Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	good_a	time_n	write_v	3,034	5	5.1689	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82006	The great duty of communicating explain'd and enforc'd, the objections against it answer'd, and the necessary preparation for it stated With devotions to be us'd before, at, and after the Lord's Supper. By the author of The duties of the closet.	Dawes, William, Sir, 1671-1724.	1700 (1700)	Wing D455B; ESTC R229669	29,052	50

that Repentance Faith and Charity are necessary qualifications for the worthy receiving of the Lord's Supper That they are the only necessary ones is very plain because they are all that is necessary to Salvation all that is necessary to give a Man a Title to all the Promises and Blessings of the Gospel and certainly more cannot be necessary to fit a Man for the Lord's Supper than to fit him for Heaven to fit him for the seal of the Promises than for the Promises themselves But here I shall be asked If this be all the preparation necessary how comes it to pass that we have so many Sermons preached and Books written about setting apart some time suppose a week for private Devotion and Examination every time before we receive the Lords Supper How comes it to pass that many very good men if they happen to be disturbed by any worldly business so that they cannot attend this their weekly preparation look upon themselves as unfit for that time to attend the holy Communion To this I answer First that I told you before that there was a preparation tho not absolutely necessary yet under some circumstances expedient and adviseable Where men have time and other opportunities it is very commendable in them to do all they can by reading the Scriptures and other good books and by prayer and other exercises of Devotion to excite and encourage to actuate and quicken all their graces and virtues that so they may appear in their best Robes at their Lord's Table This is such a piece of respect to God and our Saviour as cannot fail of being well accepted of them But then Secondly We must be careful not to carry this matter too far and make other necessary conditions of communicating worthily besides what God has made He has no where commanded us to say a certain number of prayers to fast so many days and to ask our selves just so many questions before we communicate nor doth the nature of our duty require any such thing of us And if our Spiritual Pastors have put us upon these things they have done it as a matter of prudence and good advice and not of necessity and absolute Duty at least if they have not they have gone beyond their commission and departed from the Doctrine of the Church which solemnly invites all such as do truly and earnestly repent them of their sins and are in love and charity with their neighbours and intend to lead a new life following the commandment● of God and walking from henceforth in his holy ways t0 draw near with Faith and take this Holy Sacrament to their comfort without asking them whether they have made any farther preparation Lastly As for those who refrain from coming to the Lords Supper because they have been hinderd frem making this particular preparation let them be never so good and never so wise in other things yet in this I praise them not For certainly it is an argument of a weak mind and not of a sound Judgment for men to make to themselves duties which God and Reason have not made it is Superstition and not Religion for men to place their duty in little niceties and punctilio's and to overlook the weightier matters of the Law And yet this they certainly do who excuse themselves from the great and important duty of communicating purely upon account of their not having perform'd some little forms and exercises which nothing but their own fancies and other mens imprudent discourses and examples have made duties Besides they do by this means debar themselves from the great and inexpressible benefits of communicating they omit a most happy occasion of glorifying God and their Saviour and doing good to their brethren and themselves only to humour groundless scruples and unreasonable curiosities Nay even themselves at other times condemn themselves they can readily come to other Ordinances as praying hearing the word c. without any such preparation as this and yet this would be every whit as commendable here as for the Holy Sacrament We may hear and pray as well as receive unworthily and yet this they seem not to be much concern'd about which plainly shows that they are guided in this matter more by example and fancy than Reason and Religion The summ of all is this We cannot possibly by any preparation make ourselves too pure and devout Guests for the Lords Table and therefore when we have opportunity it will highly become us by prayer and other such means to trim and deck our selves for it But still we must always remember that the great and only necessary preparation is Repentance Faith and Charity a pure innocent mind a firm and stedfast faith in Christ an ardent and impartial affection to our Brethren Without these all other preparations are vain and of no account and with these we are fit guests to receive the Lords Supper where-ever we meet it tho never so unexpectedly and without the least warning He who is possess'd of these Divine Graces is always fit without any further preparation for Death and Heaven and then undoubtedly fit for any means and ordinances of Religion whatsoever But here I shall be ask'd how a man can know hat he is thus prepar'd I answer his own mind must tell him and if he doth but consult it honestly and with sincerity it will No body but himself can inform him whether he be in temper and disposition in firm purpose and resolution to quit all his sins without the least reserve and to endeavour to the utmost of his power to live for the future as becometh the Gospel of Christ No body can tell him what he believeth what he unfeignedly acknowledgeth to be true but himself nor can any other be able to inform him whether he heartily forgiveth all men their trespasses and is ready upon all occasions to do them the most good he can No man knoweth the heart of a man but himself and he may know it if he be faithful to himself Otherwise we are in vain call'd upon in Scripture to examine ourselves to try our thoughts and consult our Consciences Well but you have formerly examin'd your self and thought your self rightly dispos'd in all these points but you found by your after-behaviour that you deceiv'd your self and therefore how shall you trust your self again I answer the more sensible you are of any mistake you have formerly made in this matter the more heedful and watchful over your self ought you to be for the future It may be your heart was in right temper before when you thought it so but you let it slide back afterwards therefore though you think you stand now take heed lest you fall It may be you were careless and remiss in examining your self before and then it is no wonder that you found your self mistaken therefore be strict and severe with thy self now that thou may'st be mistaken no more But may you venture to go to the Sacrament immediately