hast been at so lately and He was Himself the Feast Jesus prepar'd it out of Love to Thee And because His great Love could not as we may easily imagine provide any thing better He provided Himself to be thy rich and costly Entertainment He has feasted thee with His Body and Blood He has in giving thee that Bread and Wine which was by the Minister according to his appointment consecrated and set apart to represent His broken Body and His Blood shed for Mankind made thee a partaker of the Spiritual Blessings and Benefits of His Death and Passion Oh how great Things has He then bestow'd on thee Where canst thou find again such Entertainment What Enjoyments of this poor World could afford it And if He has given thee never so much of this World He has herein given thee that which is of infinitely greater value And if He has given thee but little of this World thou hast no reason to complain of Him who has been so free so bounteous to thee in so much better things Say then to Him Oh how plenteous how rich is thy Goodness Lord which Thou hast in reserve for those that fear Thee and that hope in thy Mercy He has treated Thee with the Pardon of all thy Sins however numerous however heinous and guilty Canst thou forbear to admire and praise so great a Favour Is it not wondrous that so vast a Debt should be so freely forgiven thee Does not this Forgiveness restore thee to the Almighty Favour and Love of God And give thee leave to ask and ground to expect from Reconciled Heaven all that is good for thee and necessary to thy Salvation Oh say then Bless the Lord O my Soul All that is within me praise his Holy Name Who hath redeemed my Life from Destruction who forgiveth all my Sins Who crowneth me with Loving-kindness and tender Mercies Oh Blessed is the Man whose Transgression is forgiven whose Sin is cover'd Blessed O Lord Jesus is the Man that putteth his Trust in Thee He hath bestow'd on thee my Soul his Holy Spirit to dwell with and to sanctifie thee to fill thee with all Divine Graces To heal all the Distempers of thy Soul thy uneasie shamefull Distempers to make thee tolerable and pleasant to thy self and amiable and well-pleasing to Him Oh happy Souls that are the Temples of this Holy Spirit Where He dwells all things shall be in a beautifull Order all things composed and calm and peacefull all full of Joy There is a Peace which the World cannot give and a Joy unspeakable and full of Glory In them Heaven dwells already They shall be acquainted with its Incomparable Felicities here on Earth and they are seal'd hereby to the Day of Redemption Thy loving Lord then has given thee at this Feast too the Pledges and Earnests of Future Glory and Blessedness He has even united thee to Himself after a wonderfull manner He looks on thee as a Member of his own Body Has made thee Partaker in his Death and intends thee to partake in his Resurrection He will not leave thy Soul in Hell nor suffer thy Dead Body to lie always under Dissolution He will shew thee the Path of Life and thou shalt dwell at his right hand where are Pleasures for ever-more Thou shalt dwell in His presence where is fulness of Joy Oh how like a God has thy glorious and kind Saviour entertain'd thee None could ever bestow such things on thee but He. Thou hast been treated as a Favourite of Heaven who canst not chuse but acknowledge thy self a poor vile and contemptible Sinner All these Blessings and Favours He hath conferr'd upon thee and given thee in this Sacrament sensible Pledges and Tokens of them though thou art unworthy of the very meanest and the commonest of his Gifts to Mankind Assure thy self it was not for any Merit or Worthiness in thee that he has been so Bountifull but of his own free Motion There is nothing of Debt in his Love but thou must look upon it as altogether Obligation And now my Soul thou must consider too the mighty Obligation he has laid upon thee Thou art able to promise to do nothing in return for his Love but what he has infinitely oblig'd thee to Should such a Love as this ever be forgotten or rather should'st thou not resolve that thou wilt always retain a gratefull Sence of it And that such a Love shall be the greatest Joy and the sweetest Delight of thy Life That such a Love shall make an entire Conquest of thee and make thee subject to the pleasant Laws of it through the whole Course of thy Life Thou canst not sure for shame think of a less return than to give up thy self to Him To live to Him that died for thee To study and love what will please Him and do it in all things No thou canst not think of any thing less than of being His Servant who has bought thee with so great a Price Who has ransom'd thee from Hell and Everlasting Misery and that by his own cruel Sufferings and accursed Death And will it ever become thee thinkest thou after thou hast consider'd the cruel Sufferings of Jesus for thy sake to shrink or murmure at Sufferings or guiltily decline them Wilt thou pretend to be Follower a Disciple of Jesus and yet not be able to endure any thing grievous or inconvenient Has he suffer'd very grievous things for thee worse by far than thou art able or wilt ever be call'd to suffer for his sake And wilt thou suffer nothing for Him Was his way to Heaven encombred with sharp Thorns and will it become thee to murmure if thine be not strow'd with Roses Was the Great and Glorious Jesus despised in the World and must thou be mightily respected and honour'd Was Jesus the Son of David a rich and mighty King mean and poor and will nothing serve thee but to be vastly and superfluously rich For shame my Soul These Desires cannot become thee It is enough for the Disciple that he be as his Master and surely 't is an Honour that the Servant be as his Lord. If thou wilt be a Follower of Jesus thou must expect as the World hated Him saw no form nor comeliness in Him so it will hate and it will scorn thee It will not see any thing to admire in thee Consider the Sufferings of Jesus and harden thy self Learn from Him to despise the Inconveniences of this Life learn to despise its Allurements From his Indifferency towards it 't is thy Duty and thy Honour to be very Indifferent too And this as all thy Duty thou wilt find pleasant upon the trial of it and a reward to it self This will give thee an invincible composure and peace of Mind a happy Command and Enjoyment of thy self under all the Vicissitudes and Changes of this mutable uncertain World Consider further my Soul Has He blest thee with the Pardon of all thy Sins And
of God He will give us Spiritual strength to perform our Duty so far as that we shall be accepted through the Mediation of Jesus Christ If we will not undertake we shall not be able to perform but if we will undertake and bind our selves to do our Duty He will inable us to perform it It might seem a strange thing that God should require of us to bind our selves and undertake to do that which we cannot do of our selves as we do in obliging our selves to all those things fore-mentioned if it were not that the very binding our selves to this does entitle us by the Tenour of this Covenant to Grace sufficient for us In all the Exhortations of the Gospel to any Instance of Duty we may reckon there is comprehended also the Offer of Divine Assistance which shall be afforded to Him who yields in the purpose and desire of his Soul to comply with those Exhortations No Man therefore shall have ground to complain that he would leave his known Sins and do the Duties which he knows he omits but cannot do so For if a Man sincerely desires to leave his Sins devotes himself to his Duty and diligently uses the Means that may inable him to do it That is If he waits on God for this Grace in earnest and persevering Prayer and a due attendance on the Preaching of the Word and the Sacraments that Man shall infallibly come to be able to do what he thus wills and desires For He that hungers and thirsts after Righteousness shall be filled as our Saviour says And God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him It is the Favour of this New Covenant to help us to do what it requires us to do The last Favour and Blessing of this Covenant is an Everlasting Happiness both of Body and Soul in Heaven We are left by it indeed subject to a natural Death to mind us of our guilty Rebellion against God That we may not forget we are Sinners and do deserve an Eternal Death On purpose that the sence of this might quicken our desire and concern to recover the Divine Favour and make us the more ready and willing to submit to the Terms of recovering it But Death shall not long have Dominion over us God will not leave the Soul in Hell that is it shall not be always separated from the Body nor shall the Body be always subject to the Ignominy and Punishment of its Dissolution Since the Sins are pardon'd which did deserve Death the Creature shall be released from it And our Saviour's Resurrection from the Dead does especially assure the Resurrection of those that believe on Him He has also promised that he will give them Eternal life and raise them up again at the last day The Body then however scatter'd and dispers'd and lost to all knowledge of Men shall be gather'd together by the Wisdom of God and be raised to Life by his Almighty Power And it shall be raised with great advantage It was sown a Natural Body it shall be raised a Spiritual Body It was sown in Corruption but it shall be raised Immortal And the Soul shall be again united to it never to be separated more But both shall be taken up to dwell in a glorious happy place where is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore To live in the Fellowship and Communion of kind happy and glorious Angels To dwell in the Presence of God and contemplate and praise and love Him and rejoice in his Love for ever This is now the whole Tenour of the New Covenant which was procur'd for us by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ our kind and powerfull Advocate SECT IX The Sacraments of This Covenant AND this Covenant also hath its Sacraments God has appointed sensible Actions and Signs in and by which it is to be made between Him and us In the use of these Sacraments we must testifie our Consent to this Covenant and signifie that we own our selves engag'd in it And in the use of these must we wait for and expect the Blessings and Favours on God's part to be afforded us It is by these that He has determin'd to convey those Favours which we can at present receive which are the Pardon of our Sins and the Sanctification of our Natures and also to assure that which we are to hope for our Everlasting Happiness and Glory These we must necessarily use then if Means and Opportunity be afforded us to do so that we may be partakers of his Favours And in using them we must sincerely purpose and bind our selves to the performance of our Duty The Sacraments appointed to be as we may say The Instruments of this Covenant since the coming of Christ which are all that nearly concern us are Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. These and these only are now generally necessary to Salvation By Baptism we are admitted into this Covenant and make our first solemn acceptance of it By the Lord's Supper we renew it if it has been broken on our part by any wilfull Sin committed since we were Baptized Or else we therein testifie and declare our continuance still in it and our purpose and desire to do so If any of us have liv'd so happily since we were Baptized as never to violate or break this Covenant by any wilfull known Sin It is true when we are Baptized in our Infancy we are not capable expressly to intend and design the performance of our part in this Covenant because we cannot then understand or know it But this Sacrament is in the purpose of God design'd for the Sacrament of our admission into this Covenant since the Appearance of Jesus Christ in the World And as that which was the Sacrament of this admission under the Jewish Dispensation was by God's appointment administred to Children at Eight days old so the Christian Church has been wont even from the Apostles times to administer Baptism to Infants from whence it is not to be doubted but they learnt to do this from the Apostles themselves And our Saviour gives a plain Encouragement to the practice when he says Suffer little Children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God Our Church therefore as without doubt it ought to do administers Baptism to Infants that they may partake of the Blessings of the New Covenant to their Salvation But because there is an engagement on the part of the Baptized person implied in his receiving Baptism the Wisdom and Piety of the Church has thought fit that it should be express'd too That so the Baptized person may be the better convinced afterwards that he did thus engage himself at his Baptism And because the Infant it self cannot express this the Church has provided that some Christian Friends should do it for us who are also Witnesses that the thing is done And they are bound to take care that as we grow up to the Use of our
the Day of Redemption Let all Men know that the wilfull neglect and refusal of this Sacrament is a damnable Sin of Omission and puts every Man that is guilty of it out of a state of Grace and Salvation And they that neglect to come to this Ordinance when 't is prepar'd for them may very justly fear that God will not bless any other to them For what ground have they to think he will bless one of his Ordinances to them while they neglect another or let them obtain by Prayer and Hearing the Word what he has Commanded them to use this Sacrament for too that they might obtain it And then they that live in neglect of this are in great danger never to be saved by any other means of Salvation Men may perhaps think themselves very good if they keep their Church attend the publick Prayers and sometimes hear sometimes sleep away a Sermon But if they neglect this Sacrament they must expect God will reject all their other performances He that breaks the Law in one point the Scripture says is guilty of all And then he that neglects his Obedience to any one of God's Commands knowingly and wilfully will be lookt upon and treated by Almighty God as if he fulfill'd none of them Oh that Men would seriously lay these things to Heart and consider the terrible Danger which they put themselves into by this Neglect Let us be assur'd that what-ever it is that hinders us from preparing our selves and coming to this Sacrament it is a Snare and Temptation of the Devil the great Adversary of our Souls Who knows the great and saving Efficacy of this Sacrament and therefore would not have Men use it Who knows that if we seriously and frequently attend upon this Means of our Salvation he must despair of ever accomplishing our Destruction Oh let us defeat the malicious design of our Enemy and resist all Suggestions that would beat us off from this practice Let us consider how kindly and lovingly the Lord Jesus the great Lover of Souls invites us to it Come unto me says he all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Let us not give him cause to complain of us and say Ye will not come unto me that ye might have Life Let us consider what noble and inviting Entertainment he has provided for us at this Heavenly Feast He designs to entertain us with assurances of his Love with the Divine Influences of his Holy Spirit with the joyfull pledges and fore-tasts of Heaven and is this what is but fit to be despised Consider at what a costly rate and price He has provided us this Entertainment Even at the price of his own cruel Sufferings and bitter Death and of his most precious Blood If we love our Souls then and have any concern for their Salvation let us prepare our selves and come to this Sacrament as often as we can If we have any true Love to the Lord Jesus our best Friend our kind Saviour who lov'd us and laid down his Life for us Let us earnestly desire and seek the Purchases of his Blood and seek to be made partakers of them in that way in which he has appointed us to do so as we shall certainly do if we really and sincerely desire them I must not insist too long upon this matter If what I have said cannot persuade any unwilling Soul to prepare and come to this Sacrament I would wish that I could but obtain so much of such an one as to read and consider a short Discourse to this purpose written by His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury call'd A Persuasive to frequent Communion There he should see the most subtle Insinuations which the Adversary can suggest to with-hold him from his Interest and Duty in this Case utterly baffled and confuted And as there is reason to believe that Discourse has prevail'd upon many so there is reason to expect both from that success and from the strength of it that none can consider it well but it must prevail with him SECT XII Of Fitness to come to this Sacrament BUT the common pretence and excuse that hinders Men from coming to this Sacrament is That they are not fit for it And they are afraid of Eating and Drinking unworthily and of incurring their own Damnation thereby It is therefore the design of this little Book to show what Fitness is requisite for a worthy and profitable Receiving of this Sacrament and to help Men to that Fitness by the Blessing of God which they shall not fail to obtain of Him by Earnest Prayer and the serious and frequent perusal of what is here presented And since in Celebrating this Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ we are to renew and confirm this Covenant which we have been speaking of between God and us This will abundantly direct us what Preparation and Fitness is requisite that we may be meet Partakers of it to our profit and comfort And it is necessary that we know what the Terms and Conditions of it are which God requires to be perform'd on our parts and what it offers and promises on God's part This matter therefore has been already for that reason distinctly and somewhat particularly represented In the next place we must unfeignedly and sincerely chuse and lay hold on this Covenant It must be the hearty desire the sincere purpose of our Souls to be engag'd in it To be bound in these happy Bonds which set our Souls at liberty from the Bonds of Sin and Death We must desire the Blessings and seek the Favours of it and readily accept and submit to the Terms and Conditions and declare that we will expect our Salvation upon those Terms And also we must certainly be very thankfull to the Son of God at this Memorial of his Death since He became the Mediatour of this Covenant and has by his Death procur'd the favour of new Terms of Salvation and the Offer of Peace and Reconcilement with God upon so gentle and easie terms And he who has that Knowledge of this Covenant and this good disposition of Mind thereupon that Man is fit for this Sacrament and if he comes he shall be a welcome Guest at the Lord's Table Now as I have represented the Knowledge necessary to this I shall go on to represent also more particularly the good Disposition of Mind which we ought to come with And I shall represent this in such a way as will be fit to form it in Men where it is not or to excite and actuate it and set it into Exercise where it is I shall represent it in the following Acts or Exercises of it Which you may take notice are a lively Description of a very meet Receiver of this Sacrament So that he who would become fit for this Sacrament must read and meditate on those things till he finds those Dispositions and Affections rais'd in him which are therein
this which afflicted his Body was the least part of the Sufferings He felt He suffer'd more abundantly more than all this in the Sufferings of his Soul For I must consider further that this Death of His was an Accursed one in the account of the Jewish Law that is in the account of God Himself for it was He that had order'd and taught them to account it so on purpose that it might fore-tell and signifie before-hand That the Redeemer of the World should bear in his Death the Curse and Punishment which the Divine Law had justly threatned against the Sins of Men. This then must call to thy Mind the mighty Sufferings of His Soul He was made a Curse for us and God laid on Him the Iniquities of us all By Men was He treated as a Malefactour and by God too The Light of his Father's Countenance and the pleasing Aspects of his Love which had been always the Joy of his Soul and the Reward of all his Labours in his Service and till now had been constantly enjoy'd was now when He wanted it most withdrawn when He was under His sharp outward Sufferings and when He was at the point of Death And in making his Soul an Offering for Sin He was afficted and terrified with God's Almighty Wrath and Displeasure This made Him cry out who was silent before My God my God why hast thou forsaken me He felt the Wrath which our Sins had deserved Oh terrible thing Who can conceive what He endur'd We may believe no Torments can exceed those He felt in his Soul except it be those of Hell if they do Oh wounding Thought This stabs and pierces my Soul This tells me It was not so much the Cruel Jew or Barbarous Roman Souldier that tormented and kill'd the loving Jesus as the vile Sinner It was I among the rest of Sinners that gave Him his cruellest Wounds his sharpest Sorrows It was I that wounded that kill'd my Saviour and Friend I shed his Life's most precious Blood Was there ever such a thing known besides this O Jesu there was never any Love like thine and there is nothing so vile so base as a Sinner Greater Love than this hath no Man that one lay down his Life for his Friend But thou hast laid down thine for Enemies for those that hated thee yea for those that kill'd thee Thou art there on the Cross despised that I might be honour'd Thou art there in pain that I might be at ease Thou art there hungry and thirsty that I might be supplied with all good things Thou art there accursed that I might be blest Thou art there deserted by the Father's Favour and Love that I might enjoy the Everlasting delights of it Thou art there dying that I might live an Everlasting life in Joy and Glory unspeakable and Eternal Oh Jesu Was I more dear to thee than thine own Life Was I to be rather indulg'd than thine own Ease and more to be respected than thine own Honour What am I Lord Oh what is Man that thou art thus mindfull of him There was never Love like thine None but a God could love thus Oh Adorable Mystery Oh Wonder of Wonders Thy Greatness is unsearchable thy Love is incomprehensible and thy Ways are past finding out With profoundest Reverence I Adore thy Incomprehensible Love I leave off to fathom what I can never reach and will give up my self to Praise and Admire for ever SECT XIV An Exercise of Repentance HAve I indeed given my kind and compassionate Saviour so much Grief by my Sins and shall they give me none Oh that my Head were Waters and my Eyes a Fountain of Tears to drench my filthy polluted Soul But alas it is not all the Tears that I am able to shed which could ever make me clean or wash out the stain of any the least of my Sins Oh I am become it seems so exceeding foul and have contracted stains of such a nature that nothing but this precious stream my Saviour's life's Blood can cleanse me How am I fallen from the Dignity and Honour of my Creation I was made little lower than the Angels by my Bounteous Creatour but I have made my self more vile than the Beasts that perish I was made subject to no Creature not bound to pay any Homage or Service towards the Glorious Angels though made lower than them but alas I have made my self a slave to the abject Devil I have refused to serve God my Maker and Friend and have drudg'd for my mortal Enemy Oh wretched Man that I am I have sought his Service while I have declin'd thine and run after his Temptations while I have endeavour'd to evade thy Commands Oh I have been forward to do Evil and backward to all that is Good I have combin'd with my Soul 's great Enemy to hasten and encrease my Damnation Infinite Goodness How unjustly how basely art thou requited for all thy bounteous Love to Mankind Who can conceive or express the Vileness the Enormity of Sin Which is a Contempt of thy infinite Majesty a Rebellion against thy unquestionable Authority an Abuse of thy free Goodness a Defiance of thy Almighty Power a Denial of thy incomparable Wisdom and an Affront to all thy glorious Attributes Which is contrary to that Honour and Homage which I owe thee as thy Creature Wo is me that I should ever offend my Maker so liberal and so gracious a Father Wo is me that I should slight and affront the Love of Jesus my Redeemer as I have done it in cherishing those vile Sins that He came to destroy O Jesu at what a costly rate hast thou lov'd me and merited my Love And how loth how slow am I to entertain the Love of thee Thou hast Loved where thy Hatred has been deserv'd and I vile wretch have hated Him that has infinitely deserv'd my Love Thy Love to me has been a vast Condescension and has caused thy Humility and Abasement yet wouldest thou love the Unworthy But my Love to thee would have been my Honour and Glory my Everlasting Advancement yet have I been unwilling to love thee Wo is me I have been obstinate in Wickedness Oh how have I griev'd the Holy Spirit in neglecting resisting and opposing his good and kind Motions in my Soul turning a deaf Ear to his gentle Admonitions and refusing to be converted and healed Oh my God in our Sins we despise thy Will and do our own We disown thee and make Gods of our selves In our Sins we believe the great Deceiver before the God of Truth and follow his delusive Temptations rather than thy rich and faithfull Promises In our Sins we preferr Earth before Heaven the Creature before the Creatour and reckon there is more Happiness in the Enjoying some of them than in the Enjoyment of Thee the Infinite Fountain of Good Oh how vile how enormous a thing is Sin Who can sufficiently hate it I see O Lord in the terrible
Reason we may grow also in the Knowledge of our part in this Covenant and may come to Understand what we are bound to And that the Baptized person himself may ratifie and confirm his Baptismal Engagement he must when he can exercise his Reason and know his part of this Covenant readily chuse and consent to it and solemnly renew it And so he must make it his own Act and Deed to devote himself to God This our Church has very justly ordered should be solemnly and publickly done in the receiving of Confirmation A thing alas too much neglected to the great decay of true Christian Piety among us But if this were duly and generally practised we should in all likelihood see more persons live according to their Baptismal Vow and as becomes Christians than commonly do But this Discourse is design'd chiefly to bring Men prepar'd to the Lord's Supper that they may worthily and profitably Receive that And therefore it must not be diverted so as to insist long on any other Subject but what is necessary and serviceable to that design and end of it SECT X. The Lord's Supper a Confirmation of this Covenant I Shall now therefore bring the Discourse more close to this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which has been all this while leading and aiming towards it And I shall begin to discourse particularly of that by showing That it is appointed and design'd by God as a Faederal Rite and is to be used as such by us As a Ceremony wherein this New Covenant between God and Man is renew'd and confirm'd This by a little search we shall soon find to be very Evident in Holy Scripture Our Saviour Himself when He first instituted this Sacrament speaks thus of it as He was delivering the Cup to his Disciples This Cup is the New Covenant in my Blood Luke 22. 20. For what our Translation renders Testament there had been more exactly and properly render'd Covenant Our Saviour's plain meaning is this Take this Cup as the Instrument of Conveyance to you of the Divine Blessings of the Covenant of Grace which are the inestimable Purchases of my precious Blood Again when our Lord says of the Bread in this Sacrament This is my Body which is given for you and of the Cup This is my Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the Remission of their Sins He plainly means That this Sacrament is intended to renew to us the Blessings and Favours which are the Purchases of his meritorious Death and his Sacrifice which He offer'd to God in Dying for us And the Apostle Paul plainly teaches us to understand our Lord thus For He says of the Bread in this Sacrament It is the Communion of the Body of Christ and of the Cup It is the Communion of the Blood of Christ 1 Cor. 10. 16. By Communion he means the Communication of these It is faithfully intended by God that in the Use of this Sacrament those who are fit Receivers shall partake of the Body and Blood of Christ and this Bread and this Cup shall be the Communication of the Body and Blood of Christ to them These outward Elements of broken Bread and Wine poured out shall bring with them to those humble and prepar'd Souls which receive them this Spiritual Grace Which means they shall be partakers of the Benefits and Blessings purchased by the breaking or wounding of the Body and the shedding of the Blood of our Saviour the Blessings procur'd by the valuable Sacrifice of his Death which are the Blessings of the New Covenant fore-mention'd This Sacrament is Ordain'd of God to be a Pledge and Conveyance of these Blessings and shall actually and infallibly be so to meet Receivers God will never be wanting to his Sacraments nor leave them without the Efficacy He designs them for if the Receivers of them be not wanting to themselves He faithfully intends the Renewal and Confirmation of this Covenant with us in this Sacrament and will actually do it if we sincerely intend the same thing And that the Renewal of our part of the Covenant at this Sacrament is expected and required by God cannot chuse but be very easily apprehended When God offers good things upon Terms and Conditions He requires the binding our selves to perform those Conditions if we would partake of those Good Things and our embracing the Offers He makes implies and ought to imply the accepting of those Terms and the engaging our selves to perform those Conditions To be sure God never intends we shall be partakers of those Good Things without performing those Conditions When 't is said God gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask him 't is implied that asking is the necessary Condition and Means of having When 't is said God gave his only begotten Son that they who believe in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life 'T is required that Men believe as a Condition of their obtaining Everlasting Life So when 't is said Jesus Christ is the Authour of Salvation to them that obey Him and Repent that your Sins may be blotted out These things evidently imply that our Sins shall not be forgiven unless we repent of them nor will the Blessed Jesus Himself be a Saviour to us if we do not devote our selves to his Service and give up our selves to follow his Example and Conduct Now this being the constant Tenour of the Gospel We must needs conclude that when we are offer'd to be made partakers of these Blessings in this Sacrament it is required that if we desire them we must bind our selves to perform such Conditions Our receiving therefore of those things which are God's Pledges and Conveyances of those Blessings upon Conditions is an outward profession and declaration that we bind our selves to do what is required of us And if that outward Profession be not attended with an inward and sincere Intention it is a horrid Hypocrisie and makes a Man undoubtedly guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ He is reckon'd to have abused and profan'd the Body and Blood of Christ as did the wretched Men that slew Him The receiving these Elements in the Sacrament is an Outward Profession and Declaration that we accept of God's Covenant and then it certainly binds us sincerely to intend our performance of the Conditions of it The Apostle plainly gives us this Instruction in 1 Cor. 10 in that he intimates the partaking of this Sacrament to be a Rite of the same Nature and Signification with the Eating of the Sacrifices which had been offer'd to any God As the Eating of those Sacrifices therefore signified the Owning Him for God to whom the Sacrifice had been made and so the obliging of themselves to worship and obey Him and the reliance upon that Sacrifice to find Favour and obtain a Blessing from Him so the Eating of the Lord's Supper must be reckon'd to imply and declare the same Professions and Engagements This is the Eating of a Sacrifice
which as God he could not do and therefore He became Man that He might be capable of Dying And in Humbling He humbled Himself and became obedient unto Death even the Death of the Cross And here if ever my Soul thou wilt be lost in Astonishment In considering thy Saviour's Love to Mankind Thou wilt surely despise all things beside Thou wilt like his Great Apostle and Lover be forced to value no Knowledge but that of Christ and Him Crucified and to account all things but dross and dung that thou mayest gain an Interest in this Love That it may thus engage thee consider now the Death which Jesus underwent for thee Was it the Death of the Cross Was my Saviour crucified And what a kind of Death was this His Enemies the Unbelieving Jews chose it for Him and the Heathenish Roman Souldiers executed it And this Death was the vilest and the most ignominious one in the account of the Romans such as they put none to but the most contemptible Abjects and the bafest Malefactours And this Death was in the account of the Jewish Law an Accursed one He was reckon'd accursed of God that was hanged on a Tree But let me consider the Indignities the Contemptuous usage which attended my Saviour's Death and how painfull and afflicting it must needs have been to Him As soon as the Blessed Jesus was condemn'd to die He was committed to rude Souldiers who made it their sport to injure and abuse Him They stript Him of his Cloaths tied Him to a Pillar and cruelly scourged Him on his naked Back Oh Jesu I love and adore Thee whom these Wretches thus vilely abused I grieve for thy Injuries and am afflicted with thy Pain After this they platted a Crown of Thorns and forced it to make it sit fast upon his Head wounding and tearing thereby his Sacred Temples And then my Soul had I been there I might have seen his own Blood running down and disguising his Blessed Face Oh what a disguise of that Majesty and Meekness of that venerable sweetness that awfull Goodness which had always dwelt there They then found out some contemptible purple Garment and put it on Him and put a Reed in his Hand to imitate a Scepter and then mockt Him with bowing the Knee before Him and crying Hail King of the Jews And to show how little Honour or Reverence they intended Him in this they most disdainfully spit in his Face and buffeted Him about among them from one to another And without doubt he thought himself the wittiest of the Company who could devise the greatest Affront Thus was He injur'd and abus'd who came into this World on the kind design of saving lost Sinners Thus was the King of Glory the King not of the Jews only but of Heaven and Earth mockt and despised by the vilest of Men. When they had tired themselves with this Barbarous sport and how much rather Him They put his own Cloaths on Him again and led Him away to Crucifie Him And on Him they laid the heavy and ignominious Burden of his Cross and he must carry a long way the Instrument of his Shame and Death to the place of Execution But they had used him too ill before to leave him still able to carry so heavy a Load and after He had hardly carried it a little way He fell under it I see O Son of God in this thy fainting under the Cross a manifest proof that thou didst really take our Nature upon Thee with the innocent Infirmities of it And I cannot chuse but admire and praise so wondrous a Condescension of the Almighty for our sakes They who used Him so cruelly before I must needs imagine did not exercise any Compassion to Him upon this occasion I abhorr to think how inhumanely 't is probable they used Him now But they laid at last the burden upon other Shoulders for now their Malice was in haste to be rid of Him When He was come to the place of Crucifixion they stript Him of all his Cloaths and exposed the fresh Wounds which the rude Scourge had given Him to the cold Air. They laid Him upon his Cross and violently stretched out his Arms and then drove a great Nail through each Hand Thus fastening to the Transverse Beam of the Cross those blessed Hands which had been used in the working many a kind Miracle but had never done any harm and certainly deserv'd a better Usage Then they drove one or two great Nails through his Feet and fastened them to the Upright Beam of the Cross Those Feet which had carried Him diligently about upon his kind business in the World which was to seek and to save lost Sinners This being done they set the Cross upright that He might hang upon those Nails drove through those very sensible parts of his Body in exquisite Pain and Torture and exposed to the view and scorn of the Spectatours And many of these revil'd insulted over him and derided him here It would even wound a Heart that has any tenderness to think that any one should be used so cruelly And one could scarce forbear to feel some pity and trouble at seeing even the most odious Malefactour in such a condition But this was not a Malefactour my Soul but as thy Sins had made Him one This was the Innocent Jesus who had done no Iniquity neither was guile found in his Mouth This was thy Lover thy Saviour thy Friend that hung here and all this he endur'd for thee My Soul if thou hadst seen the Loving Jesus thus hanging upon these Nails and bleeding from his Head and from his Hands and from his Feet and heard his Enemies reviling Him there what Resentments would'st thou have felt Would not so sad an Object have made thy Tears keep pace at least with the drops of his most precious Blood Would it not have made thee also smite thy Breast as some of the Spectatours did Could'st thou see this and not feel those Wounds and sympathize with those Pains he endur'd When every Wound might be understood to say Sinner behold how I love thee All this I endure for thee How then should this Sacrament affect thee which is a lively Memorial of his Death What a deep sence of thy Saviour's Love and Sufferings should this create in thee When he is here as it were evidently set forth Crucified before thee I see here his pale wounded bloodless broken Body I see his Blood poured out and separated from it Canst thou see this and say my Love is Crucified and think thou seest Him crown'd with Thorns all over daub'd with Dirt and his Enemies filthy Spittle and his own Blood and not be fadly griev'd to think He was put to endure all this by His Love of thee Oh Crucified Jesus there was never Grief there was never Love like thine All this endur'd for me This commands and deserves Oh let it cause my great Grief for and my ardent Love to thee But all
shall shew forth thy Praise SECT XV. An Exercise of good Resolutions OH Crucified Jesus Great Martyr of Love I cannot chuse but acknowledge and admire and praise the exceeding Greatness of thy dying Love Much it is O Lord that I reckon my self beholden to thee And what Oh what shall I render unto the Lord for all his Kindness and Benefits Lord when I ransack my store I am asham'd I am utterly abasht to find how poor it is Oh what can a Creature return to his Maker What can I give that have nothing to give Who am nothing but what I have deriv'd from thee Thy Goodness indeed is such that thou requirest no more than we are able to render and with that thou art well-pleased But that O Lord is so little that I cannot be satisfied with it Oh let thy Fulness of all Excellent Grace thy Fulness of Love fill me with all true Excellency and Love that I may be the better and the worthier Gift to thee Dearest Jesu For the Love of thee I readily renounce all the flattering Vanities of this World all the most necessary Enjoyments of it that I may steadily Honour and Enjoy thee I account all things but Loss and Dung and will not count my Life dear that I may finish my Course of Duty with joy and may win Christ But especially O Lord for love of thee I do here utterly renounce abdicate and abhorr all my most darling Sins And it grieves me exceedingly that I should ever be so base as to entertain any Rivals of the Loving Jesus in my Heart O Lord I hate them so much the more now by how much the more I have formerly lov'd them I will utterly cast them out of my Heart no more shall they harbour there no longer will I entertain no longer cherish those thine Enemies What! Can I be kind to the bloody Crucifiers of my Lord See my Soul see these Murderers all daub'd with the Blood of thy Saviour Away from me ye hatefull Things We will now instantly part never I hope to meet again never to be acquainted more Begone without delay I will thrust you out of my Soul you have no right to abide here Jesus alone has right to possess and rule me Away vile Envy I cannot endure the sight of thee Begone my Covetousness My Malice I hate thee My Sensuality I will starve thee My Pride I will humble thee My Idleness thou hast made me so much work to do that I am resolved I see it absolutely necessary to banish thee for ever from me All my Lusts and vile Affections begone ye shall have no more kind usage here do not expect it Jesus has all my Love I have none for you I am all his I am no more for ye Begone ye hatefull Tyrants of my Soul Jesus a kind and gracious Master imposes gentle Tasks but you lay heavy Burdens upon me His Yoke is easie and his Burden light but your Commands are rigorous and intolerable Jesus has shown me great and wondrous Love Ye promise me much satisfaction and kindness but perform nothing No ye have cheated and deceiv'd me Ye have robb'd me of my Peace robb'd me of my Dignity and Glory and which is more ye have robb'd me of the Favour of my God What can you do for me if you should do all that you promise which is never to be expected that is comparable with what He can do for me what He is willing and has faithfully promised to do for me if I will but hate and forsake you or with what Jesus has already done to testifie his God-will and Kindness to me Jesus made Himself of no reputation for my sake and that He might advance me to the highest Honour But ye would expose me to the utmost Contempt of God Angels and Devils Jesus has died for me that I might live for ever but ye would kill me Jesus rules to save but you to destroy His Rewards are Eternal Life and Happiness but your Wages is Death and Misery everlasting When I come to die what fruit what comfort can I expect from you Alas all that you could ever gain will leave me then if it be not gone before and I must go a poor naked friendless Stranger into the Eternal World yea for your sakes I must if I do not cast you off appear a hated guilty Rebel before my Lord and Judge and be exposed to all the Terrours of Divine Wrath. But the Love of Jesus will not then forsake me Neither Tribulation Distress Persecution nor Death it self shall ever separate me from the Love of Jesus if I will but be divorced from you And Jesus is King of the other World and will send his kind Angels to receive my departing Soul out of the mean Tabernacle of my Body and to conduct it to a glorious Mansion To welcome it from the Miseries of this sinfull World to congratulate my happy Victory over you my Enemies and carry me in Triumph to a place of Bliss and to be with Christ Can I then so much abandon my Reason so much mistake my Interest as to have any more to do with you O Lord the Great Redeemer have Mercy upon me and deliver me from these tyrannous Masters Thy Service is perfect Freedom in keeping thy Commands there is great Reward Set my Soul I pray at liberty to run the Ways of thy Commandments As for these thine Enemies and mine bring them forth and let them be slain before thee Root them perfectly out of my Heart Let them from henceforth be in a decaying languishing Condition never thrive more and quickly die I will never be satisfied till I see them utterly deprived of all Motion Sence and Life O Jesu thy Cross thy Nails thy Spear are due to these Let them from thence receive many mortal Wounds that thou mayest never be displeased nor I troubled or disparaged with them any more for ever O Crucified Love thou hast prevented me by thy Love and infinitely exceeded all that I can return But I will learn of thee to Love and follow thee as well as I can Thou hast given thy self for me on the Cross and givest thy self to me in this Sacrament Behold O Lord I offer my self to thee my whole self I offer and bring thee all the Faculties of my Soul all the Members of my Body I offer my Sences and my Passions I offer all my Thoughts my Words and my Actions I offer all my Designs and Endeavours All the Labours of my worldly Calling all the Adoration of my Worship and Devotions I offer thee all my Possessions in the World all the Persons that I can command and influence to worship honour and serve thee I offer thee all the Days of my Life I offer thee my Death when thou wilt please to require it and both Living and Dying I desire to be thine I desire to be entirely thine Oh how dearly hast thou bought this poor Gift Never was
thy Works In Mercy thou hast great delight We remember the glorious Exercises of it We know O Lord thou canst pardon the greatest Offences For thou hast pardon'd very great Sinners David was forgiven his base Murder and Adultery Manasseh his horrid Idolatry and filling Jerusalem with innocent Blood The vile Adulteress Mary Magdalen The Apostle Peter who denied and disown'd thee with an Oath The Furious Saul who blasphem'd thee himself and being exceedingly mad against thee compell'd others to Blaspheme All these are Monuments of thy glorious forgiving Mercy Oh what comfortable what joyfull Hopes have we in such Goodness We know that having given us thy Son thou wilt not deny us any thing that is necessary to our Salvation But if we ask we shall receive if we seek we shall find if we knock it shall be opened to us On that Ransome which my Saviour has paid for me and on all thy gracious Promises which for his sake thou hast made I do wholly and firmly rely With an humble Confidence O Lord that we may find favour with thee we remember before thee in this Sacrament the bleeding Wounds of thy dear Son and his precious Death our rich Sacrifice for Sin We remember before thee and present unto thee Him whom thou hast set forth to be a propitiation through Faith in his Blood And in his Name relying upon the Value and Acceptance of his Sacrifice I thy poor unworthy Servant humbly present my self before the Throne of thy Grace to seek thy Favour begging leave that I may claim thy gracious Promises which in Him are Yea and in Him Amen and that I may now entertain and delight my self with the glorious Hopes which they afford I desire I hope that thou wilt fully forgive my manifold and great Transgressions I desire I hope thou wilt give me thy Holy Spirit which thou hast promised to give to them that ask Him Oh grant me that Spirit to cleanse me from all Unrighteousness to purifie my polluted Soul to take away all the filthy stains of my Sins to strengthen my weakness in Temptations to be my support and comfort me under Discouragements and Afflictions to assist me in all my Duties to guide my Way and secure my Perseverance to the End Thou O Lord who searchest the Hearts and triest the Reins of Men well knowest I had almost said too well wherein my greatest weakness lies Lord strengthen me in particular I beseech thee against mine own Iniquity I desire I hope thou wilt graciously keep me unspotted from the World keep me from following any of the Errours and Vices that shall ever be in vogue with the giddy and wicked Multitude I desire I hope thou wilt mercifully defend me against the Wiles and Devices of my Soul 's great Adversary the Devil I humbly commit my self to thy gracious keeping Oh faithfull Creatour I desire I hope O Lord that thou wilt bless me with Health and with a competent Provision of what is needfull for me of the good things of this World and defend me if it please thee from Poverty Dependance and Contempt Give me neither Poverty nor Riches but feed me with Food convenient for me I know O Lord Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward that Sin entring into this World has brought Misery and Affliction with it And that our folly and perverseness commonly needs such Discipline to make us wise and good I desire to submit to what-ever it shall please thee to order for me to say always after the Example of my Saviour Lord not my Will but thine be done I hope thou wilt deal with me according to thy Mercy and lay upon me no more than thou wilt inable me to bear I believe thou mayest do me great good by my Afflictions I pray thee sanctifie them all to the promoting my Soul's Health and my Everlasting Happiness And give me I pray thee an humble Resignation and an invincible Patience that I may neither despise the chastening of the Lord nor faint when I am rebuked of Him Let me always encourage my self with this Assurance That these light Afflictions which are but for a moment if they be patiently born shall work for me a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of Glory I desire I hope thou wilt direct and inable me so to pass through things Temporal as that I may not finally lose the things Eternal That by thy Conduct and Guidance I may at last arrive safely to that happy World where the Weary are at Rest where the Wicked cease from Troubling where Sorrow and Sighing and Pain and Vexation and Fear and Care shall all be banish'd all Tears shall be for ever wiped from our Eyes and we shall enjoy thee and all that we can desire in perfect Bliss and Eternal Safety and Quiet This is a true Saying and worthy of all Men to be received That Jesus Christ came into the World to save Sinners Lord I receive it Lord I believe help thou my unbelief I believe O Jesu thou art Christ the Son of the living God that should come into the World Oh tender and condescending Love how dear is that Blessed Name to me Jesus my Saviour Oh how full of sweetness is it as a rich Perfume Thy Name is as Ointment poured forth Oh be thou ever Jesus to me To thee O Lord I fly as a refuge from the just Wrath of God I have deserv'd as able to conquer all my spiritual Enemies as willing to receive into thy protection all that come unto thee Oh Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World have Mercy upon my poor Soul grant me thy Peace Thou invitest those that are weary and heavy laden to come into thee Behold Lord I come let me find Rest to my Soul I come to partake of the Happiness of being united to thee in this Sacrament I believe O Lord the Truth of all thy Promises and the Vertue and Power of all thine Ordinances And that the Bread we break and the Cup we drink in this Sacrament be not bare Signs but real Instruments of Conveyance and the Communications of thy Body and Blood I come then that I may receive thy Body and Blood may be interested in the Merits of thy Passion that I may partake of the Spirit and be intitled to the Heavenly Inheritance which thou hast purchased for poor lost Sinners I come to make a Thankfull Remembrance of thy Death which thou didst kindly submit to for the Advantage of Mankind And by thy Death I hope to have Life everlasting I gladly embrace O Lord the Offers of thy Gospel I desire thee to subdue in me all my rebellious Lusts and vile Affections and as a King to rule over me I will account it my Honour to be thy meannest Subject I desire thee to afford me thy Heavenly Instructions teach me as a Prophet and make me wise to my Salvation through Faith that is in thee I desire thee