide me with thy council and after that receive me with glory 4. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble the name of the God of Jacob defend thee 5. Send thee help from the Sanctuary and strengthen the out of Sion 6. The Lord remember all thy offerings and accept this thy Sacrifice 7. Grant thee thy hearts desire and fulfill all thy mind the Lord perform all thy petions which thou hast made at this time both for thy self for us and for all persons 8. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel World without end Amen When the Minister is drawing near thee with the Elements say I adore thee O must righteous Redeemer that thou art pleased to convey unto my soul thy precious Body and Blood with all the benefits of thy Death and Passion I am not worthy O Lord to receive thee but let thy Holy and Blessed Spirit with all his purities prepare for thee a lodging in my Soul where thou mayest unite me to thy self for ever Amen Ejaculations before the Bread This is that Bread which came down from Heaven whosoever eateth shall never hunger Thou dealest thy bread to those which hunger after righteousness O feed my fainting soul with this bread of life O strengthen my heart and hand by a lively faith and open my mouth with fervent desires that I may eat not for bodily sustenance but for spiritual relief and the refreshment of my soul O let my soul feel the spiritual efficacy of thy grace that I may not eat unworthily or to my condemnation O Lord I beseech thee enable and direct me by thy holy and blessed spirit to receive it worthily Amen When the Minister gives the holy bread say softly with him The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for me preserve my body and soul unto everlasting life Here take the bread with reverence then proceed I take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for me and will feed on him in my heart with faith and thanks-giving Then answer audibly Amen After the bread say I give thee hearty thanks O Lord most Holy that thou hast refreshed my soul at this time by my feeding upon thy Body which was broken for me If I had lived innocently and had kept all thy Commandments yet could I have had no proportion of merit to so transcendent a mercy but since I have so loved sin and added transgression to transgression thy mercy is so glorious and infinite that I stand amazed at the consideration of its immensity O let me not throw off this Wedding Garment or stain it with pollution of deadly sin but let me be wholly united to thee being transformed according to thy holy will and life who livest and reignest for ever Amen Or this O Blessed Jesus sanctifie this bread to me that it may be to my Soul the staff of strength whereby I may vanquish and overcome all the assaulis of the Devil the World and the Flesh and continue thy faithful Soldier and Servant to my lifes end Amen Ejaculations before the Cup. 1. The Lord himself is the portion of my Inheritance and of my Cup thou shalt maintain my lot 2. The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground yea I have a goodly heritage 3. I have set God always before me for he is on my right hand therefore I shall not fall 4. Gracious is the Lord and righteous yea our God is merciful 5. What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me 6. I will receive the Cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. 7. I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the living When thou receivest the Cup say after the Minister softly The Blood of my Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for me preserve my body and soul unto everlasting life I drink this in remembrance that Christ's Blood was shed for me and am thankful Amen After the Cup say O how delightful is this Cup to me Blessed Jesus which was so heavy to thee it was thy Agonies and Bloody sweat thy bitter Death and Passion which afforded me this Cup of chearfulness thou didst find it bitter when thou wast appeasing an angry Father but thou hast sweetned it by a reconciliation and hast wrought out my Redemption and Salvation Or this I praise thee I bless thee I glorifie thee O Lord most Holy that thou hast at this time so refreshed my soul and filled me with holy desires O let thy tender mercy always keep me in this happy temper that I may never err nor stray from thy Commandments but keep firm that Covenant which thou hast sealed with thy most precious Blood for my redemption and direct me O Lord and guide me so here that I may be a fit member for thy Heavenly Kingdom hereafter Amen Whilst others are Communicating say I. Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name What greater gift O Lord couldst thou bestow upon me than to give me thy Body for meat thy Blood for drink and to lay down thy life for the price of my redemption What greater mercy than that thou shouldest now enter into me and dwell with me as thou hast promised II. I yield thee humble and hearty thanks most Merciful Father and desire to magnifie thy name for ever for the Holy Death and bitter Passion of thy Son and that great Redemption thou hast wrought for me in him and
wine but substantially flesh and blood besides innumerable monstrous and most absurd Consequences and Contradictions which follow that Opinion which all do infinitely perplex and torture the minds of Christians If the Opinion were granted and all these absurdities swallowed by a wide and enormous Faith yet were there no advantage of Efficacy or Comfort gained to the Receiver by a gross and Carnal Eating and Drinking the body and blood of Christ. III. If those which Crucified him had done so or they who then believed in him when he was slain yet would they not any way have furthered their souls good and life which can no more be fed with carnal and sensible Objects than the body with light and truth which are of a Spiritual nature nor doth this first violent act of faith which they require of a Receiver in believing the essential change of the Bread and Wine into the body and Blood of Christ make a worthy Receiver except his Soul by a further act of Faith apply the virtue and merits of Christ's Death and Passion which is done effectually without the thought of Transubstantiation by that Faith which we say is necessary for a worthy Receiver which doth as clearly perceive and as really receive its proper Objects the Truth and Merits of Christ's Death and Sufferings to which no distance of place or time can be any impediment as the Sence doth its sensible Objects which requires a fit time and distance for perception IV. As for the Sacramental words given in the name of the Body and Blood of Christ to the consecrated Bread and Wine I believe them to be most true in the sense and meaning of our Saviour which sense I do not only guess at or implicitely believe but easily and plainly gather and understand by the like expressions both of our Saviour himself and the stile and phrase of the whole Scripture which never make such substantial predications of one thing to be another by way of transmutation of one into the other but by allusion relation similitude proportion designation of use and Sacramental Union or application no more than the Paschal Lamb which was a Type and Sacrament of Christ and his Sufferings was the very substance of Christ or that Rock on which St. Paul affirms it was Christ or that Christ is to be thought a natural door way vine light c. all which he affirms to be himself by a like manner of speech or more nearer the Cup to be the New Testament c. So that Reason Religion and the Rule of Faith the Holy Scriptures teach Christians to give commodam interpretationem a fit and agreeable interpretation V. Nor can we have a truer interpreter of Christ's meaning than himself who tells us that the Flesh profiteth nothing that is in that carnal and gross acceptation but his words are spiritual and must have a spiritual sense which is suitable to the Nature and Capacity of the Soul the dignity of Chiristan Religion and the sacred Mystery the Propriety of the object of Faith and the stile and tenour of God's Word which never enjoyns us any carnal thing horrible or inhumane For though the Letter may sound so yet the Figure in the words doth relieve our Faith and accommodate a fit and true meaning to such words and expressions nothing being more usual than for the Spirit of God to set forth Spiritual things and duties by corporal notions VI. So that as the Bread and Wine by their natural qualities and vertues are fit to represent the spiritual efficacy of the Body and Blood of Christ yet by a natural power are no whit able to impart to a Communicant the Body and Blood of Christ with the benefits of them to the Soul so that our blessed Saviour hath made choice of them for the First and hath given to them a Sacramental Virtue and a supernatural efficacy for the Second which they truly do as Remembrancers as Signs and Seals really conveying to the believing and prepared Soul by the concurrent Spirit and Power of the Institutor Jesus Christ that which in their nature they do fitly represent VII Which is all that I conceive I need beleive of or expect from this Sacrament which is appointed only to strengthen and confirm that Faith in us by which we believe in Christ crucified for Life and Salvation which Faith grounded on the Word and wrought by the Spirit is first confirmed and sealed by Baptism and may be true and sufficient to save a Christian who never lives to come to the Supper of the Lord nor hath any thought or use of Transubstantiation in this no more than of the substantial change of the Water in Baptism into the Blood of Christ which was never yet dreamed of yet our Saviour tells us Joh. the 6th Except a man eat his Flesh and drink his Blood he cannot have Eternal Life which many have who never eat of the most holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper yet dye believers and by Faith have eaten and drank the Body and Blood of Christ spiritually yet really without which they could not be saved VIII Neither to secure children of Salvation in case they dye before years of discretion need we resume the antient but erroneous practice of the Church now long since abolished by all sides viz. to put the Eucharistical Bread and Wine into the mouths of Infants which Error sprang from the gross and corporeal interpretation of our Saviour's words not considering that every Believer either in the internal disposition which is secretly wrought by the Spirits sanctifying Power in Baptism according to the capacity of the Subject or in the real exercise and actuating of his Faith which comes by Hearing in his riper years must necessarily and doth effectually and really Eat and Drink the Body and Blood of Christ to Salvation though they never come to receive in the Holy Supper so that it is but one Christ his Body and Blood the same Crucified Saviour which is received in both Sacraments and but one Faith for the kind that layes hold and feeds on Christ in them all only it receives degrees and addition of strength in this of the Supper the Word beginning the Life of Faith and by it the Believer into Christ the other maintaining and encreasing it to a further strength and assurance IX We deny not a true and real presence and perception of Christ's Body and Blood in the Sacrament which reality even they of the other gross Opinion do not imagine is to Sence but to Faith which perceives its Objects as really according to the manner of Faiths perception as the senses do theirs after their manner I believe therefore that in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper there are both objects presented to and received by a Worthy Receiver first the Bread and Wine in their own nature and substances distinct do remain as well as their accidents which are the true objects of our sence and fit signs to represent
hast heaped upon me from time to time thy unspeakable favours and loving kindnesses in feeding me at this time with the spiritual food of the Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen III. O Eternal God who vouchsafest to send thine only begotten Son into the World for my redemption and to deliver him up even unto death in remembrance whereof until his second coming he hath commanded me to eat his Body and drink his Blood to the end by Faith I should be united and knit unto his Body and being washed from all my sins lead a new life vouchsafe I humbly beseech thee for his sake to indue me with thy Holy Spirit unto my lives end Amen IV. O Almighty God grant I may cast away all the works of darkness and walk in the true light of thy Holy Gospel Vouchsafe me O Lord an unfeigned desire in being a partaker of this thy Holy institution and that I may lead my life according to thy Heavenly will in all things keeping my body undefiled as a fit receptacle for so Heavenly Food that my soul may enjoy the benefit of the Mystery thereof by Faith according to thy Heavenly providence through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer for all the Communicants that are present O Let us now all magnifie the name of the Lord from the rising of the Sun to the setting of the same Blessed are they who dwell in thy house O Lord and are fed though it be but with the Crums that fall from thy Table We have all now tasted and seen how gracious the Lord is for he hath heard our Prayers and granâ—ed our requests and redeemed us from the slavery of sin and death O that we might never depart from thee but be unwearied in thy service let not our stedfastness which is now fixed pass away as the Morning Cloud or our Devotions fly away as a shadow which hath no continuance but arm us O good Lord against all manner of sin that we may all say with the Kingly Prophet I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous Judgments Direct and guide us O Lord with thy Holy Spirit thy All seeing eye and thy Heavenly hand that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we may fear no evil for thou art with us Amen Meditations out of the Psalms O praise the Lord with me and let us Magnifie his name together I sought the Lord and he heard me yea he delivered me out of all my fears O fear the Lord ye that be his Saints for they that fear him do lack nothing The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles The Lord is nigh unto all them that are of a contrite heart and will save such as be of an humble Spirit Great are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of all He hath not dealt with us after our sin nor rewarded us according to our iniquities For he knoweth whereof we are made he remembreth we are but dust The Lord delivereth the souls of his servants and all they that put their trust in him shall not be destitute Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. A Concluding Prayer I Thank thee O thou great Creator that thou hast at this time given me such a supply of thy Grace whereby I may come to thy Eternal Glory thou hast now entertained me at thy Holy Table and received me with that fatherly affection by speaking peace unto my conscience and saying to my soul thou art my salvation O what reward can I return for these unspeakable mercies I will rejoyce and be exceeding glad admire and celebrate the love of my Saviour O ye Almighty powers it is my duty to extol him to whom you pay all these praises let me for ever Magnifie thy Holy Name O Lord and thy praises for ever shall be in my Mouth for thou only art Holy and it is thy peace alone which passeth all understanding O let it keep my heart and mind in the knowledge and love of thee and of thy Son Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour and let thy favour and blessing O merciful Father with thy Son my only Saviour and the Holy Ghost my only sanctifier remain with we alwaies Amen A Prayer at home the same day O Thou Fountain of everlasting happiness strike my soul with an Holy admiration of thy Divine goodness thou hast of thine infinite Pitty and Compassion to me a poor wretched Sinner received me into the bosom of thy Mercy and art reconciled unto me by the Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ thou hast issued forth a free and full pardon unto me of all my sins and transgressions from that great office of Mercy thou hast opened to thy Church and People and I have now again renewed my Covenant of Love and Allegiance unto thee my God and anâ— again consecrated unto thee in the Holy Blood of the Lord Jesus O let the Holy sense of this thy great goodness and loving kindness rest for ever upon my Soul and oblige my heart for ever unto thee and I beseech thee that thou wâ—lt never leave me nor forsake me but let me walk in the light of thy countenance to my lives end Amen Lastly how to live well a righteous godly and sober life after receiving this most Holy Sacrament Psal 50. 23. Whoso offereth me thanks and praise he honoureth me and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the Salvation of God I. And the better to attain these directions let us follow what the Kingly Prophet layeth down to eschew evil and do good seek peace and ensue it which is the banishing from the Soul all kind of Vices and adorning it with Virtues and this is by becoming a new creature destroying of the image of old earthly Adam and reforming it with the Image of the new Adam our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ II. By this means we attain to that supernatural end for which we were created which is to see Almighty God in his own glory and excellency which that we may all do let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God As soon as you awake in the Morning give the first fruits of thy reason to the Divine Majesty let your memory understanding will and heart discharge their duties let your tongue and mouth hands and arms contribute in offering up this Morning Sacrifice to thy great Creator Which thou mayest do in this manner A Prayer for the Morning O Most Powerful Lord God which sittest upon the Cherubims and stretchest out the Heavens like a Curtain I adore thee my God from the centre of my Nothing with all the Creatures of the Vniverse and come unto thee upon the bended knees of my heart humbly beseeching thee in thy mercy to look upon me and fully to remit unto me all my sins and transgressions whatsoever and give me unfeigned repentance and newness of life for the time to come as thou hast now awakened my body from sleep so I beseech thee awake my soul from sin and carnal security as thou hast caused the light of the day to shine upon my bodily eyes so good Lord cause the light of thy Word and Holy Spirit to illuminate my heart and give me grace to walk in all holy obedience before thy face this day teach me to fear thee continually wheresoever I am to neglect all things in regard of thee to love thee and my Brethren for thy s 〈…〉 ke let whatsoever I do this day be pleasing in thy sight who art my alone Creator let not any temptations this day delude me but O Lord my God be thou ever near me with me and about me to protect preserve and defend me from this time forth and all the days of my life now and for evermore Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Noon O Eternal God every hour of the day will I lift up my heart unto thee stop not thine ear O Lord but hear me and that right soon let me not nourish the disease of sloth in my blood but spend my life as the clouds execute their offices to be still in motion quench and kill O Lord in me the weed of Covetousness and let me not be over careful for my self but pittiful and merciful to those that want Keep my hands clean from touching riches unlawful last with Ahab and Jezabel I commit Murder and shed Naboth's blood to wring from him his Vineyard or with Achan be stoned to death for taking goods that are to me forbidden give me grace to be content with what portion thou hast allowed me and to remember that this is no continuing City but I must seek one to come in which Heavenly Kingdom of thine thou art my portion for ever which God grant me for his Mercy sake Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening O Almighty God the only keeper of Israel who neither slumbrest nor sleepest behold me thy servant who by reason of my sin and the corruption of my nature am wholly subject to sloth and am now even ready to ease and rest my self upon my Bed I know not whether thou wilt this very night make my Bed in the dark and the hour of my visitation be this present Evening my years are but a span long my age is nothing unto thee my days pass like a Weavers shuttle and my life is brought to an end as it were a tale that is told this hour may be my last hour and my next sleep my last and long sleep therefore I beseech thee let me every Evening seriously ponder and meditate and though my eyes sleep yet let my soul continually watch to attend thy coming keep me this night both in body and soul from all mine enemies both visible and invisible now and for evermore Amen Our Father c. FINIS