ridiculous Consequences That our Saviour did eat his own Body and gave it to his Disciples to eat making Christians the worst of Cannibals to eat their God a thousand times over * Eoquem tam amentem esse putas qui illud quo vescatur credat Deum esse Tully de natura Deorum implying penetration of dimensions contradicting the very Nature of a Body which cannot be in two places at the same time †Rubrick after Communion much less in Earth and Heaven contradicting our Saviour's own Words that we should not have him always ‖ St. Mat. 26. 11. that is his Body with us tho' in his Divinity his Spirit his Power his Graces he 's with the Church to the End of the World * St. Mat. 28. 20. contrary to the End of the Institution which was to be a Memorial of his Body broken and Blood shed for us contrary to the Words of the Apostle †1 Cor. 11. 26 27 28. who calls it Bread and Wine after Consecration thrice in one Chapter ‖ Vide supra For which Reasons and many others that might be alledged our Church declares in her Twenty Eighth Article of the Lord's Supper That Transubstantiation or the Change of the Substance of the Bread and Wine in the Supper of the Lord cannot be proved in Holy Writ but it is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture overthroweth the Nature of a Sacrament and hath given occasion to many Superstitions § XIV But how is it then called the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ and in what Sense is he present there and how are the faithful said therein to eat his Body and drink his Blood both by the antient Fathers and by our own Church and most other Protestants of all denominations * Lutherans Calvin Beza Assemb Catechism great and less Cranmer Ridley Communion Service English Tigur Liturg. c. That this is true in some Sense is evident from Holy Scripture it self as well as from the Consent of all Christian Churches Our Saviour said This is my Body and this is my Blood And the Apostle * 1 Cor. 10. 16. The Cup of Blessing is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread of the Body of Christ And to the same purpose in the next Chapter Thus our fore-mentioned Article That the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ and the Cup of Blessing a partaking of the Blood of Christ. And in the Catechism that the inward part or thing signified in the sacrament is The Body and Blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper And the like in several places in the Communion-Office From all which it appears how little Reason our Adversaries have to brand us for Sacramentarians or such as deny the Body and Blood of Christ in a sound Sense to be received in the Lord's Supper § XV. But what Sense that is we come now to enquire First The Symbols the very Bread and Wine are in a figurative typical and sacramental Sense the Body and Blood of our Saviour They are more than a bare or ordinary Figure they do really and actually from their Institution represent and exhibit Christ's Death unto us as did the Paschal Lamb the delivery of the Iews out of Egypt This our Church affirms in her Homily of the Sacrament Part I. That we must be sure to hold that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain Ceremony no untrue Figure of a thing absent but the Bread and Cup of the Lord the Memory of Christ the Annunciation of his Death c. § XVI But there 's yet more in it for 2. There is in the Blessed Sacrament a real spiritual presence of the Body and Blood of our Saviour to every faithful Receiver Christ as to his Divinity is every where and more effectually and graciously present to his own Institutions and will make his Promise good to be with his Church to the End of the World * St. Mat. 28. 20. and doubtless is so in this Sacrament as well as in the other of Baptism and herein he conveys all the real Benefits obtained by his Sufferings to every faithful Receiver His Natural Body is in Heaven where it will remain till he comes to Iudgment He is spiritually present in the Sacrament present by Faith to our Spirits The fore-mentioned Homily tells us that in the Supper of the Lord we are not only to hold that there is a Memory of Christ's Death but that there is likewise the Communion of his Body and Blood in a marvellous Incorporation wrought in the Souls of the faithful And again If God hath purified our hearts by Faith we do at this Table receive not only the outward Sacrament but the spiritual thing also not the Figure but the Truth not the Shadow only but the Body And to the same purpose our Learned Bishop Iewell That not the naked Figure and bare Sign and Token only but Christ's Body and Blood are verily and indeed given unto us in the Sacrament we verily eat it and drink it and live by it and thereby Christ dwells in us and we in him Yet he goes on ' We say not that the Substance of Bread and Wine is done away or that Christ's Body is fleshly present in the Sacrament but we lift up our hearts to Heaven there to feed on him Tho' by the way What need would there have been of the Sursum Corda or Invitation to the People in the Primitive Church to lift up their Hearts to Christ in Heaven if whole Christ God and Man were actually present upon the Altar § XVII But neither the Apostles nor the Primitive Church nor our Church of England ever held that the Sacrament was so much as in this latter Sense the Body and Blood of Christ to all that received but only to the faithful Receivers For those who received unworthily the Apostle tells us they were guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord therefore surely they did not properly communicate of his Body and Blood which he that does has eternal Life nay they did eat and drink their own Iudgment or Condemnation not discerning the Lords Body And to the same purpose is that famous saying of one of the Fathers That the Wicked do only press with their Teeth the Sacrament or outward Sign of the Lords Body but do not really communicate in it Neither did the Fathers ever think that we were to eat the Flesh of Christ in a gross carnal Capernaitical sense whatever high Expressions they may have sometime used concerning this Mystery wherein they may have been followed by devout modern Writers Hear one for all 'T is St. Augustine de Doctrinâ Christianâ Lib. 3. Cap. 16. where in his Rules for interpreting Scripture he instances in that Text which has been so much controverted of late years the 6th of
Manna that Angel's Food of Ioy in Believing the pleasures of God's House and Table the Fruits of the Tree of Life the foretasts of Heaven for which he pants as the thirsty Hart does after the refreshing Streams being fully perswaded by Reason Experience and Scripture that Ioy in the Holy Ghost and Fellowship with the Father and the Son are something more than Enthusiastical Fancies that God can communicate himself to his Creatures in what measure and by what means he pleases and that his own Institutions are those means whereby he does thus communicate himself to prepar'd and holy Minds and therefore he cannot rest in the outward only but prays for the Light of God's Countenance and the Ioy of his Salvation which make up so great a part of the Happiness of Heaven and when he has thus tasted how good the Lord is he cannot but be entirely thankful for it But yet neither does he estimate his Profit in any religious Duty or the presence of God in them by these sensible Ioys only He knows our weak Nature is neither able long to bear them nor is often fit for them He expects not all Canaan while on this side Iordan tho' he cannot but be delighted with a taste sometimes of the Fruits of that happy Country He believes he has then Benefit by any Duty and particularly by this Sacrament and that then God is present with him in it when he finds that he is thereby more settled in his Faith his Hope and his Obedience more rooted and grounded in Holy Love both to God and his Christian Brother when he finds his will more submissive and entirely resigned to God's Sovereign Will and the Duties of Religion growing gradually more easie and as it were natural and delightful to him And consequently he cannot be so well satisfied of his profiting by a Sacrament immediately after he has received for he expects it not all at once as at some distance of time when the Grace he then received is as it were digested in his Mind and spreads it self thro' all the Parts and Offices of an holy Life § IV. After examining the Frame of our Minds at the past Communion we are in the next place exactly to reflect on those Holy Vows and Resolves which we have made at God's Altar whether against Passion Impurity Intemperance immoderate Love to the World neglect of Sacraments or of publick private or Family Devotion or of the Souls of those whom God's Providence has committed to our Charge or any other failure whereof we found our selves guilty in our former Preparation and Examination and which we have anew vowed against at the Communion all which Vows if we did now again solemnly renew and implore and expect the continuance of Divine Strength to perform them and consider the means to obtain and preserve it we should doubtless find great Advantage by it especially if we renewed the same in our daily Examination which must needs preserve both the sense of God's Goodness and of our own Obligations more fresh and lively on our Minds and have a good Influence on our Practice tho' at greater distance from the Communion § V. And indeed this is the main hinge of the whole matter the great means whereby we must gain advantage by the Sacrament and which if we neglect we must at least expect the loss of our Comfort if not our Souls 'T is to remember all is not over as soon as we have received No nor that Day nor Week nor indeed while we live for the Obligation is for ever We do in the Sacrament shew forth the Lord's Death Till he come We engage our selves by this Oath as well as by that at Baptism to be his faithful Soldiers and Servants to our Lives End We are not to think the Oath it self is all since 't is but a Security to our future Faith and true Allegiance 'T is not enough to Vow nay 't is better not to vow at all than to vow and not to pay tho' to do both is still better than either We cannot too often remember that those Graces which we exercise at this Ordinance must also be put in Practice thro' the whole course of our Lives and 't is the reason of its Institution that they may by degrees be reduced into holy Habits We must be inwardly better'd by the Sacrament as well as by other Duties or else indeed we are not better at all for as one well observes Religion is not a Road of Performances but a New Nature evidenced by a New Life § VI. But more especially are we to call to mind these Promises and Obligations when we find our selves again attack'd by any Temptation either to those Sins which we have formerly committed or to any others Wo to him who after he has escaped the Pollutions of the World and tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come in this Ordinance shall yet fall away again return like a Dog to his Vomit shamefully yield to the same Sin which he has before so solemnly renounced and pretended to forsake and thereby in a great measure trample under foot the Blood of the Covenant crucifie the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame I speak not of lesser unavoidable Infirmities such as wandring Thoughts the first motions of Passion or being ready to give way to the violence of Temptation tho' recovering again but what I here intend is the relapsing into any grosser Sins such as Uncleanness Injustice Drunkenness habitual Carelessness of Duty and neglect of God's Word and Sacraments and our private stated Devotions which last may justly be ranked among greater Sins as being too frequently the beginning of all the rest Not that even these are unpardonable on true Repentance but that the Aggravations of them are so exceedingly heightned by the addition of Ingratitude and Perjury An old Wound may possibly be cured at last even when 't is badly healed but then there 's a necessity of its being laid open again and the Pain will be more exquisite than it was at the first We ought therefore when attack'd by any old Temptation to oppose immediately this powerful Armor against it and whatever pleasure or profit it 's baited with by the great Deceiver with Indignation to reject it To reflect vigorously on our new Obligations to the contrary both of Promises of Interest and of Gratitude To say within our selves I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep God's righteous Judgments And ' Get thee behind me Satan the God of Peace whose I am and who has promised to help me shall bruise thee under my Feet And to this end we must be always upon our Guard we must be temperate and sober or else we can never be vigilant We must avoid ill Company the great Emissaries of Satan as we would Satan himself A great End of the Sacrament is to make us look forward and remember Christ's last coming
IV. Our Behaviour in it And in the V. After we have received and during the whole course of our Lives especially the Time betwixt different Celebrations To which shall be added Prayers Meditations and Hymns suited to the several Parts of this Holy Office CHAP. I. Of the Nature of the Sacrament § I. THE Sacrament of the Lord's Supper may be thus described 'T is a Memorial and Representation of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ instituted by Christ himself in the room of the Jewish Passover wherein by the breaking of Bread and drinking of Wine we renew our Covenant with God praising him for all his Goodness and testify our Union with all good Men and whereby the Benefits of our Saviour's Death are sealed and applyed to every faithful Receiver § II. 'T is a Memorial of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ. I confess the whole Sacred Action has been stiled by the Fathers as well as by some Excellent Persons of our own Church the Christian Sacrifice the unbloody Sacrifice and is indeed such in the same Sense that Prayer and Praise whereof it is in a great measure compos'd are styled under the Gospel spiritual Sacrifices Nay it comes yet nearer to the Nature of the old Eucharistical and other Sacrifices because 't is an Oblation of something visible namely Bread and Wine to be consum'd to God's Honor which are then offer'd when the Minister places them on the Christian Altar or Holy Table as was done more solemnly by lifting them up in the antient Church immediately after which in the Prayer for the Church Militant he beseeches God to receive our Oblations as well as Alms and Prayers which may relate to the Bread and Wine newly offered But since it has no shedding of Blood therein which has been thought essential to a proper Sacrifice * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 macto facio is used in the same Sense and that the shedding of our Saviour's Blood is only Sacramentally represented in it and not actually and properly poured forth as it was upon the Cross whereon he was once offered to take away Sin and since the Sacrament is a Memorial of that one Oblation of Christ and 't is contrary to the Nature of a Memorial or Remembrance of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ to be the same with that Sacrifice it remembers for these Reasons we cannot own any such proper propitiatory attoning Sacrifice * Homily of the Sacrament Part 1. We must take heed lest of the Memory it be made a Sacrifice exactly as Eusebius who says our Saviour left us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Sacrament as the Romanists do believe any more than we can think with them that 't is available both for quick and dead of neither of which we find any Footsteps in the Holy Scriptures Suffice it therefore that we believe it a Sacrifice in the highest Sense that Prayer and Praise are so call'd in the New Testament because it requires and is compos'd of the most exalted Acts of both that we believe it an Offering or Dedication of the Bread and Wine to the sacred use as well as we therein offer our selves anew to God and that we believe the whole Action a Memorial a Commemoration and Representation of the inestimable Sacrifice of the Death of Christ whereby alone we expect Life and Salvation § III. First 'T is a ' Memorial or Commemoration of Christ's Death and of the Sacrifice which he thereby offer'd for us That is by this sacred Action we record and keep it in mind till he come again to Iudgment And that according to his own Command as St. Luke * St. Luk. 22. 19. 1 Cor. 11. 24 25. relates it of the Bread and St. Paul both of the Bread and Wine This do in remembrance of me As forgetfulness of God's Goodness and Ingratitude for it must needs have been great occasions of the fall of Man so that very fall renders us still more forgetful and ungrateful Mankind will therefore have always need enough of Helps to their Memory in religious Matters And some of these God has appointed wherever there has been a revealed Religion Thus the Sacrifice of the Passover was instituted for a Remembrance of what the Israelites suffered in Egypt and of God's wonderful Mercy in delivering them from it as well as to typify or shadow forth unto them Christ himself our great Passover The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was in like manner instituted That we might keep in memory that which Christ suffered for us and delivered to us such a sensible Sign and remarkable solemn Action being much more likely to preserve a lively impression of it than if it had been only barely recorded in History Now this Commemoration may be considered either with respect to our selves or with respect to God as it respects our selves we not only therein commemorate God's Love in general to Mankind in giving his Son and our Saviour's Love in giving himself a Ransom for all Men to bring them into a Capacity of Salvation on their Faith and Obedience but yet farther the actual Application of his meritorious Sacrifice to our selves on our performing the Conditions of his Covenant and his infinite Goodness in making us partakers of his Holy Word and Sacraments and thereby calling us to this State of Salvation and preserving us in it As this Commemoration relates to God we do also in the Communion present a Memorial of a sweet Savour before him and beseech him for the sake of his dear Son and by his Agonies and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion and precious Death to have Mercy upon us and grant us the Remission of our Sins and all other Benefits of his Sufferings Not that God is either ignorant of our Wants or unwilling to relieve us or forgetful of us But we must be sensible of these things our selves and of God's Power to help us and seek for Relief in those ways he has appointed And well may we more solemnly commemorate our Saviour's Sacrifice in this Sacrament when we do the same in some degree even in our daily Prayers and ask all for his sake and in a Sense offer him anew to his Father applying his Attonement and pleading his Merits and trusting in his Intercession and Meditation Nor ought we to forget that the antient Liturgies did not only commemorate our Saviour's Death in the Sacrament but likewise his Resurrection and Ascention into Heaven § IV. Secondly But there is not only a Commemoration but a Representation too of our Saviour's Death in the Holy Communion 'T is not a bare Remembrance of it 't is a lively Scheme and Figure of what he endur'd As oft as ye eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup says the Apostle ye do shew forth or rather by way of Command shew ye forth the Lord's Death till he come Declare it proclaim it tell the People what great things he has done Whence
this Representation of Christ's Death in the Sacrament has a respect to others to whom we are to declare it as well as it relates like the Commemoration before-mention'd to our selves and to God We do by this proclaim unto Men and Angels the manifold Wisdom and Goodness of God and the Kindness and Condescention of our ever blessed Redeemer and in a manner preach the Gospel to every Creature while we here represent so considerable a part of it as our Saviour's Death and own that we are not asham'd of his Cross but rather Glory in it § V. We represent it also to our selves that is we do by this sacred significant and lively Action fix it more deeply in our Affections and Memories The Bread represents our Saviour's Body who is the true Bread of Life that came down from Heaven The Wine his Blood The Breaking of the Bread the Torments he endur'd on the Cross and the Wounding of his sacred Body as the pouring out of the Wine is a most lively Figure of the shedding his most precious Blood But of this more hereafter § VI. But in the last place we also represent our Saviour's Death to God the Father in the Holy Communion This we do by those Actions which he himself has appointed as means of supplicating him and obtaining his Favour Beseeching our heavenly Father who of his tender Mercy did give his only Son Jesus Christ to suffer Death upon the Cross for our Redemption that we duly receiving the Holy Mysteries according to our Lord Jesus Christ's Holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion may be Partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood The Priest neither makes nor offers the real natural Body of Christ in the Holy Communion but he makes his spiritual or sacramental Body and therein represents his natural Body as well as he also represents what he really suffer'd for us in the verity of that Body this he represents to God as well as to us and every devout Communicant should faithfully joyn in the Representation § VII The next thing observable in our Description of the Holy Communion is That 't was instituted by Christ in the room of the Iewish Passover This as it gives great Light into the Nature of it and the most weighty Controversies concerning it so the Matter of Fact it self is too evident to be doubted or denied and of too great moment to be lightly pass'd over As will appear if we consider the Time the Form the End of the Institution of this Sacrament compared with that of the Passover and the Expressions of Iohn the Baptist and the Apostles relating to the Communion it self or to our Saviour who ordained it The Time of its first Institution and Celebration was the Night of the Paschal Supper immediately after Supper We are told by * Buxtorf Synag cap. 13. p. 302. de Paschat celebrando Fagius in Exod. 12. learned Men that the old Iews had a very antient Tradition amongst them that the Messias should come to redeem them the very same Night in which God brought them out of Egypt the Night of the Passover whereon they also say that God vouchsafed to the old Patriarchs and holy Men most or all of those famous Blessings and Deliverances which we read of in the sacred Writings which is no obscure Indication that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was to succeed the Paschal Supper § VIII The manner of their celebrating the Passover also proves the same For the Master of the House took Bread and brake it and gave it to those about him and said This is the Bread of affliction which our Fathers did eat in Egypt * Buxtorf ubi supra that is the Memorial of that Bread in the same Sense that our Saviour said This is my Body after he had taken Bread and blessed and brake it and gave to his Disciples as the Iews also call'd the Passover The Body of the Paschal Lamb. And in like manner the Cap. The Master of the Feast took it after Supper and when he had given Thanks gave it to the rest and said This is the Fruit of the Vine and the Blood of the Grape This was the third Cup which they drank at the Passover and call'd it The Cup of Blessing * Lightfoot Vol. II. p. 260. All the Company drank of it the sick as well as the healthy †Buxtorf p. 296. Thus our Savior after Supper took the Cup this third Cup and when he had given Thanks gave it to his Disciples and said Drink ye All of this for this is my Blood of the New Testament New Covenant or this Cup is the New Testament New Covenant in my Blood * St. Mat. 26. 28. St. Luk. 22. 20. As Moses said when he sprinkled all the People with Blood †Heb. 9. 20. Exod. 24. 8. This is the Blood of the Covenant which God made with you it was not only the Seal of the New Covenant but likewise the Sanction of it And 't is remarkable that our Saviour calls it the Fruit of the Vine as did the Master of the Feast at the Passover And so the Apostle calls the Sacramental Cup the Cup of Blessing § IX There 's yet another thing remarkable in the Passover which our Saviour retain'd in his Sacrament and that is the Hymn or great Hallel which the Iews always sung at this Festival and still continue to use it in that shadow of the Passover which they yet retain * Buxtorf ubi supr Patrick in 113 Psalm It consisted of six Psalms from the 113 to the 118. inclusively wherein were mentioned as their Rabbins teach 1. Their Deliverance from Egypt 2. The Division of the Red Sea 3. The Giving of the Law 4. The Resurrection from the Dead And 5. The Sorrows of the Messias †Lightfoot Vol. II. p. 354. 'T is expresly said that our Saviour and his Apostles sung a Hymn after they had eaten 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they all doubtless joyn'd in it as was the Custom of their Country-men which they could not have done had it not been a Form well known unto them And what more proper than those Psalms already mentioned which shows the Lawfulness of singing in the Christian Church and of the whole Congregations joyning in it some think Iudas not being here excepted ‖ Lightfoot and that in a set Form out of the Psalms of David which have made a great part of the Liturgy of the Church for near Three Thousand Years Nor was this Sacrament ever celebrated without singing by any regular Christians St. Chrysostom on Heb. 10. says of those of his Time That in the Sacrament they did offer Thanksgiving for their Salvation by devout Hymns and Prayers to God And before him Pliny's famous Letter mentions the Christians as jointly singing Hymns to Christ And Tertullian in his Apology has left it on Record that it was
St. Iohn Ver. 53. Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you Si praeceptiva locutio c. If says he the Expression forbid any wicked action or command a good one then 't is not figurative but if it appears to command any Wickedness or forbid any Good it must be figurative Thus he goes on that expression Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood you have no Life in you seems to command a very wicked thing it must therefore be understood in a Figure and the meaning of it is that we are to communicate in our Lords sufferings and to lay it up in our Remembrance that his Flesh was crucified and wounded for us And when any Romanist fairly answers this we may safely promise them to believe Transubstantiation § XVII But if Christ be no otherwise in the Sacrament than figuratively in the Symbols as they are a Commemoration of his death and spiritually and effectually present to the faithful Reeeiver Where is then it may be asked the Mystery which all acknowledge in this Sacrament and which is so often called by ancient Writers the venerable the awful and the tremendous Mystery or Mysteries of our Faith In answer We do own that as in general great is the Mystery of Godliness so there is something which far transcends our Reason in this Sacrament and in the manner of our Saviours acting on our minds therein though the Fact it self be clearly revealed in Scripture The manner I say is still mysterious how it becomes to us the Body and Blood of Christ How the inestimable Benefits of Christs Death are communicated to us by the reception of the humble Signs how we are thereby united to him and he to us this as the Apostle says perhaps on the same occasion is indeed a great Mystery * Ephes. 5. 32. and we can no more give an account thereof than we can of ' the Wind which ' bloweth where it listeth We ought therefore firmly to believe it we ought to adore the depth of the divine Wisdom in it without going about so fruitless an attempt as to fathom and comprehend it But to go on with our description of this Sacrament § XVIII By the eating this Bread and drinking this Wine continuing thus in their proper substances tho' Grace is added to them by their being taken and blessed or set apart to this sacred use we do most solemnly and Sacramentally renew our Covenant with God God made a Covenant in Paradice with all Mankind in our first Parents which was called The First Covenant the Condition whereof was Do this and live the Sanction In the day thou eatest of the Tree of Knowledge thou shalt surely dye or become obnoxious to Death both Temporal and Eternal Adam broke this Covenant by his Disobedience and being the Head and Representative of Mankind by him Sin and Death entred into the World he lost his original Righteousness and became the Parent of a sinful and a miserable Offspring and in him all died †1 Cor. 15. 22. or were obnoxious to the same Curse which he was to suffer § XIX Yet God who is rich in Mercy did not leave him to despair but immediately made another Covenant with him called the Covenant of Grace or the Second Covenant established on a better Security and on better Promises which was briefly contained in those Words Gen. 3. 15. The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpents Head ‖ See the excellent Discourse of these Two Covenants in the Preface to the Whole Duty of Man that is Christ the promised Seed should destroy the Principality of the Devil rescue lost Mankind from his Slavery and again reconcile us to God This was yet more clearly reveal'd to Abraham that in his Seed that is in Christ should all the Nations of the Earth be blessed * Gen. 22. 18. 'T was farther illustrated in the Types and Figures of the old Law but the full and compleat discovery thereof was reserved to the Times of the Gospel which is called the New Covenant containing the most perfect Revelation of the Divine Will the Promises of God and those Conditions on which he accepts and forgives us Which were on Christs part his suffering in our room as our Surety and a Sacrifice for us to attone his Fathers Anger * Heb. 9. 12. 10. 10. as on our part Faith †St. Mark 16. 16. Repentance and not a Sinless as in the First Covenant but a sincere Obedience ‖ Acts 3. 19 25 26. § XX. This General Covenant is first applyed to particular persons by Baptism wherein we are now admitted into it as Abraham and his Posterity were by Circumcision into the same Evangelical Covenant * Gal. 3. 17. and are thereby actually dedicated to Gods Service and renounce the World the Flesh and the Devil and because there are none who come to age without having been guilty of some Breaches of this Covenant we do after we have taken it upon our selves in Confirmation renew it again at the Holy Communion Of which we shall still have a clearer notion if we consider it as 't is a Feast or as 't is a solemn Oath and on both accounts a federal Rite or a Token Pledge or instituted Sign of our being actually in Covenant with God without which what right had we to approach unto him or how could we expect any Mercy from him § XXI Let us consider the Holy Communion as a Feast a sacred Feast which was used among the Ancients at the Confirmation of Covenants in token of Amity and Friendship between the Guests Thus in that noted Instance at the ratifying the League between Isaac and Abimelech Isaac made a Feast and they did eat and drink and sware one to another †Gen. 26. 30. But this was more than an ordinary Feast there was generally a Sacrifice added to it at which they believed God himself present a Partaker thereof and a Witness of their Agreement Thus when Iacob and Laban made a Covenant Iacob offered Sacrifice upon the Mount and called his Brethren to eat Bread Gen. 29 54. And the Passover was both a Feast and a Sacrifice and 't is the Character which God himself gives of his Saints or those that were relatively or federally holy that they had made a Covenant with him with Sacrifice Psal. 50. 5. And the Apostle speaking as 't is very probable of this Christian Banquet the Holy Communion which comes in the room of the Passover exhorts the Corinthians to keep the Feast not with old Leaven c. * 1 Cor. 7. 8. Thus 't is called the Table of the †1 Cor. 10. 21. Lord and the Wine the Cup of the Lord. And God vouchsafes therein to come in unto us and sup with us nay to kill the fatted Calf for us and feast us with his own Sacramental Body
and Blood and thereby assures us of his Favour and Goodness to us and renews his Covenant with us and gives us leave to do the same with him § XXII But we confirm this Covenant by a most solemn Oath as well as a Feast in this Holy Communion for it partakes of both The very Word Sacrament originally signified that Military Oath which Soldiers took to their General to bear Faith and true Allegiance to him to obey his Commands In the Lords Supper we swear Fealty and Homage to the great King of Earth and Heaven and as well as in Baptism engage to be his faithful Servants and Soldiers to our Lives end Which Oath as all others does imply an Imprecation as did the ancient Sacrifices used at the Ratification of Leagues wherein the Beast being cut in pieces the Parties agreeing went between them wishing that their Blood might be so poured out and they themselves cut in pieces if they ever brake their Vow and Covenant To which the breaking of the Bread and pouring out of the Wine does answer in the Communion as it may farther signifie that we resolve to be faithful even to the Death to our great Lord and Master and if there be occasion are ready to shed our Blood for him as he did for us The Commemoration whereof is indeed the main End of the Sacrament and the principal Notion wherein we are to represent it to our Minds but there are subordinate Ends and other useful Notions under which we may consider it in order to profit by it Among which is § XXIII The next thing in our Description of this Sacrament That we therein praise God for all his Goodness As much as this is included in that very ancient name of it the Eucharist which is used in the Scripture for giving of Thanks in general ‖ Eph. 5. 4. but applied to this most solemn Act of Thanksgiving in the blessed Sacrament not only by the earliest Ecclesiastical Writers but even by an ancient Version of the New Testament For the Syriac retains the Word Eucharist both in the 2d of the Acts 42. and in the 20th v. 7. In both of which places what we render breaking of Bread is with them * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 breaking the Eucharist And a Word of the same Original is used both by the Apostle and the Evangelists in the Description of its Institution †1 Cor. 11. 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so St. Luke 22. 19. and where our Saviour is said to give thanks over the Bread by St. Luke and St. Paul and to bless it by St. Matthew ‖ St. Mat. 26. 26. the same thing is intended for he blest and praised God for his Gifts and by that Thanksgiving did sanctifie the Bread both derive God's Blessing upon it and set it apart to a sacred use to be the thankful Memory of his own Death till he come to Judgment And accordingly in this Sacrament the Church does render most solemn Thanks and Praise to God the Father for his inestimable Love in the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of his dear Son and to Christ himself who gave his Body to be broken and his precious Blood to be shed for us as well as for all the Benefits of his Passion especially the Pardon of our Sins and Eternal Life § XXIV The next thing to be taken notice of in this Sacrament is That we do therein testifie and express our unfeigned Union with all our Christian Brethren with all those that bear the Image of the Heavenly This was doubtless one great end of its Institution that thereby all the followers of our Saviour might be united together in the most sacred and indissoluble Bands and that all men might know them for his true Disciples by their Loving one another * St. Iohn 13. 35. and thus the Apostle argues The Cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ For we being many are one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread where he hints at the Mystical Union between Christ and his Church and of all the Members thereof one with another ‖ 1 Cor. 10. 16 17. Feasting in common has been always esteemed both a Token of Amity and Friendship and the way to increase and preserve it In the Holy Communion we may be said to renew our Covenant with one another †Pliny ad confaederandam disciplinam coetus Chrianorum as well as with God and seem yet further even to imprecate his Wrath upon our selves if we break that sacred Band. And to the same purpose were the Agapae or Love-Feasts among the Christians both in the Apostles times and a Century or two after * Vid. Tertul. Apol c. 39. p. 105. And the frequent reception of the Communion must needs render Christians more charitable and increase a holy Love among them because without this Charity they know they ought not to communicate as the too general neglect of this Sacrament may well be reckoned one great cause of the great decay of that Grace amongst us For the partaking of this Divine Feast and the consideration of Christs wonderful Love to us in laying down his Life for us even when we were Enemies must needs constrain us to forgive all those that trespass against us and with a pure heart servently to love one another § XXV Hitherto we have for the most part discoursed of what we our selves are to do in the Reception of the Holy Sacrament To commemorate and represent the Sacrifice of our Saviours Death according to his Institution by eating of Bread and drinking of Wine therein renewing our Covenant with God praising him for his Goodness and testifying and exercising our Unity and Charity towards all our Christian Brethren § XXVI I proceed in the last place to that which we are to receive from God in the conscientious discharge of our Duty and devout Reception of this Holy Communion Which is contained in the last part of our Description That thereby all the Benefits of our Saviour's Death are sealed and applyed to every faithful Receiver § XXVII The Sacraments are Seals of God's Covenant with us The Apostle expresly affirms it of Circumcision * Rom. 4. 11. Galat. 3. 14. as it was a Sign of the Evangelical Covenant made with Abraham and all his faithful Children that is all that should believe in God as he did In the room whereof Baptism was introduced by our Saviour as another Seal of the same Covenant and means our Initiation into it And one Sacrament being a Seal it follows by parity of Reason that the other must be so also The Holy Symbols when duly received do exhibit and convey unto us divine Virtue and assistance and all the inestimable Benefits which were purchas'd for us and reached out unto us
awful presence of that God to whom he had made them Psal. 16. 8. I have set the Lord always before my Face that I might not sin against him And Psal. 119. 106. I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous Iudgments § XIV The third thing concerning which we are to examine our selves before we approach this Holy Table is Whether we have a lively Faith in God's Mercy thro' Christ. Not a dead cold and unactive but a lively Faith for Faith without Works is dead and such is the ungrounded fatal Presumption of every impenitent Sinner for what is more common than for bad Men who live in direct contradiction to our Saviour's Laws in repeated Acts of Intemperance Injustice Uncleanness immoderate Love to this World and in the neglect of their Duty of Praying of God's Word and Sacrament What is more common than to hear such mistaken Wretches as these cry out that God is merciful that Christ has died and they hope to be saved tho' they bring forth no Fruits meet for Faith or Repentance They believe the Promise of the Gospel tho' they never take care to perform the Conditions of it But they forget or are willingly ignorant that it contains threatnings too and that very terrible ones against the Impenitent and Disobedient and that Christ himself has told such that he 'll say to them at the last day Depart from me I never knew you because Workers of Iniquity But the true lively Faith here required is Such a Belief of God's Word and such a Trust in his Mercy thro' his Promises by our Saviour as produces a constant and ingenuous Obedience Now if we find this Faith weak and languishing we must pray as the Disciples did Lord encrease our Faith And to that End we must consider the Promises of God unto us for the sake of his dear Son our Lord in whom all the Promises are Yea and Amen ratified and certain In whom alone the Father is well pleased by the Merits of whose Obedience and Sufferings his Satisfaction his Intercession and Mediation he is reconciled to lost Mankind and offers Pardon to all that are penitent and obedient And this is all our Salvation and all our Desire the Hope of Holy Souls the Ground of their Consolation and their Triumph which are fixed so firmly upon that Rock of Ages that they can never be moved who has told us That if we believe in God we must believe also in him as the means of conveying all the Father's blessings nay as being himself as he is God the Author and Finisher of our Faith Whence it follows that he himself the second Person of the glorious Trinity may and ought to be the object of our Trust our Faith and our Adoration both in this Life and in the hour of Death as he was of blessed St. Steven's who cried out in his last Agonies Lord Jesus receive my Spirit * Act. 7. 59. And thus in our preparation for the Holy Sacrament without the reception whereof I see not how any can live comfortably or die happily we must actually advert unto deeply and seriously consider those Promises which God has made us by his Son of Grace and Pardon on our Repentance and Obedience That those who come to the Father by him he will in no wise cast out St. Iohn 6. 37. That they shall not see Death but are passed from Death unto Life St. Iohn 8. 51. 5. 24. That there is no condemnation for them which are in Christ Iesus and who those are we are immediately told who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8. 1. That all who are weary and heavy laden with the Burthen of their Sins if they come unto him he will refresh them St. Matt. 11. 28. and several others of the same nature the substance of the Gospel being promises of eternal Life to those who yield a sincere and impartial tho' not absolutely sinless and perfect obedience to the Commands of it all the threatnings thereof being only the unavoidable Consequences of wilfully rejecting it Now the very Nature of the Sacrament shows the necessity of Faith towards worthy Receiving for how can we renew our Covenant with God unless we believe he 's really willing to be reconciled to us and have a firm Faith in his Truth his Power and his Goodness And how could we have any well grounded hopes of Pardon but from the Revelation of the Gospel and by the merits of a Redeemer And to the exercise of this Grace the Church also directs us when we approach this Holy Table requiring us to have a lively and stedfast Faith in Christ our Saviour and so in the Exhortation the Sunday before the Communion that 't is requisite that those who come thither should have a full Trust in God's Mercy Not that all are required to have the same degrees of Faith for there are doubtless different measures of it as in the Resurrection one Star shall differ from another in Glory 1 Cor. 15. 43. But our Faith ought certainly to be so strong as to overcome our Infidelity to over come the World It is to be sincere and then it will not want acceptance tho' it be but as a Grain of Mustard-Seed for our gracious Lord has promised that he will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax St. Matt. 12. 20. Tho' we are always to press forward that this as well as all other Graces may still be encreased towards which nothing can more highly conduce than the frequent and devout reception of this Sacrament § XV. The 4th thing concerning which we are to examine our selves in our preparation is whether we have a thankful Remembrance of Christ's Death whereunto the Church directs us in such pathetical Expressions as were scarce ever excelled and I question whether equalled in any other Liturgy tho' not only the antient Churches but our Protestant Brethren particularly the French and the Tigurine have excellent Forms on this occasion I mean that passage wherein we are exhorted * Exhortation at the time of the celebration above all things to give most humble and hearty Thanks to God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost for the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of our Saviour Christ both GOD and Man who did humble himself even to the Death upon the Cross for us miserable Sinners who lay in darkness and the shadow of Death that he might make us the Children of God and exalt us to everlasting Life This we are to do above all things because this true and unfeigned Gratitude is the principal Ornament of the Wedding-Garment This seems to have been the chief and immediate End of the Institution Do this in Remembrance of me and hereby ye shew forth the Lord's Death till he come And how is it possible for any ingenuous mind to remember to reflect upon our Saviour's sufferings without the most tender Resentments
the highest Thankfulness and Love For how can a Rebel be fit for Pardon if he is not thankful when 't is offered him 'T is therefore necessary that we should so long so seriously remember the exceeding great Love of our Master and only Saviour thus dying for us even before we come to the Solemn Sacramental Commemoration of it till our Hearts burn within us as did the two Disciples that we may thereby be in some measure fitted to meet our Saviour and that he may make himself known unto us as he did unto them in breaking of Bread St. Luke 24. 32. But we must take care that this Remembrance have a future lasting influence on our Lives Ill Men may remember Christ's Death but it 's certain that whatever they may pretend they do it presumptuously not thankfully because it is not productive of a Holy Life It makes them nothing better but rather encourages them to go on in their Sins whereas true thankfulness will naturally produce unfeigned Obedience And to make us both obedient and thankful one would think there should need no more than to consider deeply from what Evils Christ has saved us by his Death no less than the Power of Sin the Wrath of God and everlasting Misery And what Benefits he has obtained for us by it the Pardon of Sin the Favour of God Grace to serve him and eternal Happiness some of which are actually conveyed as all of them are assur'd and seal'd in this blessed Sacrament to every penitent faithful grateful Receiver § XV. The last thing necessary to a worthy Communicant is Charity To be in Charity with all Men. When we bring our Gift to the Altar we must be first reconciled to our Brother We must offer it and sincerely desire and endeavour it and if he refuses to be reconciled the Fault is on his side nor ought another's Crime to keep us from our Duty and Happiness This Charity must also show it self in an universal Love to Mankind wishing praying for endeavouring and as much as in us lies promoting their temporal and spiritual Welfare But especially this Holy Love is to be acted and exercised towards all Christians and particularly towards those with whom we communicate not forgetting the Poor whom we are to relieve as well at the Offering which ought not to be neglected at the Sacrament as any other way that lies in our Power The exercise of this Divine Grace is more eminently necessary when we approach to this blessed Feast because 't was one great End of its Institution it being designed to increase Christian Unity and Holy Love among the Faithful who herein communicate both in temporal and spiritual good things who Feast and make a Covenant with each other as well as with the great Inviter and being many are hereby made one Body and one Bread 1 Cor. 10. 17. We are therefore carefully to examine our selves before we come thither whether we heartily forgive our Enemies and are ready to render Good for Evil Whether we feel this Divine Flame in our Hearts and dearly love all those that bear the Image of the heavenly And in order to produce in us both parts of this Grace one would think we should need do no more than consider seriously how many Talents our Lord has forgiven us how much he has done and suffered for us even while we were his Enemies and that we are all Members of one Body whereof Christ is the Head § XVII And thus have we finished what relates to our Preparation for the Sacrament and those several Graces concerning which we are to examine our selves before we approach unto it Repentance attended by good Resolves Faith Thankfulness and Charity Not that we should forbear to come thither if we do not find all these in the utmost perfection but where we find any of them weak and languid we must strengthen the things that remain and be humbled for our Imperfections and endeavour earnestly after higher degrees of Grace and consider the means appointed to encrease them especially the Holy Sacrament wherein they are to be all exercised and renewed as will appear in the next Chapter And in the mean time most humbly and devoutly to fall upon our Knees and in the following or any better Forms * See the excellent Devotions added to the Whole Duty of Man or those in the Christian Sacrifice of Prayer thus address our selves to the Giver of all good things for a Supply of our Necessities A Confession when we are Preparing for the Communion ALmighty and most merciful Father who mayst for my Sins be most justly displeased with me for ever cast me off from thy presence and condemn me to Everlasting Misery I am ashamed O Lord and blush to lift up my Face unto thee for all my misdeeds are before thee and my most secret Sins in the Light of thy Countenance I was shapen in Iniquity and conceived in Sin by Nature dead in trespasses and sins averse to Good and violently inclined to Evil ignorant of God and an Enemy to him in a lost and undone Condition and utterly unable to help and to deliver my self And I have added to this Original Sin many hainous actual Trangressions Here let the Penitent repeat those Sins whereof on the former Examination he has found himself guilty The Remembrance of all which I desire may be most grievous as their burden is most intolerable unto me for I have done all these abominations with many aggravating Circumstances which have highly encreased the Guilt of them without regard to thy tender Mercies or to thy terrible Judgments or to my own repeated Vows and Resolves of Repentance and Obedience O make me to abhor them and my self for them and to repent in Dust and Ashes I know that my sorrow for them is no satisfaction to thy offended Justice yet since thou dost require it of me to render me capable of thy Mercy work in me I beseech thee by thy Holy Spirit such a true and unfeigned Remorse for them that I may entirely forsake them and come Pure and Holy to thy Heavenly Feast O God be merciful to me a Sinner who cry unto thee in an acceptable Time and in the Day of Salvation O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Three Persons and One God have mercy upon me a miserable Sinner O God the Father of Heaven who didst send thine Only Son out of thy Bosom to tast Death for every Man that we might not die eternally accept his Attonement accept his Intercession and be reconciled unto me thro' his Blood In my Father's House is Bread enough and to spare O let me not perish with Hunger O Son of David have mercy on me and if thou canst do any thing since thou canst do all things help me By thine Agony and bloody Sweat by thy Cross and Passion by thy precious Death and Burial Good Lord deliver me I desire not to be saved from the Guilt of my Sins only or
To acknowledge them and to bewail our manifold Sins and Wickedness since we can by no means hide them from the Eye of Heaven and they are the truest and justest Causes of Lamentation and Sorrow Nor are we to rest in generals but here again to call to mind the greatest and most hainous Sins whereof on our former Examination we have found our selves guilty whether in Thought Word or outward Action These we are to acknowledge we have most grievously committed which may imply the hainous aggravation of them for which we must own that we have provoked most justly God's Wrath and Indignation against us that we have deserved his Anger and all the dreadful Consequences thereof in the Punishments both of this and another World § V. And having thus confest and acknowledged our Sins their number continuance extent and aggravation we are directed to proceed to the formal Act of Repentance for them to profess that we do earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings and woe to him who tho' he joyns in this solemn protestation with all good Christians yet does not truly and earnestly repent of his Sins nor is heartily sorry for them which how can he be thought to be when he falls into them again on the next Temptation whereas if we do truly repent of them the Remembrance of them will be indeed grievous unto us and their Burthen intolerable We shall know how evil and bitter a thing it is to depart from the Living God and be weary and heavy laden and fly to Christ to give us rest Which Repentance and abhorrence of our Sins ought to be raised to the greatest heighth at the time of Consecration when we see Christ's Sacramental Body broken and his Blood poured out for us and just at the time of receiving when we ought with an Holy Indignation to bring our Sins and nail them to the Cross of Christ to kill those Murderers as Benaiah did Ioab at the Horns of the Altar to sacrifice them there and hew them in pieces before the Lord in short to be deeply afflicted for them and to make firm Resolves to forsake them § VI. In order to which we must in the third place ask mercy for Christ's sake and pardon for all our Sins as the Church teaches us in those moving and tender Expressions Have mercy upon us Have mercy upon us most merciful Father For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake forgive us all that is past And this we have need to pray for since without Forgiveness the past Guilt remains as well as the Punishment due for our Sins tho' we should no more commit them But both are remitted in this Sacrament to the worthy Receiver not by Virtue of our own Merits or any Preparation Examination or Repentance or even of the very Act of outward receiving but merely for Christ's sake on account of his Merits and Intercession and by the Virtue which flows from his wounded Side his spiritual Flesh and Blood inwardly received by the Faithful in this Ordinance § VII Now we are taught to conclude this Confession with praying that God would grant us that we may ever hereafter serve and please him in newness of Life without which all that 's past is in vain nor is there any that 's so perfectly renewed that he has not still need to purge out something of the old Leaven And tho' God will give such Grace to those who worthily partake of this Sacrament yet has he appointed Prayer as the means to obtain it and of our perseverance in well-doing and daily encreasing in Goodness which Prayer does virtually contain a Promise to use our own utmost endeavors to amend our Lives that Resolution of better Obedience which seems to be the very Act wherein we renew our Covenant with God and engage to fulfil our part of it which if we do faithfully perform he will never be wanting to his § VIII Thus much for Repentance The second Grace to be exercised at the Sacrament is Faith which we are to reduce into Act when the Minister declares in the Absolution That Almighty God has promised forgivenness of Sins to all them that with hearty Repentance and true Faith turn unto him further praying ' That God would have mercy upon us pardon and deliver us from all our Sins confirm and strengthen us in all Goodness and bring us to Everlasting Life Which Absolution we are humbly to receive upon our Knees as an authoritative Declaration from one commissioned by Christ himself to bind and loose and to remit and retain Sins to which we are to add a hearty and faithful Amen as being fully assured that God will perform what he has promised by his Son if we neglect not our parts in the Covenant Faith is here more eminently necessary as well with respect to all the Promises of the Gospel as to the particular Benefits of this Sacrament and the application of them to our selves For our Lord has said He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood hath eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last Day The faithful Receiver eats and drinks Salvation this Sacrament shall eminently conduce unto it He is thereby united to Christ one with Christ and Christ with him and by virtue of that indissoluble union sealed in this Holy Ordinance he receives a Principle of Immortality whereby he shall be not only raised from the Death of sin in this World but at length raised from the Grave and live in endless Happiness which also seems to be the meaning of the Prayer in the very delivery of the Elements The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve the Body and Soul to Everlasting Life to which most devout Christians add their private Amen as being fully perswaded that it shall have that happy efficacy to every worthy Receiver And the same Act of Faith they are to exert when they hear the Minister read those comfortable Words which our Saviour saith by himself and his Apostles to all that truly turn unto him Come unto me all that travel and are heavy laden and I will refresh you c. To which the devout Soul will be ready to answer Draw me and we will run after thee or with St. Peter To whom should we go but to thee thou hast the Words of eternal Life And so in the rest of the Sentences applying them to himself by a particular Act of Faith and saying Lord I believe help my unbelief And this Faith will be mightily advanced by our actual advertence to Christ's spiritual presence in this Holy Ordinance more eminently graciously and peculiarly than in any other And the highest Act of it is to be exercised at the very instant of receiving § IX Devotion is in the third place highly necessary to a Worthy Communicant at the time of Celebration and in all the parts of that Holy Office By which Devotion is meant the intense abstraction or withdrawing of
Cannot the Blood of Jesus soften it and cleanse it that Blood of sprinkling which speaks better things than that of Abel Shall I not now at least detest abhor forsake all those Sins which cost my Saviour so dear shall I again commit them shall I any more favour those Iudas's which betrayed those Herods which mocked those Pilates which crucified the Lord of Glory O Lord my Heart is deceitful and desperately wicked and has often already deceived me and my Goodness is as the morning Cloud and early Dew which soon passeth away and without thy Grace I shall again fall into those very Sins which I now detest and abhor which that I may never more do imprint I beseech thee in my Mind so lively a Sense of my Saviour's Sufferings and let me receive and carry away so lasting an Impression of them from this Sacrament that I may henceforth die unto Sin and live unto Righteousness that I may subdue and mortifie more and more all criminal Desires and the whole Body of Death thro' Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen! An Act of Faith I Desire to believe Lord help my Unbelief I believe that thou canst do all things and if thou wilt canst make me clean I chuse thee for my chief Good I depend upon thee as my only Happiness I believe all thy Promises are Yea and Amen faithful and true in thy Son Jesus and that those who come unto thee by him thou wilt in no wise cast off He is able to save to the uttermost he is mighty to save and to forgive In him alone thou art well pleased thro' him O God art thou reconciled to Mankind and hast made them capable of everlasting Happiness from whence none shall be excluded who believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus and obey his Commands On him therefore do I cast my self and on his Merits is all my hope for Time and for Eternity believing that there is no other Name given under Heaven by whom I may receive Health and Salvation In this perswasion do I now approach to thy Holy Table humbly believing and expecting that my Saviour will be known unto me there and will meet me and bless me that his Body and Blood shall preserve my Body and Soul to everlasting Life that he will pardon my Sins and strengthen me in Grace guide me by his Counsel and bring me to his Glory Amen! An Act of Humility immediately before Receiving WHence is it O Lord that such a Wretch as I so loathsome and deformed with Sin should once more be admitted to thy presence to taste the Bread of Life Whence is it that my Saviour should be Guest to one that is such a Sinner O Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my Roof nor that I should come under thine I desire to humble my self before thee with the utmost prostration and adoration I cast my self at the Feet of Jesus and will not let him go except he bless me I am nothing I have nothing I desire nothing but Jesus and to be with him in Peace in the heavenly Ierusalem The lowest place in Heaven will be infinitely above what I can deserve who wonder why thou shouldst cast thine Eyes on such a nothing A Covenant and League uses to be made between those that are equals but there is an infinite distance between God and me by Nature and if possible a yet greater distance by my Sins Yet has that God who dwells in the High and Holy Place vouchsafed to promise that he will also dwell with the humble and contrite Spirit that trembles at his Word Come therefore O Lover of Souls O ever blessed Jesus who tho' thou fillest Heaven and Earth with the Majesty of thy Glory didst yet humble thy self when thou camest into the World to the inconveniences of a Cave a Stable and a Manger My Heart is yet meaner than any of these but thou canst purifie and cleanse it and make it a Temple fit for thy self to dwell in Come and meet me in thy own comfortable Ordinance who hast promised tho' thou wilt resist the proud to give Grace to the humble I beg this O Father for the sake of Jesus Christ my Saviour who humbled himself to the Death upon the Cross for me a miserable Sinner to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost Three and One be all Honour and Glory now and for ever Amen! An Act of Praise after Receiving ALL Glory and Honour and Praise to him who sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever To him who has loved us and washed us from our Sins in his own Blood and has now entertained us with that heavenly Food which those who taste with Faith shall never die I have tasted that God is Good and that blessed are all those that trust in him he is not a barren Land or a dry Wilderness He has given me Meat to eat at his own Table which the World knows not of such Joy as no Man can give or take from me He has assured me of his Favour and Goodness towards me and given me the Seals of his Pardon and the Pledges of Everlasting Happiness Alas how poor am I of Thanks for such inestimable Benefits what have I to render to the Lord of Life and Glory for these and all his Favours I devote and dedicate all my little all unto him my Soul and Body for Time and Eternity without Exception and without Reserve 'T is but a mite but 't is my All O give me more that I may restore it to the Giver Accept O gracious God this my poor Sacrifice of Praise and help me also to order my Conversation aright that I may see thy Salvation that in Heaven the place of Eternal Praises I may with Angels and Arch-angels and all the glorious Company there adore and magnifie and bless thee and sing Hallelujabs and Hymns of Praise unto thee for ever and ever Amen! An Act of Love O Infinite Goodness O amiable Jesu O bleeding dying agonizing Love What Man what Angel in Heaven durst have ever thought of such a way to appease God's Anger against Sinners as the Death of thee the Only begotten Son of God had not thy Father freely sent thee hadst not thou thy self as freely descended to Earth and taken our mortal Clay upon thee to do and to suffer the Will of God Who could have believed this hadst not thou thy self revealed it and confirmed it by so many Miracles Nay as if it had not been sufficient to die for us thou hast also given us the heavenly Food of thy blessed Body and Blood to be our spiritual Nourishment in this Holy Sacrament Thou hast made me partaker of those venerable Mysteries Thou hast renewed that Covenant with me which I trust shall never be broken O! was there no other way to save Mankind but the Death of him that lives for ever were all the Souls of the lost Sons of Adam worth one Groan one
Treatise with an earnest Request to all those who were baptised in their Infancy that they would always remember the Vows of God that are upon them and evidence the same by their Care to fulfil what they have so solemnly promised To renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh and stedfastly believe God's Word and obediently keep his Commandments That they would continue stedfastly in the Doctrine and Fellowship which is so agreeable to the Apostolical Practice and to the Word of God And lastly That they would by no means forget to pray earnestly for their mistaken Brethren That God would please to bring into the way of Truth all such as have erred and are deceived That he would take away all Pride Uncharitableness Prejudice and Blindness and whatever may hinder godly Union and Concord That as we have but one Lord and one Faith so we may have but one Baptism that so we may come in the Unity of the Faith and the Knowledge of the Son of God to true Christian perfection to the measure and stature of the fulness of Christ. To whom with the Father and Holy Ghost Three and One be Glory in the Church throughout all Ages Amen! Amen! The Great Hallel or Paschal Hymn which was sung by the Jews at the Passover and by our Saviour and his Apostles at the Institution of the Lord's Supper consisting of Psalms 113 114 115 116 117 118. The two former were sung towards the Beginning of the Feast the rest at the End of it Lightfoot ' s Vol. II. pag. 258 260. The first of these Psalms the 113. is still used by the Tigurine Churches at the Communion Tigurine Liturgy p. 116. And any of them as they are here turned into Metre may be sung either in Private or by a Family before or after Sacrament PSALM CXIII The same Tune with that in the old Version 1. YE Priests of God whose happy Days Are spent in your Creators Praise Still more and more his Fame express Ye pious Worshippers proclaim With Shouts of Joy his Holy Name Nor satisfy'd with Praising bless 2. 3. Let God's high Praises ay resound Beyond old Times too scanty Bound And thro' eternal Ages pierce From where the Sun first gilds the Streams To where he sets with purple Beams Thro' all the outstretcht Universe 4. The various Tribes of Earth obey God's awful and imperial Sway Nor Earth his boundless Power confines Above the Sun's all-cheering Light Above the Stars and far more bright His pure essential Glory shines 5. 6. What Mortal form'd of Dust and Clay What Idol even more weak than they Can with the God of Heav'n compare Pure Angels round his glorious Throne He stoops to view nor those alone Even Earth born Men his Goodness share 7. 8. The Poor he raises from the Dust The Needy if on him they trust From sordid Want and Shame he 'll raise That they with mighty Princes plac'd With Wealth and Power and Honor grac'd May sing aloud their Saviour's praise 9. The Barren Womb whose Hopes were past His boundless Power unseals at last And saves her Memory and Fame He fills the House with hopeful Boys Who their glad Mother's Heart rejoyce O therefore praise his Holy Name PSAM CXIV Like the CXLVIII 1. 2. WHen ransom'd Israel came From faithless Egypt's bands The House of Iacob's Name From hostile foreign Lands Iudah alone God's holy Place And Israel's Grace Was his bright Throne 3. 4. Amaz'd old Ocean saw And to its Chambers fled While Iordan's Streams withdraw To seek their distant Head Tall Mountains bound Like jocund Rams The Hills like Lambs Skipt lightly round 5. 6. What ail'd thee O thou Sea To leave thy antient Bed Why did old Iordan flee And seek its distant Head Ye Mountains why Leapt ye like Rams While Hills like Lambs Skipt lightly by 7. 8. All Natures utmost bound The God of Iacob own Where Sea or Land is found Fall trembling at his Throne At whose Command Hard Rocks distill A Crystal Rill And drench the Sand. PSALM CXV Like the C. 1. NOT unto us we all disclaim Glory alone to God's blest Name Whose Truth shall stand for ever fast Whose Love to endless Ages last 2. Why shou'd th' insulting Heathens Pride Our Hopes alike and him deride Where is your God why shou'd they cry Ye Hebrew Slaves O Saviour why 3. Blasphemers know he reigns above And soon will your vain hopes remove He all Events disposes still And all obey his Sovereign Will 4. Not so the Gods to whom they pray Of Silver and of Gold are they To whom in vain their Vows are paid Adoring what their Hands have made 5. Tho' Mouths they have yet all their Art Can neither Breath nor Speech impart Nor can they turn their useless Eyes On those who kneel and sacrifice 6. Tho' loud their Slaves for succour cry They neither hear nor make reply Nor can their Nostrils ought receive Tho' they rich Clouds of Incense give 7. 8. The Bolts they wield they cannot throw Their Feet can neither move nor go With neither Breath nor Sense nor more Who them erect and them adore 9. The Rock of Israel is not so In whom we trust and whom we know Still trust his watchful Providence Who is our help and strong Defence 10. Ye Priests of God who daily bring Incense and Praise to Heav'ns high King O trust in that Almighty Friend Who still will help and still defend 11. 12. He 'll such whose hope on him is staid Against all Fears and Dangers aid Still he 'll his Love on Israel place Still smile on Aaron's sacred Race 12. Those who from Regions wide away Their Vows at his High Altar pay In vain they shall not thither come But go with Blessings loaden home 14. Their pious Children too shall share Th' Almighty's Kindness and his Care Whose wondrous Bounty shall extend To future Days and know no end 15. O happy Israel who partake His Blessings who the World did make 16. Who o're the Heavens triumphant rides And Earth's wide Globe to Man divides 17. 18. The silent Dead no Praises give But we who by his Favour live While we have Breath will Offerings bring And grateful Hallelujahs sing PSALM CXVI Like the XCV 1. O God who when I did complain Did all my Griefs remove O Saviour do not now disdain My humble Praise and Love 2. Since thou a gentle Ear didst give And hear me when I pray'd I 'll call upon thee while I live And never doubt thine Aid 3. Pale Death with all its ghastly Train My Soul encompast round Anguish and wo and hellish Pain Too soon alas I found 4. Then to the Lord of Life I pray'd And did for succour flee O save in my distress I said The Soul that trusts in thee 5. 6. How good and just how large his Grace How easie to forgive The simple he delights to raise And by his Love I live 7. Then O my Soul be still nor more With