Consid To die is but once to be done and if we miscarry in that we miscarry and are undone for ever therefore make it thy chief business to learn to die It would be better never to have lived than to be ignorant to die Many will nay doubtless the prophanest wretch will desire the death of the righteous but unless it be learnt before by living the life of the righteous you shall never learn nor know how to die O learn this lesson seeing there is no working in the Grave whither we go 3. Consid That if thou make the best preparation for Death thou canst thou wilt find it hard enough to die if thy evidences be never so firm and good thou wilt find that all will be little enough if they be fair the Devil will blur them if he cannot blot them he 'll do what he can to accuse thee he is the accuser of the Brethren he 's the roaring Lion that will devour thee if he can 4. Consid That Death if not prepared for will look mighty ghastly and grim he is called The King of Terrors and Fears he 'll surprize thee for he comes suddenly as a thief in the night 't is true if he come thou being prepared it will put an end to all thy fears and dispossess thee of terrestrial substance and possess thee of a celestial and permanent substance 5. Consid That after Death that is after the Souls separation from the Body the Body will be but a loathsome spectacle all thy friends will as it were abhor it Abraham says Let me bury my dead out of sight 6. Consid That nothing will avail the Soul but Grace and a good Conscience when it shall after separation from the crasie House of Clay be brought before the great Tribunal of the most high God to give an account of all the deeds whether good or bad done in the Body 7. Consid That Christ who offers Salvation now by his Word and Mercies shall then appear in slaming Fire taking Vengeance on them that know him not nor obey not his Gospel 8. Consid That having past once his Sentence whether of Life or Death it will be absolute and irrevocable O therefore be not slothful in this work lest the bubble of thy life be extinguished before thy work be done 9. Consid That after Death Gods Messenger hath executed his office viz. cut the thread of thy life thou must presently appear before God the great Judge to receive either the sentence of life or the sentence of everlasting death Considerations of Judgment O Thou impenitent sinner that wilt die in thy sins 1. Consider What a dreadful sight the coming of the Son of Man in the Clouds will be he whom thou hast so often by thy sins pierced whom thou hast rejected scorned and vilified and the blood thou hast so often trod under foot must then be thy Judge from whose righteous sentence there will be no appeal now he stands to invite thee and woo thee with the fairest terms of love but then he will pronounce thy dreadful doom and his poor redeemed ones which now thou thinkest not worthy to live but doest scorn mock revile persecute and kill will then sit on the Throne on the right hand of the Lamb as thy Judges too How then wouldst thou wish Rocks to fall upon thee and be beholding to Mountains to cover thee nay how sain wouldst thou change natures with Toads or Serpents Owls or Batts the worst of Creatures or that thou couldst be annihilated and that thy immortal Soul should become mortal 2. Consid Also That then all Relations will cease and so all Love and worldly Friendship Then the loving Husband must rejoyce in the Damnation of the wicked Wise and the tender and indulgent Mother must stand not only with dry and cheerful Checks and assent to the just Doom of her impenitent Children but glorifying God for executing his Justice and Vengeance upon them Therefore O sinner if thou wouldst have Christ Friends and Relations be-friend thee at that day be an unreconcileable enemy now unto thy sins and be at peace with God through thy Redeemer O miserable sinner Consider where wilt thou appear at that day when God will make a separation between good and bad when thou must give an account for all things done in the flesh for every thought of thine heart every word of thy mouth every moment of time every omission of any holy duty every commission all company thou camest in every Sermon thou hearest every Sabbath thou hast mispent and then all thy sins and villany whether committed secretly or openly will be viewed by the whole World To prevent this try now thy heart life calling thoughts words and deeds and arraign accuse and condemn thy self at the bar of thy Conscience that thou mayst be acquitted at Gods Judgment Bar at the last day If thou be a Saint consider that then thy Soul and Body must make make a second but a more happy and Blessed marriage joyntly and together to enjoy and be drown'd as it were in that glory that God prepared for his Elect from before the Foundation of the World then thy innocency and righteousness shall be clear and made conspicuous to the whole World when Christ sets thee at his right hand when thy Friend thy eldest Brother and thy Husband will be thy Judge then thy Pains Losses Crosses and Sufferings will be fully rewarded Thy Persecutors Troublers and Opposers will be avenged upon and all thy good Deeds reckoned up to thy comfort but all sin done away Then thou shalt sit on a throne crown'd with Immortality and Glory with those judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel and shalt hear that blessed that wonderfully acceptable and heart-ravishing invitation Come ye Blessed of my Father and inherit the Kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundation of the World When your Enemies and Troublers shall be packed to Hell with this dreadful and fatal doom Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Depart from Glory that 's Hell enough depart with a curse into fire and that everlasting Considerations of Hell COnsider first The pain of loss privation of Gods glorious presence and eternal separation from those everlasting felicities joys and bliss above is the more horrible part of Hell The Torments and Miseries of many Hells in the judgment of the Learned are nothing to the shutting out everlastingly from the Kingdom of Heaven and an unhappy Banishment from the beatifical Vision of the most Soveraign onely and chiefest good the thrice glorious Jehovah blessed for ever I say the loss of any of these will be a far greater loss than Ten thousand Worlds were they all composed of purest Gold and brimful with richest Jewels Let therefore every one in the Name and Fear of God as we would not for a few bitter-sweets or a vile lust in this World for an inch of time lose an
my Soul and remember it God that hath entred thee into his Warfare and is thy spectator and helper will never reckon up to thee Sathans deeds for thine and learn thou wisely how to distinguish them but comfort thy self as long as thou art able to stand to thy protestation that thou do'st suffer violence in them and canst say with the Apostle This is not I but sin that dwells in me O Lord deliver me from the rage of this Spiritual Tyranny many a time have I looked to have been swallowed up but thou hast sustained me Blessed be my God for ever and the Lord be my God to the end Of the Lords Supper THE necessity of this will appear if we consider what advantage doth accrew from hence to us-ward and this appears 1. From the admirable satisfaction it yieldeth unto a distressed Soul 2. In that it instigates and stirs us up to the study of Piety and Holiness 3. In that it enlightneth our understanding 4. In that it corroborates us or addeth strength to our weakness 5. In that it maketh glad the conscience and heart 6. In that it is as it were our Viaticum or Refreshment in our Journey to that Celestial Canaan Three things principally are necessary to a fruitful Reception of the Lords Supper 1. Purity and Holiness Lev. 19.2 Be ye Holy as I am Holy And this may be taken in two words First To be sorry and humble for past and present sins and resolve in the Strength of Christ against sins to come Secondly To abandon all hatred and malice because it is a Sacrament of Love 2. A right intention in communicating 1. Not Customarily 2. Not Men-pleasingly 3. Not Appearing outwardly 3. Actual Devotion viz. 1. To endeavour to pray without distraction 2. To be Spiritually ellevated Christ-ward in Affection in his Ordinance 3. To come with Humility and devout Reverence After Receiving the Holy Sacrament 1. Give thanks to Christ the Author for the vouchsafing it to thee 2. Be careful for the future more and more to keep up his Worship 3. Intreat him to abide with thee to the end of the World and so to Eternity A Soliloquy concerning the Blessed Sacrament Quest For what cause do I receive this Institution or Ordinance of God Answ 1. To the end I may regard and dutifully keep Christs most Holy Institution 2. To demonstrate my self a Member of the same Body whereof he is the Head 3. That I may receive this Sovereign Repast to the Corroborating of my Faith and the Health of my Soul Quest What do I Receive Answ The Body and Blood of Christ after a Divine and Celestial Manner Quest What profit have I by the receiving of the same Answ Increase of Grace Assurance of Gods Love as a Pledge of an Eternal Inheritance purchased for me in Heaven Quest Why do I often Communicate Answ Because I hope I am one of Gods Children and therefore desire to come often unto him as a God in Covenant and Father in Christ Quest After what manner ought I to come Answ By Faith and Repentance with a fixed Resolution to serve and obey him in Holiness and Righteousness according to that Ability he shall beslow on me as long as I live Quest What should I observe before I have access to the Lords Supper Answ Doubtless I ought to examine my own Heart what sins I stand guilty of in the sight of God and earnestly to beg of God both to discover them to me and mortifie them in me being the sole Work of God and humble me for them 2. Stedfastly to confide in Christ for a Pardon of these things judging him only able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him for so it is in his Word and to work in me what is promised in his Word 3. To Consider that I ought to come prepared to such an Holy Ordinance because it is Commanded in Gods Word Let a Man examine himself c. 4. To Consider that Prayer is the best means whereby I can be sitted for the receiving of such a Sacrament 5. To be much in the Meditation of the Passion of Jesus Christ his Resurrection and of my rising with him unto a newness of Life a Life of Holiness here and in seeking life hereafter If ye then be risen with him seek those things that are above 6. To consider that these Elements viz. Bread and Water that I am preparing to receive are so to be received as the Body and Blood of Christ by Faith whereby his Death is shewed forth and the worthy Receivers are not Corporally and Carnally but Spiritually partakers of the same Body and Blood with all his benefits to their Spiritual Nourishment and growth in Grace In a word I or any other that would worthily partake of this Lords Supper must examine our selves of our knowledge to discern the Lords Body of our Faith to feed upon him of our Repentance Love and New Obedience least coming unworthily we eat and drink Judgment to our selves A Prayer before the Communion O Glorious and Omnipotent God behold I an unworthy wretch am presuming to draw nigh thy Table a Banquet of thine appointment I am approaching I say but as the Patient to the Physician as the Unclean to the fountain of Mercy as the Blind to the light of Eternal Brightness as a poor Begger to the King of Mercy as the Naked to the Lord of Heaven and Earth I beseech thee out of the abundance of thy Pity to heal my Infirmity to wash my Foulness to enlighten my Darkness and Blindness to enrich my Poverty to cloth my Nakedness that I may receive the Bread of Angels O thou the King of Kings and Lord of Lords grant that I may receive thee with such respect and reverence with such contrition and fear with such faith and purity with such a purpose and humility as is expedient for my Soul Lord notwithstanding mine unworthiness give me not only the Sacrament but the vertue of the Sacrament and grant me so to receive the Body and Blood of thy only Son that I may be incorporated into the Mystical Body and be accounted as a Member of the same Grant that whom I now receive as it were covered with a vail I may one day behold in Glory who liveth and reigneth with thee and thy Holy Ghost world without end Amen A Thanks giving after the Communion BLessed Jesus Praises is due to thy self for that infallible love of thine that by thy death didst redeem mankind I beseech thee suffer not that precious Body of thine to be broken nor thy Blood to be shed for me in vain O let thy Blessed and Sacred Body feed my Soul and precious Blood quicken my spirit and by increasing from one degree to another I may become a fit member of thy Church which is thy Mystical Body and grant that I may never depart from it nor break that league that I have been renewing at thy Table but
Satan come and catch away the Seed but O that it may be as seed sown in good and honest hearts bringing forth fruit with patience meet for repentance and let it be for the weakning of sin but for the strengthening of faith and grace Let thy Word be as Manna for our poor Souls to feed upon for the week to come that thereby we may grow up in grace as we grow in years Let thy word be a sutable word unto every one of our conditions and come thou into our Souls with it with the freest influence of thy Spirit that we may of a truth meet with God communicating of himself unto us by his Word and Spirit And as the Soul is separated from the Body by Death so let sin be separated from our Souls by thy Word and Spirit O let it be separate from our Souls or else it will separate the Souls of us poor Creatures from God Let thy Minister who is thy Messenger be strengthened and touch his tongue with a coal from thine Altar that he may preach experimental truth to the hearts of us poor Creatures that desire to attend on thine Ordinances O let us taste and see how gracious the Lord is and let us have cause to say It is good to draw nigh to God in his own Ordinances on his own Day And let this day of rest be a certain pledge of an eternal rest purchased by our great high Priest who is preparing a place for his select ones O that this thy day may be spent in the performances of holy duties in praise and thanksgiving the work of thine appointment Unvail some secret this day let us be drawn nigher every day unto thy self Let us be so enlightened that sin may decay and grace may be renewed in us Let us come hungering and thursting after Spiritual Food for our Souls so that in the close of this day we by a grounded experience may say that God has satisfied our hungring Souls with refreshing influences from Heaven thorow the Blood of Jesus Christ in whose words we conclude our imperfect requests as he himself has taught us saying Our Father c. An Evening Prayer for the Sabbath MOst Holy and ever Blessed Lord God who fillest Heaven and Earth with thy presence fill the Souls of thy poor empty Creatures with the presence of thy Grace and let thy good Spirit bring to our remembrance the truths that we by thy providence have heard this thy day that we may lay it up in our hearts and practice it in our lives that we may be of those blessed ones that hear thy word and keep it and bring forth fruit in abundance and let it take root in our hearts downward and bring forth fruit upward Establish our Souls in the practice of Holiness without which we can never come to see thy self and let the power of sin be weakened but let Grace be strengthened every day Pardon that unpreparedness that we have intruded into thy presence with and that irreverence whilst under thy Ordinances and that carelesness after that we all have been guilty of Pardon our forgetfulness and pardon our imperfection in the perfection of Christ our weakness in the strength of Christ that thereby we may find acceptance with thee who art all fulness and in whose hands is all perfection Fill our Souls with the fulness of God and let the bedewings of thy Spirit and Word cause us to grow in our spiritual stature Help us to prize the priviledge of the Gospel at an inestimable rate and give us repentance from dead works that we may be changed from darkness unto light and from the power of sin unto God And help us to manifest in our lives and conversation what is the hope of our calling that we may be in Heaven whilst on Earth Pardon the sins of our holy things sins of omission and commission sins against thy Law and sins against thy Gospel Give us Wisdom to direct and teach us Righteousness to establish us Redemption to deliver us from the jaws of Sin and Hell Strengthen our weak Faith enlarge our shallow Capacities quiet our disturbed Consciences tread down Satan under our feet and subjugate our Necks under thy Yoak and help us to resign our selves to thy Will and fit us for Eternity at last that after these Sabbaths be ended here we may begin an everlasting Sabbath with the God of Sabbaths where we shall admire thy self in Christ in whose Name we conclude our imperfect requests in his own words as he hath taught us saying Our Father c. A Prayer for Monday Morning BLessed Lord thou renewest thy mercies every Morning it is of thy mercy that one day more is added to us poor Creatures Thou art he on whom depends our being rest life and all thou has been pleased to cause us to acquiesce in and under thy protection for our refreshment O Lord preserve us this day under the shadow of thy wing and keep us in thy ways and let thy watchful providence be an instigation to an holy walking and to redeem the time seeing the days are evil and to live as ever before the Eye of thy All-seeing Providence Keep us from sin and enable us to live with thankful hearts bearing in mind the acts of thy Spirit and the daily Mercies we enjoy help us to shew a thankfulness for Mercies received and humility for and under Afflictions Let the bitterness of Sin and the loveliness of Holiness make deep impression on the hearts of thy poor Creatures Let the great work of Salvation be much meditated upon that that work daily may be propagated by us with fear and trembling Let union and communion with Christ be our great design Let our Natures be changed Deliver us from a dark understanding and hardness of heart stupid consciences together with unmortisied wills Help us to be wise for the future wherein we have done foolishly and help us wisely to improve our Talents in every opportunity Let thy mercies constrain us to love fear and obey thee Subdue us wholly to thy self that our affections may be elevated from the Earth and transplanted into Heaven Help us in every transaction in our lives to consider that with thee every action is poised and thoughts words and works reviewed and taken notice of O that the affairs of this day and all the week to come may be no obstruction to the work of our immortal Souls And grant that every day that passes over our heads we may be a step nearer to thy self Preserve us by thy Grace and Spirit until it shall be thy will to translate us into that Glory that is prepared for them that wait for the coming of Jesus Christ Amen A Prayer for Monday Evening MOst Holy Eternal and ever Blessed Lord God in whom all our springs are it is good to draw nigh to thy self Thou that never slumberest nor sleepest suffer us not to sleep the sleep of Death The Day thou hast