attended with miraculous effects which have been ceased above twelve hundred years though it impart no gifts yet it communicates Graces which are much more desireable if hereby we gain the Defence of Gods peculiar protecting hand and the influence of his Spirit that we may understand our duty and practise it so as to go on safely to the possession of Eternal Life we shall have cause to rejoice that we came to it and be obliged to give glory to Jesus who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen §. 9. The general Collect and final Blessing Both these Parts of this Office are expounded in the end of the Communion Service The Collect is added here because the Antients believed that Confirmation was a Preservative to both Body and Soul a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Cyril Catech. mystag 3. so that after it we may fitly pray That God may direct sanctifie and govern both our Souls and Bodies so that we may not stray from his Commandments and we make it a new Prayer if we say it with a new Devotion and apply it to this Occasion The Blessing concludes all Offices and particularly ought to end this in regard it is the Epitome of the whole Administration which is only a more solemn Benediction and therefore we must most humbly receive it and most firmly believe it that it may be made good unto us Amen The Conclusion Thus we have represented a Rite in it self Primitive and Pious in its Administration pure and separate from all that Superstition had added to it in its End so excellent that it is commended by Christians of all perswasions and yet alas however it comes to pass too much neglected to the grief of all good Men the scandal of the Church and the great detriment of Religion Wherefore we cannot leave it till we have pressed the constant observation thereof The Romanists indeed pretend to prefer it before Baptism b Hoc sacramentum perfectivum esse Baptismi asserit Aquin. sum 3. p. qu. 72. art 9. majori veneratione venerandum tenendum quam Baptismus Dist 5. de consec can de his but must we give it no honour because they give it too much It is not in our Church set to vye with Baptism but as of old appointed to pursue the same design and ordered to make the Baptismal Vow more solemn and more regarded We do not absolutely deny Salvation to all that want it but we judge it a great sin to despise it or wilfully to neglect it And we think it highly concerns the Church and every particular Person to be careful it be not omitted and that for these Reasons I. Because it tends very much to advance the knowledge of Christian People who are more obliged to teach and to learn when so solemn an Account is to be given II. It conduceth to the encrease of Piety also and lays fresh engagements upon every one to avoid Evil and to do good obtaining withal the Spirit for their assistance therein III. It is an excellent means to preserve the Churches Peace and may prevent many from falling into Schism and Heresie by laying a good foundation at first and by rescuing the younger from the dire misfortune of Evil guides IV. It doth effectually confute the clamours of Anabaptists against our custom of baptizing Children before they can understand for if this be added we have the benefit of Baptism against the danger of Death and yet the same security they pretend to who defer it till riper years V. Hereby we shall agree with the Apostles with the Catholick Church in all Ages with all those wise and holy Men who have enjoined and practised this Rite and believed great benefits were received thereby Which Considerations I hope will have their due effect upon all that are concerned And I. That the Reverend Fathers of the Church will imitate the Piety of the Primitive Bishops and not esteem it a trouble to go into the Country to confirm c Non quidem abnuo hanc esse Ecclesiarum consuetudinem ut ad eos qui longe in minoribus urbibus per Presbyteros Diaconos baptizati sunt Episcopus ad invocationem Sancti Spiritûs manum impositurus excurrat Hieron since they will thereby bring so much good to the Church beget in the minds of the People a singular affection to their Persons and a great Veneration of their Office II. That Parents and Godfathers who stand obliged by the Baptismal Vow will be careful to obtain a discharge from the Bonds they have entred and when they have done their Duty in fitting their Charge for Confirmation I hope they will not repine at a little trouble and charge but rather go to the Bishop than want so great a benefit to themselves and to the Child III. I hope that Ministers will be ready to promote it considering that when they have fitted their Catechumens for this Office and brought them to it they are excellently prepared to receive the benefit of all their after labours and may well hope to give a good account to God of them Finally I wish this serious Advice may encourage all persons who want Confirmation of what Age or condition soever to desire it and wait for an opportunity of it and that it may direct those who come to it to perform their part acceptably and so as to gain the benefits of it And also that it may warn all who have been Confirmed To keep the grace thereof as St. Cyril speaks intire and without spot in their heart daily encreasing in good works and walking in all well-pleasing to the Author of their Salvation Christ Jesus to whom be glory for ever and ever d Cyril Catech. mystag 3. For nothing can more adorn this excellent Rite than the holy Conversation of those who have been partakers thereof FINIS A TABLE Of the chief Heads in the Communion Office Of the Communion Office in general the Analysis of the whole Office PART I.  SECT Parag. Page Of the more general Preparation to the Holy Communion    Of the Lords Prayer I. § 1. 1 the Paraphrase  2 2 Of the Collect for Purity II. 1 3 the Analysis  2 4 the Practical Discourse  3 c. 4 c. the Paraphrase  6 8 Of the Ten Commandments III. 1 9 the Analysis  2  the Practical Discourse containing directions and heads of Self-Examination  3 c. 11 Of the two Collects for the King IV. 1 32 the Analysis of the first  2 34 the Practical Discourse  3 c. 35 the Paraphrase  7 39 the Analysis of the second  9 42 the Paraphrase  10 ib. Of the Epistle and Gospel V. 1 43 and of the Nicene Creed  2 46 the Paraphrase of it  4 50 Of the Offertory and Sentences VI. 1 53 the Analysis of the Sentences  3 58 Discourses
and made us resolve to spare no pains that we may come worthily The Church hath in the next place provided the clearest discovery of the way and means thereunto which can be expressed in so few words This present Sentence is a direction to Repentance which is the preparation that Christ himself requires Math. 3.2 3. A duty that our sinful life makes to be always necessary yet the dignity of this Sacrament requires it should be done with more than ordinary care now so that here is a full description of all its Parts First Examination for sin by the Rule of Gods Commandmenâ—s which 1 Cor. 11.28 is put to signifie all the rest but having largely treated of this before Part. 1. Sect. 3. § 5. c. we shall only add that if we have done this well there will arise from it Secondly A sight of sin for by comparing our lives with the Rule of Gods Law we shall plainly discern wherein we have gone aside in greater or lesser matters and we have not searched enough till we have found out all our ungodly unjust or uncharitable actions all our false or vain filthy or prophane speeches and remembred as many as is possible of our evil malicious covetous wanton and proud thoughts especially if the Will m Fecit quisque quantum voluit Seneca Voluntas facti origo est quae nec tunc quidem liberatur cum aliqua difficultas perpetrationem ejus intercepit Tertul have consented to them for then our thoughts are directly sinful and if we sin in will the outward Act would follow but for want of opportunity And surely the serious consideration of all these will fill our hearts with sorrow and our Eyes with tears which is the third Part viz. Contrition and the bewailing of our own sinfulness The sorrows of David and the Repentance of St. Peter shewed themselves in Floods of tears and were too big to be confined within but we are apt to take off our Eye too soon before we see our guilt or apprehend our misery which makes our hearts so obdurate and unrelenting yet if we lose the favour of our Patron or are despoiled of our goods or follow a dear friend to the Grave we fill the World with our Clamours and bewail our selves with great expression but we offend God and lose our Souls and suffer Satan to rob us of our graces and our hopes and are as unconcerned as that Grecian Boy who was silent and followed his Game while he saw his Fathers House rifled but cryed out when his sport was interrupted If ever we would shed a tear can we have a sadder object can we grieve for any misery that equals this especially shall we be unaffected when unfeigned sorrow will obtain a pardon If the baseness of sin do not move us the goodness of our Heavenly Father methinks should melt us and when we feel the weight then let us ease our selves Fourthly By a sorrowful Confession of our sins in Thought Word and Deed with all their aggravations with shame and a great confusion laying open our sores to our Heavenly Physician and this we must do so as to shew our need and our desire of a Pardon as also to declare that we condemn these our evil doings and resolve never to do the like again n Confessio enim satisfactionis consilium est dissimulatio contumaciae Tert. de poen if we may be forgiven for those that are past for our Confession signifies nothing o Confessio autem Erroris est professio desinendi Raban Maur. de inst Cler. l. 2. if it be separated from Fifthly Unfeigned Purposes of amendment Prov. 28.13 Who would value the submission of him that had injured him unless his Confession of his fault were a testimony of his sorrow and an engagement not to offend again These purposes are the last but the chiefest part of our Repentance without which it will appear our Examination was slight and superficial our sight of sin none at all or very transient our sorrow forced and hypocritical our Confession formal if not odious because to confess and not resolve to amend is to tell the Almighty what we will do not to bewail that which we have already done Wherefore let all the parts of our Repentance aim at and end in these hearty purposes of new obedience And since God hath given us so full directions and so fair an opportunity against this Sacrament and several days time yet to do this in let us resolve to go through all these parts of a true Repentance that so we may have our pardon sealed in this Ordinance and be admitted to renew our Covenant § 9. And if ye shall perceive your offences to be such as are not only against God but also against your Neighbour then ye shall reconcile your selves unto them being ready to make restitution and satisfaction according to the uttermost of your Powers for all injuries and wrongs done by you to any others When we come to Feast with God we must take all possible care that our minds may be like the top of Mount Olympus silent and serene without the least wind or storm of any Passion to disturb it Our Repentance as before must be so sincere as to procure our peace with God and our Charity as we are now directed must be so compleat as to reconcile us to all the World and so neither the amazing fears of Gods anger shall discompose us nor the confused motions of anger p 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo. leg alleg l. 2. or revenge disquiet us nor yet the sense of received injuries disorder our Brethren at this holy Feast of Love For our Lord hath instituted it to unite his friends q Contesseratio est mutuae dilectionis in membris Ecclesiae inter se Tertul. Ignoramus sine pace Communionem Hieron ep 62. in the Bond of inviolable Amity it is the Observation of Cato in Plutarch that publick Festivals r Mensam appara contentio sublata est Proverb Ben. Syrae and common Tables are an excellent means to compose differences and beget Charity and the Fathers believe that our Saviour though speaking in the Jewish Phrase of being reconciled before we offered our gift Math. 5.23 did directly aim at this Sacrament afterward to be established and by those words did enjoin every Communicant to be reconciled to those who had any cause of complaint against them under the penalty of their being rejected by God The Jewish Doctors teach that the Lord will not forgive the injuries between a Man and his Neighbour unless the Persons be first reconciled Hence it was that the Jews were ordered to ask and give mutual forgiveness before the Vespers of the Feast of Expiation and the Primitive Church would not admit those that were at Enmity to this Holy Communion Å¿ Concil Carthag 4. Can. 93. Concil Agathens 2. Can. 31. Now because in all differences there are two parties this Paragraph
forth the Death of Christ and that homage and service which thou commandest us to perform Wherefore Dear Lord be thou pleased with this so sincere though poor acknowledgment not weighing or considering our merits by which we cannot pretend any right to thy acceptance but pardoning our offences which might cause thee to reject us Oh do thou deal thus with us through the Merits and Intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom as our Mediator and with whom as thy only Son in the unity of and together with the Holy Ghost we desire all honour and glory may be given unto thee O Father Almighty both now in this World and for ever in the World which is without end Amen SECT III. Of the second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 1. WHen we communicate often it may be very grateful and sometimes very helpful to our devotion to vary the form for which cause the Church hath supplyed us with an other Prayer that so according to the temper of our spirit we may make our choice This being more full of praises and acknowledgments will be most fit when our minds have a joyful sense of the benefits received in this Sacrament as the former consisting chiefly of Vows and resolutions is more proper when we would express our selves in love or duty And yet we may use either of them at any time because neither doth the former want Thanksgivings nor this Petitions for Grace The Composition of this also is regular and judicious pious and extracted out of antient forms and as the former Prayer it will not only serve to close our Devotions within the Temple a Non est vera Religio quae cum templo relinquitur Lactantius but it offers very useful Meditations for the Closet also after we return home as the ensuing method will demonstrate The Analysis of the Second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 2. This Second Prayer consists of Four Parts 1. A hearty Thanksgiving for the present Favour describing 1. The Object of our Praise Almighty and everlasting God we most heartily thank thee 2. The Subject thereof for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual Food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ 2. A free Confession of the Benefits assured thereby 1. In possession 1. The Love of God And dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us 2. Union with the Saints and that we are very Members incorporate into the mystical Body of thy Son which is the blessed Company of all faithful People 2. In reversion Eternal Life And are also Heirs through hope of thy everlasting Kingdom by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy dear Son 3. An humble Petition that we may retain them shewing 1. The Thing requested And we most humbly beseech thee O heavenly Father so to assist us with thy Grace 2. The Ends why we do request it viz. for 1. Perseverance that we may continue in that holy Fellowship 2. Fruitfulness and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in 3. The Motive to obtain it Through Iesus Christ our Lord 4. A concluding Doxologie to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory world without end Amen A Practical Discourse upon the second Prayer with Meditations after the Communion § 3. Almighty and everliving God we most heartily thank thee for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ This Act of Thanksgiving may be expressed in various words but it must not be omitted after the Communion and therefore it is put into both these forms We ought not at any time rudely to ask for blessings from God until we have prepared the way by Praises b Arrogans oratio si ab homine quid petiturus dicas statim da mihi hoc Peto Debet inchoari oratio à laude Dei ut sequatur supplicatio Ambr. de Sacr. l. 6. c. 5. But having so lately received so great mercy it would be unsufferable to pray for more till we have acknowledged that which is already bestowed on us And by confessing the former mercy in the very entrance of this Prayer we do both encourage our selves to ask and expect further blessings c Sequentium rerum certitudo est praeteritorum exhibitio Greg. in Evang. hom 1. and we do also by our gratitude engage the Almighty to give us more d Ascensus gratiarum descensus gratias Cassiod Efficacissimum genus est rogandi gratias agere Plin. Paneg. Indignus est dandis qui ingratus est pro datis Aug. de temp 112. Besides the very gift it self now imparted to us is the greatest and the best the most sweet and most necessary for us in the World we bless God for our daily Bread our common food how much more then ought we to praise him for this spiritual food which nourisheth our Souls unto life everlasting True it is that carnal and unworthy Receivers have little cause of joy e Sacrificia non sanctificant hominem non enim indiget Deus sacrificio sed conscientia ejus qui offert sanctificat hominem pura existens Irenae l. 4. c. 34. for they have eat the Bread and drank the Wine not discerning the Lords Body and Blood but those that prepared themselves by Repentance and received by Faith those I say have fed upon the spiritual part and therefore they have the most reason with all their powers to bless the Lord in this wise An Act of Thanksgiving It is a mighty favour to me O my God that thou hast made bread to grow out of the Earth to nourish my mortal body but O how far hast thou transcended that mercy in giving me the Bread of Life from Heaven to feed my immortal Soul Whom was there in Heaven or Earth that I could have wished for in comparison of Jesus Christ and now thou hast given him to me whom my Soul longed for and in him thou hast given me all for he is all in all He is the fairest of ten thousand for whose sake I will trample upon all that this World accounts desirable O my Soul bless thou the Lord I came not to gaze at or taste of the outward part but to satisfie the longings of my sin-sick Soul by laying hold of the merits of a Crucified Saviour yet I have received the Sacred Elements and thou hast made them to me that which I needed and desired even the Body and Blood of thy Son I have received his flesh in Sacrament but his grace in reality f Ideo in similitudine quidem accipis sacramentum sed verae naturae gratiam virtutemque consequeâ—is Ambr. de sacr l. 6. And O how it fills my Soul with joy to behold thy Majesty
stedfast and unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord. And I beseech thee give me constant and continual supplies of thy Grace that I may be able to perform whatsoever I have promised and let not forgetfulness or indevotion seize upon me hereafter Let me hold fast that which I have and daily strive to gain more and finally make me faithful to the Death so shall I receive the Crown of Life for he that endureth to the end shall be saved Amen § 8. Through Iesus Christ our Lord to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory World without end Amen There is a mighty efficacy in the name of Jesus used by a devout Soul that hath lately beheld the Commemoration of his great Attonement Through him we beg this Grace therefore And to him together with the Father and the blessed Spirit we offer up all honour and glory for the favours imparted to us in this Communion which but just now we did acknowledge and these Prayers and Praises we have cause to sign with an unfeigned Amen For we need the grace desired and the blessed Trinity deserves the glory ascribed wherefore we say Amen So be it But of this we have spoken before The Paraphrase of the second Prayer O Lord who art ever able and always ready to help thy servants being an Almighty and everliving God whose power and mercy can never fail We thy poor Creatures according to our bounden duty do most heartily thank and most unfeignedly praise thee for that of thy infinite pitty and bounty thou dost vouchsafe at this thy holy Table to feed us who have with penitence and Faith devoutly and duly received these holy Mysteries For therein thou hast refreshed our Souls with the spiritual and most desirable food of life thou hast made us Partakers by Faith of the most precious Body and of the most holy blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ which was offered for the Redemption of the whole World We acknowledge O Lord that besides the present comfort of this inestimable gift thou hast convinced us And dost assure us thereby of that which though we do not deserve yet we esteem above all things even thy favour thy gracious designs and goodness towards us poor Sinners And further by this holy Rite thou hast declared us thy Children and that we are very certainly living Members incorporate in and united unto the mystical Body of thy Son even thy Holy Church which is the blessed Company which are redeemed reconciled and sanctifyed by Jesus consisting of all faithful People in whose Prayers Priviledges and hopes we have now a happy interest And are also together with those thy servants by this Seal of thy Covenant made Heirs through hope already of thy Everlasting Kingdom which was purchased by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy Dear Son whose sufferings are set forth and the benefits of them conveyed to us in this Sacrament And now lest we should lose these blessings again by relapsing to folly as we have formerly done We most humbly and earnestly beseech thee O Heavenly Father for thy mercy sake so constantly and powerfully to assist us with thy grace in all our endeavours to perform our Obligations and our Vows that we may continue for ever in that holy fellowship with thy Son and thy Saints to which thou hast admitted us And do all such good works of Mercy Piety and Vertue as thou hast by the direction of thy holy Word prepared for us to walk in who have professed our selves to be thy Servants All which we beg through the most powerful intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom we have received these and all other Mercies To whom therefore with thee O Father Almighty and the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God let there be all honour and glory ascribed both now and World without end Amen Be it so SECT IV. Of the Gloria in Excelsis or the Angelick Hymn § 1. TO conclude this Office with an Hymn is so direct an imitation of our Saviours practice Math. 26.30 that it is observed in all Churches and hath been used in all Ages And although the forms may differ yet this is as Antient as any now Extant The former part of it is of an Heavenly Original and was sung by the Angels at our Lords Nativity Luke 2.14 and it seems from thence it was transcribed into the Oriental Liturgies for it is thrice repeated in that of St. James The latter part is by Hug. de S. Victor l. 2. said to be composed by St. Hilary Bishop of Poictiers but by Rabanus Maurus who lived 200. years before the said Hugo it is ascribed to Telesphorus about the year of Christ 139. Certain it is that it was added by the Ecclesiastical Doctors as we are informed by the fourth Council of Toledo a Concil Tolet. IV. Can. XII celebrated about 1000. years ago and yet those are accursed by that Council who shall reject this or the Gloria Patri or other Hymns because they are not verbatim in the Scripture for as is there well noted upon that pretence we might reject the most part of the Church Offices It is also to be noted that with very little difference we find this Hymn in Clement's Constitutions l. 17. cap. 48. so that it is likely to have been of very antient use in the Western Church And whereas in the present Roman Missal it stands in the beginning of this Office it is much more properly placed by our Liturgy here in the end of the Communion for every devout Communicant is now even full of gratitude and longeth for an opportunity to pour out his Soul in the praises of God and how fit this Hymn is for that purpose the Analysis and following discourse will shew The Analysis of the Angelick Hymn or Gloria in Excelsis § 2. The Angelick Hymn hath Two Parts 1. The Angels Song acknowledging 1. The Effect of Christs Death 1. Above Glory be to God on High and 2. Below in Earth Peace 2. The moving Cause of it good will towards Men. 2. A Descant upon it by 1. A Glorification of the Father expressing 1. The Manner how we offer this Praise We praise thee we bless thee we worship thee we glorifie thee we give thanks unto thee 2. The Reason why for thy great Glory 3. The Person to whom O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty 2. A Supplication to the Son who is 1. Confessed in his Titles O Lord the only begotten Son Iesu Christ O Lord God Lamb of God Son of the Father 2. Invocated by his 1. Office to 1. Pardon that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon us Thou that takest away c. have mercy c. 2. Hear us Thou that takest away the sins of the World receive our Prayer 2. By his Glory also to pardon us Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father
may fitly be used when we fear or feel any Temptation to Sin as the other when we apprehended any danger For so long as our hearts and bodies are kept in the ways of Righteousness we may be assured of universal and continual safety The Paraphrase of the Second Prayer O Almighty Lord Eternal and Everlasting God whose Power is infinite and always the same Remember the frailty of us thy finite Creatures and vouchsafe we beseech thee to keep us wholly and throughout h 1 Thessal 5.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl Direct by thy Wisdom sanctifie by thy grace and govern by thy Providence both the affections of our hearts where sin is wont to begin i Spiritus enim dominatur caro famulatur Tertul. de Bapt. and the members of our Bodies by which it is too often accomplished Keeping them both in the right and pleasant ways of thy Laws assisting them in the duties and in the holy and good works of thy Commandments Let us never stray from thy sure paths so that through thy most mighty Protection which is always over those that are exercised in well-doing Both here in this present life and ever hereafter We may be preserved from all sin and danger and kept safe both in Body and Soul until we come to thy Kingdom Which we beg through his merits who is our Lord to govern us and our Saviour to deliver us even for Iesus Christ his sake Amen III. A Prayer for a Blessing upon the Word of God § 4. This short Collect is of excellent use after the Sermon or Lessons in publick as also when the Scripture hath been read in private And because it is not the hearing of Gods word with our Ears but the engrafting it in our hearts James 1.21 which makes it powerful to our Salvation we ought always after it to pray as here 1. That it may take root in our hearts 2. That it may spring forth in our lives The Paraphrase of the third Prayer O Lord we have brought forth little fruit of all the excellent things which we have hitherto heard Grant we beseech thee therefore O Almighty God who only givest increase to this spiritual Seed k 1 Corinth 3.6 Cathedram in coelo habet qui corda docet Aug. in Ep. Johan That the words which we have heard this day Preached or read out of holy Scripture with our outward Ears which are so apt to let good things slip l Nec retinent patulae commissa fidelitèr aures Pauci illam quam conceperunt mentem domum perferre potuerunt Sen. ep 108. even that they may through the working of thy Grace which quickens all things be so grafted and planted m James 1.23 Graec. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Syriac plantatum benè nam Verbum Dei saepe confertur semini Math. 13. c. inwardly in our very hearts and affections that they may never be forgotten but take root there and bring forth in us so plentifully that our whole Conversation may abound in the fruit n Coloss 1.6 James 1.22 of good works Which blessed effect of thy Word we pray for because it will not only tend to our benefit but to the spreading of the Honour and setting forth the Praise of thy Name who hast so happily reformed our ways Do thou therefore thus teach us through the merits and for the sake of Iesus Christ our Lord be it so Amen IV. A Prayer for Success in all our actions § 5. If we acknowledge Gods Providence we must undertake nothing till we have first asked his Counsel to direct us o Ita Scipio referente Plutar. Et ap Platon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Timae and as we go on we must call for his assistance to further us and when we have done we must wait for his blessing to Crown all with success All which we are taught to do in this compendious and pious form which is never unseasonable but very fit to be used especially in the Morning before we begin our work The Paraphrase of the fourth Prayer O God our ways are not in our own Power p Jer. 10.23 wherefore we commit them to thee who art able to bring them to pass q Psal 37.5 And be thou pleased to Prevent r Prevent vex media Psal 88.13 in malo sensu Psal 18.18 in bono 21.3 Psal 59.10 Bonitas tua O Deus meus antevertat Vulg. praeveniet me Vatabl. Psal 79.10 Vulg. Antevertat nos Misericordia tua Vide item Hammond Psal 21. ver 3. Annot. b. us O Lord before we expect it in the beginning of all our doings and come early to meet us before hand with thy most gracious savour so that we may begin things pleasing and then as we go on further us all the way with thy continual help And leave us not till we have accomplished them by thy prospering our endeavours Å¿ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Demosthen Olynth 2. So that in the performance of all our works since they are Begun by thee and thy direction continued through thee and thy assistance and ended t Hinc omne principium huc refer exitum Horat. Carm. l. 3. Od. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato in thee and with thy blessing We may have continual cause to glorifie and speak good of thy holy Name when we find how we prosper by trusting in thee And finally having advanced thy Glory in this short life let us though unworthy and without any merit in our selves yet by thy mercy obtain that everlasting life where we may praise thee for ever through Iesus Christ our Lord for whose sake we beseech thee to hear us Amen V. A Prayer to supply the defects of our other Devotions § 6. When St. Paul had asked all he could for his Ephesians he commits them to him that was able to do more for them than he could ask or think u Ephes 3.20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl And from thence we have taken this suppletory Prayer being very proper for the beginning or ending of publick or private Supplications because it sets before us 1. The incomparable Wisdom of God 2. Our own Imperfections And thence deduceth 1. A general Petition for Compassion as to all the defects of our Prayers 2. A particular request for the adding of that which we omitted The Paraphrase of the fifth Prayer x Note this Prayer is very proper to be said to our selves when we kneel down at our first coming into the Church to Prayers O Almighty God the Original of all Power and the fountain of all Wâ—sâ—om y Proverbs 2.6 We make not our Prayers to instruct thee z Math. 6.32 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl who knowest our necessities and all our wants before we ask of thee to supply them And who discernest our Ignorance and folly in asking hurtful things because we do not well know what is good for ourselves
est sed tibi gratia cui gratia est ipsa justitia Aug. ep 105. ad Sixt. Presb. yet shall be bestowed by the Mercy of the Master upon all that are so qualified Let us then earnestly beseech this blessed Lord who is the Fountain of eternal goodness and doth govern and dispose of all things to give abundant grace to this his new Servant so that it may have the comfort of these graces here and the reward of them hereafter through his Mercy which Crowneth in us that which he hath first given to us for Jesus sake Amen §. 2. The Prayer of Consecration Almighty and everliving God whose most dearly beloved Son Iesus Christ c. The word of God teacheth us that the World was darkness and a Chaos until the Spirit moved upon the face of the Waters Gen. 1.2 from whence the rude and indigested matter received a quickning influence which produced that beauty and order which we now behold And as it was in the first Creation and Generation of all things so it is in the new Creation and Regeneration of a Christian the Spirit moving upon the Waters of Baptism giveth Light and Life and bringeth in order and comeliness instead of the confusion and darkness which Sin had caused wherefore since there is so great a work to be done by the Spirit we must most humbly beseech that the holy Spirit may return to its antient seat as Tertullian speaks It is true our Lord Jesus did sanctifie Water in general to the mystical washing away of Sin but when this particular Water is to be used in so sacred a Ministry and to so admirable purposes it is necessary it should first be sanctified by the word of God and Prayer 1 Timoth. 4.5 that is by repeating the Words of Christs Institution and by Petitioning for the descent of the Holy Spirit which are the two Parts of this Prayer Yet if any shall ask why we Consecrate the Water and where we have an express command in Scripture for it S. Basil g Benedicimus Aquam baptismatis ex quâ autem Scripturâ nonne ex tacitâ traditione Basil de Spir. Sanc. cap. 27. Answers We do this as well as many other weighty things because of the Constant Tradition and continual Practice of the Church which is a sufficient Warrant in matters so reasonable and pious as this is Now that the Primitive Christians did always use a Prayer for the Consecrating of the Water doth appear by many Witnesses h Oportet vero mundari sanctificari Aqua priùs à sacerdote ut possit baptismo suo peccata hominis qui baptizatur abluere Cypr. l. 1. ep 21. Venit sacerdos Precem dicit ad fontem invocavit Patris nomen Praesentiam filii Spiritûs Sancti Vtitur verbis coelestibus Quod baptizemus in Nomine Patris Filii Spiritûs Sancti Ambros de sacr l. 2. c. 5. In Ecclesia Aqua sacerdotis prece sanctificatur Aug. de bapt in Donat. and which is more their Prayer did consist of two principal Parts as ours also doth viz. 1. The repetition of Christs Word Math. 27.19 and a Petition for the Holy Spirit Only the present form is somewhat fuller having First a Typical Allusion as to the Original of Baptism Secondly A recital of the Institution thereof Thirdly A double request grounded on these premises 1. For the sanctifying of the Water 2. For the right disposition of the Child to receive the benefits conveyed thereby 1. This great Petition is introduced by remembring a remarkable passage in the Passion of Christ viz. the flowing of blood and Water from his holy side as he was hanging on the Cross which the Fathers say was from no natural cause but that it was miraculous and a mystery designed to signifie that as Sin had entred into the World by the Woman made by a wound in Adams side So Salvation came in by the two Sacraments of Water and Blood i Aqua ad lavacrum sanguis ad potum Ambros de virgin ad Marcellin l. 3. idem in Luc. 23. de Sacram. l. 5. c. 1. item Tertul. de bapt c. 16. which flowed from the side of the second Adam and therefore we follow Antiquity in this application and encourage our selves to expect great things from him whose suffering did occasion this Mystery and who poured out his hearts blood for us 2. Our Lord did not only figure this Sacrament in a mystical manner but after his Resurrection by a plain and express Commission made it a perpetual Sanction That all Nations should be Baptized in the Name of the Father c. Math. 28.19 Wherefore since it is by his Command that we go about this Mystery we do repeat the Words of our Commission to shew that we expect the inward part and the efficacy of all from him who set us upon the work And since he is God blessed for ever and now also glorified and invested with all Power in Heaven and Earth Math. 28.18 we believe his words k Accedat verbum ad Elementum fit Sacramentum Augustin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dictum Oraculi Pythii ap Herodot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo de sacrif Abel are sufficient to effect whatsoever he would have done in Baptism There are many believe that in this as well as the other Sacrament the Consecration is made by the divine efficacy of the words of Christ Yet that we may not rest in the repetition of the Syllables only 3. Here is added the requests of the whole Congregation who are all bound to join in this great request that it may be the more prevalent when so many who are already Christian do beg the holy Spirit for the making these Waters effectual to the party now to be baptized And the two former particulars do add much strength to this Petition which we may thus Express O thou who didst so livelily typifie this sacred Ordinance in thy Passion and so plainly institute it after thy Resurrection let us not want thy Presence and thy influence now that we are going about it by express Commission from thee Behold we do all unite our most fervent desires that thou wilt by this Water effect that which far transcends all humane Power Amen Now the things desired are two First That whereas this which we have provided is but common Water yet upon our humble supplication he will send down his Holy Spirit upon it l 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. 3. Ita de sancto viz. Spiritu sanctificata natura aquarum ipsa sanctificare concepit Tertul. de bapt c. 4. that it may signifie operate and effect all that ever any Soul received in this holy Laver and convey all the blessings of Baptism unto this Child We do not desire nor expect the Water should be changed in substance but only sanctifyed to a new purpose and impregnated with a spiritual property for the mystical washing away of Sin And