you and all that I desire of you is that you would continue in my love If you keep my Commandments you shall abide in my love Joh. 15.9 10 14. even as I have kept my Fathers Commandment and abide in his love This is the token I would have of your kindness to me Ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you Nothing else do I request of you but that you would not hurt your selves by sinning against my love that you would henceforth live unto me who dyed for you Come I beseech you now and assure me that you love me Renew your covenant of friendship with me By taking eating and drinking this that I give you plight me your faith that you will be ever true unto me And then I will be your security against the curse and the condemnation which you dread I will undertake for you that all your sins shall be pardoned Nay I will present you fair and beautiful before my Father as if you had been always innocent Take my word for it that I will deliver you from the wrath to come and give you the blessing of eternal life If you doubt at all of it come hither take this bread and drink this cup as sure as you now receive these your sins shall be blotted out and never remembred in the great day of judgment By these tokens I give you an interest in my death and sufferings I oblige my self by these sensible signs to perform all my promises I seal to you that gracious Covenant which was made in my blood As certainly as I dyed I assure you that you shall live for ever Only as I said do not deny me your hearty love Grant me this small request to correspond with me in sincere affection And by eating and drinking here at my Table tye your selves to be my faithful servants Then I allow you to begin now the joys of Heaven Nay I require you to rejoyce in my salvation to comfort your selves in my promises to solace your souls in the hope of my glory and to sing the Song of Angels which shall end and be completed in eternal Hallelujahs Praise ye the Lord. It is no dream and mere imagination I assure you Christian Readers no vain fancy that you entertain your selves withal if you conceive our Lord thus discoursing to you at his Table For all this is in effect pronounced by the Bread and wine which represent his pretious body and blood When they are broken and poured out before your eyes and offered to you to eat and drink in commemoration of of his death they report unto you his great love and declare the agonies and pains which he indured and give you assurance by authority from him that he will never cease to bless you and do you good And therefore you cannot better affect your hearts and raise your devotion to him in my opinion than by expounding their meaning to your selves and thinking you hear him uttering by them such words unto you as I have now mentioned And will it be possible then that you should be altogether silent and answer never a word unto him Can you find nothing to return to so kind and gracious a declaration of the bowels of his mercy towards you Or will it be hard to tell him your heart who hath so freely opened his unto you No man sure can be mute unless he be astonisht and struck dumb at the power and mightiness of his incomprehensible charity This may indeed justly strike us all with the greatest admiration and hold us a while in wondring thoughts that we should be thus beloved of God It will well become us to be amazed and lost in our thoughts to be unable to do any thing at the first hearing of all these things but only marvel that he should be so kind to such wretched sinners We cannot begin this action better than in a soul-full of thoughts not to be expressed In a silent admiration that the God of Heaven should thus graciously visit us manifesting himself in our flesh giving his Son to die for us and inventing so many ways to make us rest assured of his love towards us But when you have recovered your selves out of this passion how many other shall you feel strugling in your souls which shall first present themselves unto him Do but stay and pause a while upon every part of the foregoing words and you will find all sorts of resentments in your heart which you may cast into this order and thus address your reply unto him You may be very much ashamed that you should give him so great trouble and put him to such pains First to die and then to find out so many ways to remember you of his death and perswade you of his never dying love You may say to him in your heart O my Lord I blush to see my soul so foul that nothing less than thy pretious blood would serve to wash and cleanse it I am confounded to see thee in such a case for us who cared not how vile and base and miserable we were What have we done that we should bring thee to a Cross O what wretches were we that we should understand the love of God no better than to stand in need of such an instance of it with what confidence can we behold thee thus battered and bruised thus wounded and bloody thus full of pain and anguish as thou representest thy self unto us I am asham'd to think that we have exposed thee to such ignominy and shame I am grieved at the heart that we have made thee a man of sorrows And our infidelity O how great is it that after thou wast pleased to indure all this for us we should stand in need of such frequent remonstrances of it and be in danger to forget thee or distrust thee unless thou didst continually thus present thy self unto us and assure us of thy good will towards us O my Lord how shall I present my self before thee who am one of those that have occasioned all this care and pain this agony and passion this sweat and this blood I sigh to remember the many groans which we have made thy heart ake withal It wounds my ears to hear those words My God my God why hast thou forsaken me I am ready to ask thy pardon even that thou art come at such a rate to pardon us It is too much too much but that thou art love it self to spend all this love and kindness upon such insensible and ungrateful sinners Thus having begun to make your addresses to him you may proceed in the second place Humbly to acknowledg your unworthiness to be guests to so great a person as he is Though we cannot if we understand the nature of this feast but come with as thirsty a desire to it as the chafed Hart to the streams of water with as hungry an appetite as a poor man to a full Table or a covetous
of them I hope to give thee eternal praises O Father of mercies and God of all comfort who hast made us after thy own image and in the fulness of time sent thy Son born of a woman made under the Law to redeem us from the curse and hast adopted us to be thy children promised to make us heirs with thy only begotten and for that end to give us a new birth from the Grave into an immortal Life Have patience with me O Lord till that time when I shall more fully comprehend and better acknowledge the greatness of thy love for which I will endeavour to prepare my self by an innocent harmless and unblamable life as becomes the Gospel of Christ To him I have now dedicated my self again in all holy obedience I have professed my self his servant that admires him and loves him and glories in being his faithful Disciple O that the good thoughts and pious inclinations which I have now felt in my heart may remain and abide there for ever that as I grow in years so I may grow as my Saviour did in grace and favour with thee my God and with all good men Endue me with a more solid knowledge of thy will with a stronger love and affection to it and with power to do my duty towards thee and towards all men That I may behave my self in an humble and godly fear before thee in all justice mercy and charity to my Neighbours and possess my Body and Soul in sobriety chastity and patience Make me loving to my inferiours respectful to my betters friendly to my equals kind to all mine enemies thankful for thy mercies contented with my own state and condition of life fearful of my self in prosperity and confident in thee in adversity that all temptations may only present me with something to overcome and give me new occasions of victory over the world and produce for me at last a greater crown of glory For thou art my hope O Lord God thou art my trust from my youth Psal 7â— 5 6 8 9. By thee have I been holden up from the womb thou art he that took me out of my mothers bowels my praise shall be continually of thee Cast me not off in the time of old age 73.24 forsake me not when my strength faileth But let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy hâ—nour all the day Guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory through Christ Jesus to whom with thy self in the unity of the Holy Ghost be all honour thanksgiving love and obedience rendred by me and all Angels and Men both now and eternally Amen Easter-day The Meditation before O Blessed day which brought glad tidings of great joy Our Saviours second birth-day to a more glorious life The day of the first fruits of those that slept The day that brought life and immortality to light and gave us assured hope in God that it shall be to us according to Jesus his Word Why do we dream thus my Soul about these things Awake awake and stir up in thy self the most piercing belief and sense of them Thy Saviour is risen and calls unto thee with a mighty voice saying Rev. 1 1â— I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the keys of Hell and of Death Need there any more words to perswade thee to go and rejoyce in his love which made him give himself to die for thee And in the love of God which accepted of his oblation and rewarded his sufferings with a glorious Resurrection to an endless Life And in that power might and majesty wherewith he is crown'd So that at the Name of Jesus all things in Heaven and Earth and under the Earth do bow and obey It is too little to say that I will go and thank him at this holy Feast for what he hath done for me and for what I hope he will still do I will go and offer my self absolutely to him I will make a vow of love to him and charity to all the world I will triumph in his praise and glory in the service of the Prince of life I will dedicate my self to be an everlasting monument both of his Death and of his Resurrection from the dead I will so remember his death as to die my self to sin And so remember his Resurrection as to rise again to walk before him in newness of life And his dying no more so that sin shall have no more dominion over me Rom. 6.12 14. nor reign in my mortal body that I should obey it in the lusts thereof His Humility shall be remembred so as to kill my Pride and his Charity so as to kill my Covetousness I will remember his pains so as to mortifie all inordinate desires of pleasure and his patience so as to subdue my anger passion and peevishness His love to his Enemies shall make me forgive others and do good to those who do evil to me And his absolute obedience make me take up my Cross and be obedient to the very death Dost thou not begin already to feel the remembrance of his free giving himself for thee animate thee to a chearfulness and forwardness in well doing Doth not his full trust in God when he laid down his life that he should receive it again raise in thee a strong confidence in his Almighty word Is not the power he hath over Hell and Death of mighty force to encourage thy hopes and make thee victorious over all thy enemies How doth thy heart beat within thy breast What thoughts and passions doth it travel withal Doth it not begin to send up admiring thoughts towards Heaven where Jesus is Doth it not burn with strong desires Is it not ready to burst forth into the highest expressions of love and joy Art thou not enraged against all those sins which murdered the Lord of life Are they not all condemned to be crucified and slain Dost thou not resolve to live like one that believes in Jesus and professes himself to be his faithful follower Then think when thou goest to celebrate the memory of his Death that Jesus stands in the midst of you as he did among his Disciples when he was newly risen from the Grave saying Peace be unto you Joh. 20.19 Eat O my Friends rejoyce and be exceeding glad As my Father hath loved me so I have loved you Joh. 15.9 continue ye in my love Behold here the sensible Signs and Seals of my love By these I give my self to you as once I gave my self for you By these tokens I convey to you all that I have I make over to you that inheritance which I have purchased by my Bloud and that is eternal life in the Heavenly places For I am alive again and behold I live for evermore Amen Lord Jesus 14.19 live live for ever Because thâ—â— livest I shall live also Thou knowest how to
pity us because thou art he who was dead And thou wilt never cease to pity and help us because thou art he that liveth â—â—m 6.9 and being raised from the dead dieth no more death hath no more dominion over thee Because thou wast dead and tempted in all things like unto us thou art sensible of our infirmities and able to succour us in all the trials of life and death And because thou livest thou canst make thy death become powerful and effectual to us thou canst make good all thy own promises and put us in possession of the purchased inheritance 1 Pet. 1.3 Blessed be God which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto such a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead Death is swallowed up in victory O death where is thy sting O grave 1 Cor. 15.54 55. where is thy victory Thanks be to God who hath not appointed us to wrath 1 Thess 5.9 10. but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who dyed for us that whether we wake or sleep we should live with him Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus 2 Cor. 4.14 Jude 24. and shall present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy The Prayer before O Most mighty Lord of heaven and earth the Father of Spirits the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose name is ever hallowed by an innumerable company of Holy ones that are always burning with love to thee and praising thy most beauteous perfections thy incomprehensible wisdom goodness righteousness and truth The Sun shineth not before the brightness of thy Majesty The Angels are unclean in compare with the purity of thy holiness What are we O Lord that thou wilt look down from the habitation of thy holiness upon us what manner of love is this wherewith thou hast loved us in sending thy Son down among us and designing to take us up unto thy self that we may joyn with that holy fellowship of Angels and Saints to love and praise thee for ever We are the off-spring of rebellious parents that have been transgressors from the beginning Who have dishonoured our nature despised or undervalued thy grace in the Lord Jesus resisted or coldly entertained thy holy Spirit and loved these little things here below more than that eternal happiness which Jesus hath revealed by his resurrection from the dead We are not worthy of the crumbs that fall from thy Table which thou hast spread for all creatures or of the least drop of thy mercies We are not worthy to lick the dust before thee because we deserve not to live and breath any longer in this world And yet thou lettest us live in hope that we shall live with thee and thou givest us leave to breath forth our souls towards thee and hast thy self spread a new Table for us and furnished it with the richest of thy blessings and invitest me most graciously among the rest to come now and feast with thee and eat of the bread of life which came down from heaven and is able to nourish me to eternal life I would fain O Lord approach into thy holy presence there and behold the wonders of thy love But I am covered with shame and blushing because of my ingratitude unto thee I cannot with any confidence open my eyes towards thee till I have some sense in my heart that thou art willing to cover my sins and hide thy face from mine iniquities Which I cannot reasonably hope for till I find them loathsome grievous and hateful to me more than death it self I ought to hang down my head in heaviness of spirit till a sense that my heart is throughly changed and renewed give me liberty to look up unto thee saying Thy will O Lord be done Possess thy self of my soul for I absolutely submit my thoughts desires and passions to be ruled and governed by thee in all things And what is it else O my God that I long for What doth my soul thirst after But that I may know thee more Ephes 1.19 20. and the greatness of thy power to us ward which wrought in Christ when it raised him from the dead and set him at thy right hand in heavenly places and that I may be overcome and perfectly subdued by this mighty love and that I may be transformed into thy image and live according to the sense I have of thy most adorable perfections O that I may wholly follow the guidance of thy wisdom and submit to thy soveraign Authority and be obedient to all thy righteous and good laws reverencing and fearing thy majesty approving my inward thoughts and desires to thine all-seeing eye depending on thy al-sufficiency hoping in thy omnipotent goodness trusting to thy true and faithful word delighting and rejoycing continually in thy Fatherly love and care of me who hast brought me into being and preserved me from ruin Eph. 3.6 and made me partaker of thy promise in Christ the beginning and first born from the dead in whom it pleased thee that all fulness should dwell Col. 1.18 19. I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledg of Christ Jesus my Lord that I may be found in him and have the righteousness which is by Faith Ph l. 3.8 9 10. that I may know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead Begin now good Lord to raise up my heart above all these perishing things to those joyes where thou art exalted Make me feel that thou art an high Priest after the power of an endless life still ready and able to assist and succour all those that come to God by thee O that my eyes might be so fixed on the high and holy place into which thou art entred that some little glimps of thy glory may breakforth upon me and I may see the treasures and riches of thy kingdom and what is the hope of my calling that so I may be confirmed in my resolutions grow strong in the Faith and be more fervent in my desires more vehement and earnest in my endeavours unwearied in my pains impregnable against all temptations chearful under all difficulties and discouragements Phil. 3.13 14. and that forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before I may press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Into thy hands both now and ever Psal â—â— 5 I commit my Spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of truth I confide entirely in his Almighty and eternal love to whom thou hast given all power in heaven and in earth Matth. 28.18 I wait on thee who hast not thought thy immortality too much to bestow on us for
inspiration of the holy Ghost I may have the comfort of knowing that I am still led and moved by it and living and walking in the Spirit may go on joyfully to the possession of that immortal inheritance which it hath sealed to us Now the God of hope fill us all with joy and peace in believing Rom. 15.13 14. Col. 1.28 that we may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost being full of all goodness and knowledg and able also to admonish one another till we come to be presented perfect in Christ Jesus By whom I am incouraged to make these addresses unto the throne of grace and to recommend my suits unto thee in his holy words saying as he hath bidden us Our Father which art c. The Meditation afterward THou hast now seen the completion of all the mystery of our redemption how that Jesus who learned obedience by the things which he suffered H b. 5.8 9. being made perfect became the author of eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him Canst thou doubt of it when thou remembrest the princely gifts which he hath already bestowed on his Church Did not the spirit poured out as on this day bear witness that all those who obediently believed on Jesus were the children of God Rom. 8.16 17 18. And if children then heirs heirs of God and joynt-heirs with Christ How couldst thou refrain my soul from rejoycing in these thoughts shouldst thou be in the midst of their tribulations For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us Be not so dull then now that he giveth thee also a number of other good things so richly to enjoy But stir up thy self and be exceeding glad in the comfort of that light which shines from heaven upon us shewing us those things which in other ages were not made known to the sons of men 〈◊〉 2.5 as they are now revealed unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit And is it possible to know Jesus and not to learn obedience of him What was it that he designed from first to last but to form to himself an obedient holy people zealous of good works Dost thou not see how early he went himself about his Fathers business Luke 2.49.51 How dutiful and obedient he was to his earthly parents How humbly he condiscended to be baptized by a meaner person than himself because he would fulfil all righteousness Mat. 3.15 And what did he do immediately after he was baptized Mark 1.12 but enter into a combate with the Devil and vanquish those very temptations which foiled our first parents O how gloriously did he then triumph over pride ambition Matth. 4.1 2 c. eager appetite of meat and drink and all perswasions to presumption or distrust of God! Consider my soul what was the first thing he preached after this but that men should repent and believe the Gospel Mat. 4.17 Mar. 1 15. And his Sermon that presently followed on the Mountain what lessons doth it teach but poverty of spirit mourning meekness mercifulness purity peaceableness Matth. 5.3 4 c. and such like heavenly vertues without which he tells us in the conclusion of his discourse 7 26 27. we may as discreetly build an house upon the sand as hope to go to heaven And was not his whole life a continual comment upon this text Whither tended all his promises his exceeding great and pretious promises 2 Pet. 1.4 but that by these we might be made partakers of a divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust O God! that we should be no more moved by such promises to purifie our selvs what miracle will work upon those hearts whom these will not prevail withal to be obedient And yet his miracles I see also had the same design to win men to a better life I hear him admonishing the impotent man whom he had cured Joh. 5.14 Behold mark what I say thou art made whole Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee So had his death also for he gave himself for our sins Gal. 1.4 that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father that he might sanctifie and cleanse his Church with the washing of water by the word that he might present it to himself glorious Eph. 5.26 27. not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish For this cause likewise he rose again as well as died that we should not henceforth live unto our selves but unto him 2 Cor. 5.15 Act. 3.26 and that he might bless us in turning us from our iniquities For which end he ascended into heaven and was exalted with Gods right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour Acts 5.31 for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins This is the intent of his eternal Priesthood that we should be incouraged to draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith Heb. 10.21 22. having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water And for this purpose he sent the Holy Ghost to make the Gentiles obedient Rom. 15 18 19. by word and deed through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God With this commission he sent his Apostles that they should go to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God Acts 26.18 that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Christ And this they preached with the greatest fervency and testified in the Lord that they who believed in him should not henceforth walk as other Gentiles did in the vanity of their minds Eph. 4.17.5.6 c. for they pronounced the wrath of God would come upon the children of disobedience but to them Rom. 2.7 who by patient continuance in well-doing sought for glory and honour and immortality eternal life Of this the Holy Ghost was the Earnest the Advocate of Christ Jesus here as He is ours with the Father the Witness of his resurrection and glory the Proof and Demonstration of his Religion the Comforter of all those that live according to it It bids them hope that he who hath so advanced humane nature as was most apparent on this day in wisdom power and charity can and will change us into his glorious image and make us meet for the inheritance of the Saints in Light It bids us ask what we will in his name Joh. 16.23 Rom. 8.32 and it shall be given us for he that hath given us his Son and sent his holy Spirit how shall he not then give us all things What shall we ask O
refusing this to withdraw his blessing from other means of our spiritual growth and nourishment The very names as you shall hear whereby it is called suppose it to be Food And since for the Body it is not intended it must be Christian Food part of the plentiful provision which Christ hath left in his House for the Souls of his Faithful Servants that they may be well maintain'd and able to do their work And truly as long as we have any need to grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to increase in strength and power to master all temptations and do our several duties to renew the sense of our obligations to God and bind our selves faster to him to heighten our Love and Gratitude and to stir up delight and joy in God our Saviour so long will there be a necessity of Doing this which serves for all these ends and purposes And did we but seriously consider this one thing that a principal end for which both this and the other Sacrament was instituted is that by these outward signs we might express our hearty consent to the new Covenant made by Christ in his Blood and ingage our selves to stand to the terms and conditions of it we should be extremely afraid to refuse to come to this holy Communion because that is the same with refusing to be of his Religion For he that made the New Covenant with us and is the Author of the Christian Religion hath made these outward Rites and Solemnities to be Instruments of stipulation whereby they who are willing to enter into that Covenant and be of that Religion should express their agreement and submission to it and openly declare that they own Jesus to be the Lord and will perform due obedience to every one of his Commands Which when they have once done they are to signifie their continuance and stedfastness in that Religion to which by these means they have addicted themselves by the repeated use of the same things Otherways they live as if they repented of the contract which they have made and renounced our Blessed Saviour who hath made the doing this to be a special testification of our Devotion to him and his Service This is a thing to be sadly ponder'd and might prevail much were it laid to heart as it ought To which if you add all the other purposes and ends for which it was ordained they would still make it appear more necessary if either the will of Christ his special Command the practice of all Christians our own wants our respect to the Christian Religion or the great Benefits we may receive by doing this in remembrance of him can make us judg any thing so And that is the second part of my Discourse to which I now proceed PART II. Concerning the Ends and Purposes of this Holy Action IF the Reader be convinced by what hath been writ that he is as much bound to do this as he is to be a Christian I hope it will have a double effect upon him First that he will endeavour to quicken and stir up himself to a serious and constant performance of this duty by often pressing these considerations hard upon his heart Secondly that he will be very desirous to understand the full meaning end and use of this holy Action that so he may reap the profit which is therein designed to him He must stifle his Conscience or else it will move him to the Former and the more resolved he is in that the more solicitous he will be about the other Leaving him therefore to attend to the voice of his own awakned mind I shall give him no further encitements to this duty than will arise from what I am now going to say about the Nature of it From whence he may draw a great many Arguments to perswade him to be ready prepared to this as well as every other good Work First then the very words of the Institution of this Sacrament and the whole discourse of S. Paul about it prove that it is to be considered as a Divine Feast which our Lord hath appointed in commemoration of himself That it is to be lookt upon as a Feast or repast provided for us the Bread and Wine the eating and drinking sufficiently declare But it is more fully expressed in the names of Breaking bread and of the Supper of the Lord which are given to this Action And as it is expresly ordained to be in remembrance of our Blessed Lord so I think it not amiss to add it was no unusual thing in the world to institute Feasts and entertainments to preserve the memory of famous Persons It is recorded by Athenaeus * L. 5. Deipnosoph cap. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. that there were such set meetings of several sects of Philosophers in Athens to commemorate their Founder Some on a certain day celebrated the memory of Diogenes others of Antipater others of Panaetius And the great Philosopher Theophrastus left a sum of money at his death for such a meeting not that they might there debauch themselves as his words are but manage their discourses soberly and learnedly in that Compotation So the Greeks called their Feasts which took their denomination from the Wine as among the Hebrews they took their name from the Bread * Gen. 43.25 They heard they should eat bread i. e. dine with Joseph and v. 31. he said set on Bread And so Constantine I remember calls the Christian Feasts in Memory of the Martyrs ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orat. ad Sanct. coetum cap. 12. where the Poor were comforted and those that had lost their estates mercifully relieved At these most sober Tables they discoursed of their memorable sayings their worthy actions their patient sufferings and rehearsing the History of their life and death excited themselves to tread in their steps For this as Germanicus said excellently on his death-bed * Quae voluerit Meminisse quae maâ—daveâ—â—t exequâ— Tac. l. 2. Annal is the principal part of Friendship not to follow the dead with tears but to remember his Will and to execute his Commands Which is the general design I make no doubt of this most holy Feast where we meet to preserve an eternal Memory of our glorious Redeemer and to fix more deeply in our minds all that he did and suffered for us that thereby we may be disposed with the greater chearfulness to perform his Will and obey his Precepts For this end I find ‖ Caâ—â—â—â— ex Mosaraâ— â—aturâ— Exerc. 16. n. 38. that the Gothick Churches which long continued in Spain having comprehended the History of our Saviour under these nine words Incarnation Nativity Circumcision Appearance Passion Death Resurrection Glory Kingdom were wont to divide the holy Bread in the Sacrament into just so many parts on which they imposed those nine names Whereby they have let us know what their conceptions were of this Action and that they thought the
Breaking giving and receiving of that Bread was to commemorate and more strongly imprint on their minds the whole History of our Lord Jesus Which we are not to reflect upon in an idle and ineffectual manner but with such passions as we feel when we think of the sweet conversation the good offices and the solemn departure of the dearest Friend that we ever had Whom no good natur'd man can seriously call to mind without Love Delight Gratitude and a great forwardness to fulfil his Will and Testament and to follow his admired example Now that we may be made able to do so in respect to our Lord Christ he is pleased to set before us this Holy Food which the Christian Church hath always lookt upon as a Spiritual nourishment to strengthen and encrease in us all goodness And for that purpose we are to address our selves to the Table of our Lord that by affectionate meditation on his condiscending kindness in becoming a Man for our sakes and by laying to heart the whole story of his wonderful Love from his Birth to his Grave and fixing our eyes on the glorious hopes he hath given us by rising again from the dead and ascending to the Throne of God we may feel a greater strength derived to us from him enabling us to our several duties and be enlivened to a greater freedom and chearfulness in denying all our own appetites and desires and submitting them to the Will of Christ Say therefore to your selves before you come thither some such words as these We are invited to a Feast our most Gracious Lord is the Master of it yea He himself is the cheer that is provided for us With what Humility with what thankfulness ought we to accept of his invitation Let us fit up our selves and make our souls ready to appear before him in as holy and becoming a manner as we are able Let us go with such joy as if we were called to the richest entertainment in the world Let our Meditation of him be sweet and let us be glad in the Lord * Psal 104.4 Isa 63.7 Psa 45.17 Let us mention the loving kindness of the Lord according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us And let us make his name to be remembred in all generations Let us resolve to feed on him in our hearts by Faith with Thanksgiving as his Minister exhorts us to ruminate so long upon his love till we feel our hearts burn with love to him Let us meditate on his holy life his bitter passion his bloody and shameful death his glorious Resurrection and Ascention his Power and Authority at Gods right hand the great benefits we justly expect from thence and the pretious promises he hath by these means sealed to us till we feel all the powers of our souls quickned and stirred up with a mighty heat and zeal to do the will of our ever blessed Redeemer even a new life and spirit coming into us and making us Strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Which vertue we shall certainly find flowing into us and spreading it self through our hearts if we believe and enter into a serious consideration of the more particular intention and design of this holy Feast whose general meaning I have briefly described Having surveyed therefore in your thoughts the whole Gospel of our Saviour Christ I shall proceed to shew you on what you are more principally to fasten them You must not consider this holy Action only as a Feast in remembrance of him but as a Feast upon a Sacrifice wherein you are more particularly to commemorate his Death Our blessed Lord the High-Priest of our profession was pleased himself to be offered upon the cross where he gave himself for us an offering and a Sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour Ephes 5.2 A kindness that as it ought never to be forgotten so it ought to be mentioned with the highest and devoutest praises And therefore after the manner of those Feasts among the Jews and Gentiles too in which the people had some portion of the Sacrifice to entertain themselves and their friends withal he makes us pertakers of the Sacrifice which he made to God by admitting us in these representations of his body and blood to feast upon it Which Action is a grateful commemoration of his death to his everlasting praise and glory Therein we set forth that Sacrifice of his for us and signifie the thankful sense we have of his love and our high esteem of those benefits which his bloody Death hath purchased to us This we learn first from those words of our Lord and his Apostle S. Paul which teach us to do this in remembrance of him Which phrase doth not signifie our calling him to mind but our making mention of his dying love with due praises and acknowledgments which is best expressed by the word Commemorate We declare by doing this that we indeed bear that remarkable testimony of his kindness in the remembrance of a thankful heart and will endeavour to make it be remembred in the succeeding generation That this is the meaning appears more fully from a second expression of S. Paul's 1 Cor. 11.26 where he saith as often as they did this they shewed forth the Lords death till he came We declare and publish by this Action his bloody Death We proclaim and abundantly utter the memory of his great goodness which he would have made known to all by this solemn Feast till his second appearing This is the import of that word shew forth only it carries this further notion in it as appears by the use of it in the Psalms * Ps 106. â— Ps 145.4 5 6 7. That we hereby publish his mighty Acts with praise extol and magnifie his marvellous love and celebrate the Memory of those divine benefits he hath obtained for us with a desire that they may be acknowledged in the same manner to the Worlds end And here now we may consider that this Commemoration and shewing forth looks two ways towards men and towards God First We shew it forth and tell it to the world We openly declare to all those that see or know what we do that the Son of God dyed for the Children of men that he freely gave his body to be broken and his blood to be shed for our redemption We proclaim Jesus to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the World and shew how God hath commended his love to us in that while we were sinners he gave his only begotten Son for us that we might live through him In this riches of his grace we make our boast and glory a great deal more than if we possessed the Treasures of the whole Earth Secondly And then we Commemorate also and shew forth his Death unto God the Father We set before him this free-will Offering of Jesus as a sufficient Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world We magnifie his
bounty in this invaluable blessing and make mention of this which his Son hath suffered for us as a compleat satisfaction for all our offences against him We must approach therefore to the Table of the Lord with affectionate acknowledgments of his infinite goodness extolling and praising his merciful kindness in bestowing on us so great a gift professing we will never forget the tender love of our Lord who laid down his life for us and beseeching the Father of Mercies to receive us into his grace and favour for the sake of his dear Son whose Death we shew unto him We should resolve to express the sense of our hearts in some such words as these Psal 92.1 2 3. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name O thou most high To shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night For thou Lord hast made me glad through thy work I will triumph in the works of thy hand 66.16.86.13 Come and hear all ye people I will declare what the Lord hath done for our Souls For great is his mercy towards us and he hath delivered our souls from the lowest hell Glorious things are spoken of thee John 1.14 29. Colâ—ss 1.15 Joh. â— 12 O Jesus thou lover of Souls The word made flesh the Image of the invisible God the light of the world the Lamb of God that takes away its sin the first begotten from the dead the heir of all things Rev. 1.5 the Prince of the Kings of the Earth Heb. 1.3 Heb. 8.1.9.24.7 25. an high Priest who is set down on the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens who appears in the presence of God and lives for ever to make intercession for us Psal 89.6 Who in the Heaven can be compared to the Lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord For thou Lord art highly exalted thou art exalted far above all Gods 9â— 9 In this most powerful name O Father Almighty we humbly cast down our selves before the Throne of thy Glory Give us leave to mention before thee the Death of him who said behold I come to do thy will O God Behold O Lord the bleeding wounds of thy well-beloved in whom thou hast testified by a voice from Heaven that thou art well pleased Remember how his Body was broken for us and his Blood poured out In him we believe thou art perfectly satisfied and therefore are bold to hope that thou art reconciled to us on that account O hear his dying groans regard his Agony and Bloody sweat by his Cross and Passion let our sins be blotted out and by his glorious Resurrection and Ascension let us feel every evil affection and lust perfectly killed and crucified We have nothing to plead if he have not done enough and fulfilled all thy will But since he hath laid down his life in obedience to thee O let us by vertue of that voluntary Sacrifice which now we represent before thee obtain thy mercy and grace We cannot be content to lose our share in so great a Love And since thou hast bid us to Commemorate it we hope we shall as certainly pertake of it as we do of this Feast to which thou hast invited us Ps 79.13.145.1 2. So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever We will shew forth thy praise from generation to generation We will extol thee our God O King we will bless thy name for ever and ever Every day will we bless thee and will praise thy name for ever and ever In such Meditations as these when we shew forth the inestimable value of Christs Sacrifice we do as it were offer it unto God or rather make before him a commemoration of his Offering And in this sense the Ancient Christians did call this Sacrament a Sacrifice and every Christian they lookt upon as a Priest and a Sacrificer when he came to the Table of the Lord. Because Christ not only bad his Apostles do this in remembrance of him but S. Paul requires every one of us to do the same and to shew forth his Death till he come There is none mentions this Sacrifice more frequently than S. Chrysostome but to explain himself after he had said we do not make another Sacrifice as the high Priests of old but always the very same he adds or rather we make a Commemoration of a Sacrifice * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Heb. 10. p. 523. edic Savil. And in the very same manner Eusebius writes in his first Book of his Evangelical Demonstration Christians cannot think fit saith he to return back again to the first and weak Elements he means the Mosaical Sacrifices which were but Symbols and Images not the Truth it self ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. cap. 10. p. 37. since they celebrate every day the Commemoration of his Body and Blood and are made worthy of a better Sacrifice and ministery than the Ancients were And a little after speaking of Christs wonderful oblation and most pretious bloody Sacrifice to the Father he adds that he delivered also to us a Remembrance instead of a Sacrifice to offer up continually unto God * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 38. By which words it is manifest he took the Remembrance or Commemoration of Christs death to be that Sacrifice which we make to God And again he saith in the very next page to celebrate the remembrance or commemoration of that Sacrifice upon the Table by the Symbols or representations both of his Body and saving Blood we have received according to the ordinances of the New Testament Hither he applies those places out of the Psalms offer to God Thanksgiving Let the lifting up of our hands be as an evening Sacrifice The Sacrifices of God are a contrite Spirit c. So that they thought of no other Sacrifice in those days but that of praise and Thanksgiving together with the offering of our selves our Souls and bodies to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice unto him as it is admirably expressed in our Communion Service * Prayer after all have Communicated With which the Author now mentioned perfectly agrees and delivers his mind almost in the same words We Sacrifice ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Ib. pag. 40. saith he a divine venerable and most holy Sacrifice We Sacrifice after a new manner according to the New Testament a pure Sacrifice c. we both Sacrifice and offer Incense too Celebrating the remembrance of that great Sacrifice according to the Mysteries delivered by him to us and offering Thanksgiving for our Salvation by godly Hymns and Prayers to God consecrating our selves also wholly to him and to our high Priest the word devoting to him both our Souls and Bodies It would be easy to add much more to the same purpose but
40.8 11. I delight to do thy will O my God yea thy Law is within my heart Withhold not thy tender mercies from me O Lord let thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me Vnite my heart to fear thy name Fill me with all thy fulness O God and above all things with fervent charity This I pray that my love may abound yet more and more in knowledg and in all judgment that I may approve things that are excellent Phil. 1.9 10 11. that I may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto thy glory and praise I am thine save me Multiply grace mercy and peace upon me unto eternal life For it is thou O God Psal 68. ult that givest strength and power unto thy people Blessed be God Immediately after the receiving of the Cup they may lift up their hearts and say Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 1.3 7 8. who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace wherein he hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence O Lord how manifold are thy works Psal 104 24 c. in wisdom hast thou made them all The earth is full of thy riches and so is the great and wide sea wherein are creatures innumerable These wait all upon thee that thou mayest give them their meat in due season Thou openest thine hand and they are filled with Good But eye had not seen 1 Cor. 2 9 10. Eph. 3.5.11 nor ear heard neither did enter into the heart of man the things which thou hadst prepared for them that love thee and hast now revealed to thy holy Apostles and Prophets by the spirit according to thy eternal purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord. Who for us men and for our Salvation came down from Heaven and was manifested in flesh to destroy the works of the devil 1 Joh. 3.8 and dyed for our sins Rom. 4.25 rose again for our justification ascended up on high to give gifts unto men Eph. 4.8 and is at the right hand of God to make intercession for us Heb. 7.25 1 P i. 3. ult Heb. 1. ult Angels authorities and powers being made subject unto him and sent forth to Minister for them who shall he heirs of Salvation Eph. 3.8 Col. 2.3 O the unsearchable riches of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledg I submit my self unto thee O thou Prince of life and Lord of glory unto thee I will live henceforth and not unto my self and if for thee I must die the will of my Lord be done Ps 16. ult Thy favour is better than life in thy presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore Luk. 17.5 Lord increase my faith strengthen my hope raise my love to a greater height and make patience to have its perfect work that I may not love my life unto the death But the trial of my faith Rev. 12.11 though it be tried by fire 1 Pet. 1.7 Col. 2.2 may be found unto praise and honour and glory at thy appearing And O that our hearts may be comforted being knit together in love Eph. 4. ult that we may be ever kind tender-hearted forgiving one another as thou O God for Christ's sake hast forgiven us That so with united minds and affections we may be still praising thee and saying Blessed be the Lord of Heaven and Earth who only doth wondrous things Psalm 72.18 19. And blessed be his glorious name for ever and let the whole earth be filled with his glory Amen and Amen Or thus O the breadth and length Eph. 3.18 19. and depth and heighth O the love of Christ Jesus our Lord which passes knowledge Phil 2.7 8. who made himself of no reputation but took upon him the form of a Servant and humbling himself became obedient unto death even the death of the cross for us miserable sinners Rev. 5.12 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Re. 1.5 6. 1 Pet. 2.5 For he hath washed us from our sins in his blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Christ Jesus Behold O Lord an heart that offers up it self unto thee in love unfeigned I absolutely resign my will to thy holy will and pleasure Not my will but thy will be done And praised be God who hath made a new covenant with us in the blood of Jesus Col. 1.20 who hath by him reconciled all things to himself both in heaven and in earth and hath now renewed unto us the assurance of his continued love Psal 75.1 Vnto thee O God do we give thanks unto thee do we give thanks for that thou art near unto us thy wondrous works declare Psal 20.3 4. The Lord remember all our offerings and accept our Sacrifices Grant us according to our hearts desire and fulfil all our petitions Col. 1.9 10 11. That we may be filled with the knowledg of his will in all wisdom and Spiritual understanding and may walk worthy of him unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in knowledg strengthned with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness giving thanks continually to the Father of mercies who hath made us meet to be pertakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light 1 Tim. 1.17 Psal 106. ult Now unto the King eternal immortal invisible the only wise God be honour and glory for ever and ever And let all the people say Amen But when you have eased your hearts a little in these expressions of faith love and grateful remembrance of our Saviours kindness you will still find room for more devout effusions of your soul in some holy passion or other while you are at this feast Either before or after you have been at the Table of the Lord while the rest of the company is communicating there will be time to entertain your selves with sundry pious thoughts and meditations which I shall briefly suggest unto you in the next part of this Treatise that now follows The intention of which I told you in the beginning should be to instruct you in a plain and easy method how to pertake of this holy food with the greater fruit and delight also PART III. Containing a familiar way of disposing our selves to Communicate with Profit and Pleasure HAVING shewn you what is the Nature and Use of this Feast you will expect perhaps that I should tell you who are the persons whom our Lord invites and calls unto
man to an heap of gold yet still we must remember that we are but beggers and those desires must be temper'd with much modesty lowliness and humility of Spirit Though our Lord say to us as David to Mephibosheth 2 Sam. 9.7 thou shalt eat bread at my Table continually thou shalt alwayes feast with me yet it becomes us to bow down our selves and say as he there did what is thy servant that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am It is too high a favour to sup with thee since I am not worthy to pick up the crums that fall from thy Table The least offal of thy common mercies is too good for me how shall I dare to approach to this fulness of heavenly blessings to which thou invitest me I have sinned I have sinned and am not worthy to be called thy son or to bear thee company In my very best attire I am so ragged that I am ashamed to see my self and therefore how shall I appear before thee O my Lord I come merely in obedience to thy call I should not have presumed to appear in thy presence but that thou hast hidden me And been affraid to be seen in this condition but that I was more afraid not to be seen here at all My comfort is that you will not be angry with us when we obey thee nor be offended that we shew our selves ready to execute thy commands And here You may call to remembrance those sins which are the cause of your fear and brought our Saviour to his Cross Excite in your heart an unfeigned sorrow and grief that he hath been so affronted and wrong'd by you and all the world Declare freely the sense of your heart to him and let him know by an humble and ingenuous confession how the case stands with you Say to him O my Lord thou dost but call to mind by this remembrance of thy dying for us the foulness and polution of all mankind All our iniquities stare me in the face as the people gazed and stared on thee I see our deformities by seeing thee thus vilely and despitefully used It was our covetousness that stript thee naked Our pride that crown'd thee with thorns Our intemperance that gave thee gall and vinegar to drink Our contempt of Religion that put upon thee all those scoffs and taunts Our coldness in devotion which put thee into that agony and sweat Our want of love to God that made thee hated and rejected of men I see as in a glass now that I look upon thy blood the abominable state of sinful men which never seemed so foul as now How shall one of that wicked race be bold to look up unto thee especially since that I have known thy love I have so little valued it and sinned even against thy pretious blood * Here you may remember your particular offences Canst thou indure to enter into familiarity with such a soul as this that here presents it self unto thee may I hope to be admitted into thy holy fellowship and to dwell with thee I abhor I loath I am weary of my self desiring nothing more than to be made like to thee in purity and holiness in truth and justice in love and charity in lowliness and humility in meekness and patience in compassion and forgiveness in intire resignation to the will of God From hence Proceed to stir up in your selves the greatest hatred against your sins and all the wickedness that hath overspread the world Which nothing can so effectually demonstrate to be odious and intollerable as this that it hath made the nature of man capable to act such a villany as to put to death after a most shameful manner the most innocent and harmless nay the most loving and kind the most obliging and charitable person that ever was Continue your addresses to him and represent your extreamest detestation of that covetousness and worldly mindedness that pride and vain glory that ambition and love of the praise of men that envy and ill will that wrath and bitterness of spirit that hippocrisy and partiality which betrayed and killed him the Prince of life Shew him how much you abhor these and all that is evil resolving to cleave to that which is good Destroy O Lord may you say all these thine enemies and root them perfectly out of my heart Pierce through all these evil affections by a stroke from thy cross and passion I have brought them to be slain by thine hand for they are too strong for mine If there be any life remaining in them O that they may be quite mortified and never able to stir any more They are offensive to me as well as unto thee Would I might never see them more but crucified and dead Would I might never behold them unless it be drowned in thy blood And then Excite in your heart the mightiest sense of his love which as it is never to be forgotten so here it is more particularly to be pondered and affectionately commemorated You may say to him O my Lord was manner of love is this wherewith thou hast loved us that we should be called the sons of God! How great was thy goodness which brought thee down from Heaven and made thee one of us And was it not enough that thou shouldest come to dwell among us in the likeness of sinful flesh but thou wouldest also lay down thy life for us Would nothing serve to testifie the height of thy affection to us unless thou sufferedst the death of the Cross to redeem us O Love O the infinite riches of thy grace For a Friend one might be content to die but what should make thee so in love with enemies with the very worst of enemies with Idolaters with us Gentiles who were without God in the world Yea with us who now that we know the greatness of thy love have so little or no love to thee What am I O Lord that thou shouldest command me to love thee Nay shouldest take such a course to deserve my love What am I to thee that thou shouldest so much desire me And now thus graciously visit me and come to entertain me What made thee being in Heaven with them who know so well how to love and serve thee descend to us who know so ill how to do either couldst thou not be satisfied unless we enjoy thee nor be contented to be without us who have such low thoughts of thee and of thy love Is it possible that thou shouldst still continue it to such ill-natur'd and insensible wretches Art thou still desirous of our friendship and come to give us new assurances of thy grace by making us pertakers of thy body and blood O how pretious are thy thoughts to us how great is the sum of them I can do no less most blessed Saviour than set my soul wide open to thee and accept thy kindness with the most inlarged affection of my heart How glad should I be
divine Nature Art thou going to make a new resignation of thy self to him to be made one Spirit with him never any more to depart from him Then think how the Bride-groom will welcome thee how our Saviour I mean will declare and set forth his love to thee and give thee assurances that his mercy indureth for ever and bid thee rejoyce and be exceeding glad in what he hath done already and in the hopes thou hast of what he will do hereafter And here you may call to mind how the word was made flesh and dwelt among us how he manifested forth his glory by his wonderful works how he taught us the way to eternal life and at last was betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men and was crucified and dyed for us with all the rest that concerns the knowledg of Christ That so you may have it more ready in your thoughts when you come to his Table to do this in Commemoration of him In this manner also you may bewail the sins of your former life sue for a pardon of what is past and beseech the grace of his holy Spirit to assist your resolutions of well doing for the time to come The Prayer O Eternal and most blessed God the fountain of being and bliss infinite in perfection and highly exalted above all our words or thoughts I am astonished at the thoughts of the brightness of thy glory and justly afraid to present my self before so great and holy a Majesty Even that abundant grace which invites me to thee abashes me too when I reflect upon my shameful ingratitude to such undeserved love It becomes me to ly down in dejection of Spirit and mournful silence rather than confidently to lift up mine eyes towards Heaven to speak unto thee But since thou art so rich in Mercy as to require repenting sinners to draw nigh to the Throne of Grace I prostrate my self in the humblest reverence before the searcher of all hearts Not to excuse thou knowest but to aggravate my faults to acknowledg the justice and equity of thy Laws to condemn my self for opposing thy Soveraign authority and to vow to thee the most sincere and hearty obedience for the rest of my life I have done so much evil and so little good been so eager in the pursuit of the things of this world and so cold and unconcern'd many times about those of eternity so unmindful of my promises unthankful for thy benefits and unfruitful in the knowledg of the Lord Jesus that it is a wonder of thy patience that I am still alive and not cut down like a barren tree that cumbers the ground For ever adored be thy sparing Mercy which hath born so long with an unprofitable servant who hath so many ways offended in thought word and deed against thy divine Majesty * Here reckon up those perticular sins you are conscious of I have not given thee that honour worship and service which I owe to my Almighty Creator Nor laid to heart as I ought thine infinite love in Christ my Redeemer Nor duly followed the godly motions of thy holy Spirit which thou hast sent to renew and sanctifie my affections and draw me to thine obedience I have not lived according to the faith which I continually confess But behaved my self too oft as if I dreaded not the threatnings and valued not the promises of my Lord Christ as if I feared not his vengeance nor cared for his glorious rewards and as if he would not come to judg the world and render to all men according to their works The stupid insensibleness of mine heart even now that I remember these things brings new accusations against me It testifies that I know not as I ought the terror of the Lord but am apt rashly to mention thy Name without an awful and considerate regard to thy infinite greatness power and holiness before which I approach I am no more worthy to be called thy servant much less to present thee with any offering or receive the least of thy blessings Nothing but shame and confusion of face belong to me and it is only of thy tender mercy that I am not lamenting those follies in weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth which I speak of now with so little grief and bitterness of Spirit Mercy Mercy still more Mercy good Lord I most humbly beseech thee O that a greater fear and dread of thee may now fall down mightily upon me and overspread me O that I may feel such a strong sense of thine incomprehensible Majesty pressing upon my heart that may bear down all other thoughts and sink me low and make me abhor my self in thy sight I know the Sacrifices of the Lord are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise And Jesus hath also offered himself a sacrifice for us in whom thou hast declared that thou art well pleased For Jesus his sake dispose me now to offer unto thee that acceptable Sacrifice And give me grace ever to fear thee and to walk humbly with thee to preserve a tender sense of my duty toward thee and conscientiously to obey thee that so by vertue of his Sacrifice of himself all my sins may be done away and remembred no more Blessed be God that I have any hope of that great mercy Blessed be God who by him hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through his grace By him I will offer up to thee continually the sacrifice of praise giving thanks to thy Name Yea the mercies of thee my God move me to present my body a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto thee which is my reasonable service I dedicate my self absolutely to thy obedience I vow that I will never willingly depart from thy precepts Assist and strengthen me mercifully with thy grace that I may perform my vows and never be so unreasonable as to return to those sins which are the burden of my heart and grieve thy holy Spirit which rent the flesh and shed the blood of the Lord Jesus and which I have so often and so solemnly protested against And now that I am going to thine holy Table to commemorate the Sacrifice of my Saviour to give thee farther testimonies of my love to thee and receive new tokens of thy love to me O Lord vouchsafe to make thy self powerfully present to my mind Represent thy self and thy Son Jesus so lively to my thoughts in all thy wisdom power goodness holiness and truth that I may never forget thee any more but most seriously reverence thee and love thee and rejoyce in thee and trust thee and obey thee all the dayes of my life Imprint the very image of thy Son upon me that I may carry him ever in mine heart and have his life and death continually before mine eyes and in all things conform my self to his will and fashion my self after his holy example Come Lord Jesus and possess thy self of my whole
man Purifie me from all remaining filthiness either of the flesh or of the Spirit Bring in all thy heavenly graces along with thee into my soul And be my perpetual defence by giving me a fuller communication of thy holy Spirit and more mighty aids to do my duty towards thee and towards all men And for that end compose mine unsetled thoughts before I approach to receive the holy Mysteries That I may attend thee with a full and clear conception of their meaning with an actual belief of thy whole Gospel with most sensible love to thee and desire to be more like thee with thy high praises in my mouth and joy unspeakable in mine heart May I presume most gracious Father to ask such tastes and rellishes of thy wondrous love that I may never be able to delight in any thing so much as in the remembrance of it But mine eyes may be ever towards the Lord and I may hunger and thirst perpetually after thy righteousness till I am perfectly made pertaker of thy divine nature and rendred meet to be translated to that high and holy place where I shall see thee not as now in mysterious representations but openly and face to face Amen Lord Jesus who art able to save to the uttermost all them that come to God by thee In thy most blessed name and words I continue my humble prayers Our Father c. A Meditation after the Sacrament WHen you come home or some time after ask your soul what wentest thou out to see where hast thou been and what hast thou been doing Bid it never forget that thou hast been with the Lord of life and that before God Angels and Men thou hast acknowledged him and devoted thy self to his obedience That he hath vouchsafed to represent unto thee his marvellous love the pains he hath taken for thy salvation and the great desire he hath to see thee with him in immortal glory Of which he hath given thee such earnests and pledges by making thee pertaker of his body and blood that thou mayst say of that place where he was pleased to meet thee This is no other than the gate of Heaven I have been in the porch of his dwelling place and begun to enter into the joy of my Lord Here you may read over again that which I said our Lord might be conceived to speak unto you there and then go on and say How shall I escape if I should neglect such great salvation God forbid that I should receive this grace in vain As I have received Christ Jesus the Lord Col. 2.6 so will I walk in him I will endeavour to keep my self holy and unblameable before him in love and to have my conversation as becomes the Gospel There are no joys like to the joys of God No pleasures comparable to those of Christian piety All his Commandments are sweeter than the hony and the hony-comb and in keeping of them there is great reward Shall I cease then to delight my self in the Lord and to do good Shall I leave off to do the rest of his will now that I have done this in remembrance of my Saviour Shall I go away from him now that I am gone from the place where his honour dwelleth Alas whither shall I go thou Joh. 6.68 Lord hast the words of eternal life Thou art the author of eternal Salvation to all them that obey thee Heb. 5.9 I will go in the strength of the Lord God Ps 71.16 I will make mention of thy goodness even of thine only 1 Thess 4.1 As I have received how I ought to walk and please God so I will abound more and more Ephes 4.15 24. I will grow up into him in all things who is the head till I perfectly resemble him in righteousness and holiness of truth Here you may meditate upon all the parts of his holy life and the compleat example he hath set us of all divine vertues more especially those which shone at his death And as I have known some do you may single out one or two for your daily meditation all this month that you may bring your self to an habitual imitation of him suppose in his great HUMILITY and tread in his steps who did no sin 1 Pet. 2.22 neither was guile found in his mouth And as you have begun the New year well so resolve you will continue it and become a new man by leading a more exactly holy course of life Mat. 26.41 Watch therefore and pray that you fall not into temptation And often represent to your self the great love of Christ that it may constrain you because you thus judg that if one died for all then were all dead 2 Cor. 5.14 15. And that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again The Prayer O Most Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty Heaven and Earth are full of the glory of thy Majesty I most heartily joyn with all the Saints on earth with the Angels in Heaven and the holy ones that are above in giving blessing honour and praise unto thee Glory be unto thee O God most high thou great Creator and possessor of Heaven and Earth thou preserver of all things thou spring of an eternal Mercy who hast made Angels and men to know thee and acknowledg thee and praise thee and love thee and be beloved of thee for ever who hast so loved mankind that thou hast opened thy bosom and sent thy dear Son to convey thy charity to us All laud and praise and thanksgiving be to thee O Father of Mercies who hast now made me taste how gracious and good thou art And glory be to the Son of God who took on him the form of a servant who died for us upon the Cross who purged away our sins by his blood who hath left us so many remembrances of his love and given us his body and blood to preserve our souls and bodies to eternal life who lives for ever to make intercession for us and hath promised to come again and take us up unto himself And blessed be the holy Spirit the mighty power of God the Author of all good thoughts the inspirer of all heavenly desires the light and comfort of our minds the purifier of our hearts the guide and strength of our life who hath given us the earnest of the eternal inheritance Thus will I praise thee whilst I live Psal 63.4 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever Psalm 86.12.89.1.71.23.86.5 My lips shall greatly rejoyce when I sing unto thee and my soul which thou hast redeemed For thou Lord art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee I have now tasted of the abundance of thy grace and dearest love the savour of which O that it may remain fresh for ever in my heart
the flesh and the Devil and serve thee without fear in righteousness and holiness all the dayes of my life Hear my words O Lord consider my meditation Psal 5.1.17.1 Give ear unto my prayer that goeth not out of feigned lips And make me to know and feel that Jesus who dyed for me Rev. 1.18 is alive from the dead and liveth for evermore and that he is an eternal fountain of life and strength of comfort and refreshment to all those that by him believe in God 1 Pet. 1.21 who raised him from the dead and gave him glory that our faith and hope might be in God In his most powerful name I sue unto thee for all that is comprehended in his own holy words saying Our Father c. Meditation afterward SOmetime that day and as often as you can after reflect upon your own thoughts resolutions and vows and consider that there may be but a few dayes perhaps hours remaining before you must appear at the Tribunal of him who hath now entertained you at his Table The next sight you have of him may be upon his throne 1 Pet. 5.5 as one that is ready to judge the quick and the dead Put your soul in mind of the great account you must then give of all that you have done in the body and of your sacred actions no question as well as of the rest And therefore ask your self in the most serious manner and bid your soul tell you with what affection hath the death of the Lord been now remembred Hast thou as sincerely renounced all thy evil wayes and consecrated thy self to the life of Christ as thou hopest to be saved As God shall judge the world in righteousness art thou resolved and determined to become a new Creature and to pass the time of thy sojourning here in fear O how dreadful will he then appear to those who return with the dog to his vomit after they have eaten of this holy bread and drunk of this holy Cup who can stand before him that hath known and remembred his transcendent love and yet loved his ease his pleasure his money or any other thing better than him and his eternal life It concerns me nearly O my soul to keep him ever in my thoughts and to express him in my life That when he comes he may see himself in me and behold his own image in righteousness and true holiness fairly ingraven on my heart For many will say unto him at that day Lord Luke 13.26 27. We have eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets But he will say I tell you I know you not whence you are depart from me all ye workers of iniquity Most dismal changeâ— now he invites now he saith come but then he will say depart if we come not to his Table with hearts to entertain him to suffer him to dwell in us and to be the sole disposer of all our actions God forbid that ever that terrible voice should sound in mine ears This one word DEPART from me how confounding will it be It must needs strike the stoutest soul into eternal sorrow The searcher of my heart knows that I went unfeignedly thither to give him possession of it and here again I confirm the gift Let him command what he pleases and I will obey it Let him bring his Cross along with him I will submit unto it Come poverty come reproaches come imprisonment come pains and torments come death it self rather than be so miserable as to depart from the living God Depart from me Psal 119.115 rather ye evil doers for I will keep the Commandments of my God Psal 101.2 3. I will walk within my house with a perfect heart No wicked thing will I set before mine eyes I hate the work of them that turn aside it shall not cleave to me All my delight shall be upon the Saints that are in the earth Psal 16.3 and upon such as excel in vertue And that you may preserve these good purposes let your heart be often there where they were conceived and made though your body cannot Look often back upon the Table of the Lord and say with the same holy Psalmist O when shall I come and appear again before thee 42.2 Early will I seek thee O my God Psal 63.1 2 c. my soul thirsteth for thee that I may see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the Sanctuary Because thy loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee Thus will I bless thee while I live I will lift up my hands in thy name My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and with fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips And to furnish your soul with greater plenty of good thoughts you may often reflect upon the example which Christ hath set you in his death as well as in his life And perticularly resolve to spend this month in meditating every day upon his great CHARITY 2 Cor. 8.9 who though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor that by his poverty we might be rich In this God commended his love to us Rom. 5.8 that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends Joh. 15.13 But we when we were enemies were reconciled to God by the death of his Son Rom. 5.10 and therefore shall much more be saved by his life Excite in your self hereby a great and compassionate love to all mankind especially to your Brethren with whom you are knit in one body That you may be strongly inclined to do good as occasion is offered to refresh the bowels of the poor and needy to comfort and support the feeble minded to live with all in unity and peace till your Christian friendship be perfected in endless love in the other world Remember that God is the God of peace and Christ is the Lord of peace Often meditate on the words of our Lord that it is better to give than to receive and upon these words of a good man that He is the best Merchant who layes out his time upon God and his money upon the poor The Thanksgiving and Prayer I Cast my self down before thee O Lord in the deepest humility of soul to worship and praise thee together with all the heavenly Host saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty Heaven and Earth are full of thy glorious goodness Thou art the joy of all those happy creatures above who continually behold the brightness of thy glory and thy presence and the light of thy countenance makes Heaven upon earth to us thy servants whom thou admittest thus near unto thee Glory be to God in the highest who to all other blessings hath added the gift of his dear Son and delivered him up for us all Glory be to the Son of God
Christian Kings and Rulers may be employed to be a terror to all evil doers and to give praise and incouragement to all that do well That all the servants of the Lord in holy offices may be gentle unto all men apt to teach 2 Tim. 2.24 patient in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves And all those that are under their care 1 Thess 5.13 may have the grace to esteem them very highly in love for their works sake and laying apart all filthiness Jam. 1.21 and superfluity of naughtiness receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save their souls I recommend to thy mercies all the poor the sick the fatherless and widdows and whosoever are in any distress that they may remember the words of the Lord Jesus Luk. 21.19 and in their patience possess their souls And the Lord deliver us all from every evil work and preserve us unto his heavenly kingdom 2 Tim. 4.18 to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen May. Meditation before the Sacrament CAst your eyes now on the beautiful face of the earth and see how all things smile upon you How God hath crowned the year with his goodness and cloathed the pastures with flocks the gardens with flowers and fruits and the vallies with corn How the little hills as the Psalmist speaks are girded with gladness Psal 6â— and every creature shouts for joy and sings And then think with thy self how uncomly it is that thou shouldst be the only dull and silent thing whom the Lord hath adorned with greater riches and honour and set over all the works of his hands Think what nobler beauties he hath made thee to behold and set before thy mind even himself in all his glory which shines upon thee in the face of Jesus Christ Think how he calls thee to a Paradise of delight now that he hath invited thee to his holy Table where he represents unto thee the Son of his love the express image of his person and all the happy fruits of his manifestation in our flesh Bid thy soul therefore awake and meditate on his humble descent from Heaven for our sake with the acclamations of all the heavenly host on all his miraculous works of charity his holy and useful life his bitter passion his bloody and shameful death his glorious resurrection and ascention his power at the right hand of God and all the benefits he hath by these means obtained to us and crowned our nature withal Bid it sing aloud and give praise and shout for joy Stir up all that is within thee to bless his holy name That while all things round about thee are fresh and spiritous and full of life thou mayest not remain the only dead and heartless creature but spring up together with the rest in all the acts of spiritual life Say to thy self what a new world do I see God dwelling here among men God in Christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses unto them Friendship made between heaven and earth Death swallowed up in victory The gate of heaven set open to all believers Jesus our fore-runnner there already inthroned waiting for all his faithful followers and filling them now with good hope peace and joy in the holy Ghost O what a glorious sight is this which the Angels themselves admired what a new heaven and new earth should this have made wherein dwelleth righteousness what ailes us that we do not all become new creatures And beholding as in a glass the glory of our Lord are not changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord I am ashamed of my barrenness in the knowledge of Christ Jesus into whom I was ingrafted long ago It is high time to be more fruitful in all good works For he hath said that every branch in me that beareth not fruit John 1â— 2 8. my Father taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit And herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit so shall ye be my disciples I will go therefore and open my heart to him who is the root and fountain of life that I may derive new spirit vigour and strength from him I will go and declare that I believe in him that I have placed my hope my comfort and satisfaction in his love and value his favour and blessing more than all the world I will shew him how I long to be changed more and more into his divine image and am resolved to abide in him v. 7. and that his word shall abide in me I will give him all the assurance of it I am able by renewing my covenant with him and making a chearful oblation of all that I am and have and can do unto his service Then sure he will communicate more of himself unto me I shall feel his divine power and vertue quickning me and because he lives John 14.19 I shall live also The Sun when he returns to visit us with his warmth doth not more revive all things and renew the face of the earth than I shall find him inlivening and renewing me that I may have my fruit unto holiness Rom. 6.22 and the end everlasting life For he himself hath said Joh. 15.7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you Be it unto me O Lord according to thy word I ask nothing but that I may still have the grace to continue in thy love by keeping thy Commandments That I may grow and increase in wisdom and Holiness and be filled with all the fruits of the Spirit With love joy peace Gal. 5.22 long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance and that they may abound in me more and more to thy praise and glory Amen The Prayer before O Most blessed God who art most lovely in thy self and in all thy works and full of love and kindness to us whom thou hast made to understand thy glorious perfections Thou art beloved of all those that seriously fix their eyes on the beauties of thy holiness wisdom and goodness and observe thy bounty to all thy creatures Thousands of Angels and Saints thou hast whose hearts burn continually with love to thee and thou hast had many faithful servants that have dyed for the love of thee I am one of those fools and senseless wretches that have loved every thing better than thee my Creator and merciful Saviour While others have burnt in the fires for thee I have been unwilling sometimes to take the pains of a few serious thoughts about thee And my mind at best is apt to start away from that most heavenly employment it is hard to think even of thy surpassing kindness to me without interruption but for a few moments I am too unlike the ancient Disciples of the Lord Jesus being
Merciful Father the Fountain of all life and happiness who bountifully communicatest thy blessings and every where overflowest in thy mercies to all thy creatures More especially to the sons of men who are surrounded with an Ocean of them the bounds of which we cannot see and the depth whereof we cannot fathom And the more thirsty any Souls are and humbly desirous to receive them the more it pleases thee to pour out thy mercies upon them the more thou delightest in the issues of thy bounteous goodness to them I thine unworthy servant encompassed about with thy salvation come to make my humble acknowledgments and such returns of love and dutiful affection as I am able to thy Divine Majesty If I had the Spirits of all Creatures united in me I could not conceive or worthily express thy loving kindness Who hast raised me out of Nothing to an excellent degree of being indued me with reason and wisdom instructed me in the Christian faith and therein let me see such things as eye never saw 1 Cor. 2.9 ear never heard Psal 68.18 nor did it enter into the heart of man to conceive that the Lord God should dwell among us Ephes 1.20.21 and our Nature be exalted at his right hand far above all Angels Principalities and Powers and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come Blessed be the infinite wisdom and goodness of God which sent his Son Jesus born of a woman to die for us and to be a propitiation for our sins and by means of death hath crowned him with glory and honour that we might have a blessed hope of glory honour and immortality together with himself I ought to be overwhelmed with the thoughts of thy mercies which I cannot comprehend The great load of them The exceeding great load of them ought to press my heart continually to send them all back again in eternal love and obedience Accept good Lord I beseech thee of such poor expressions of them as I have now made unto thee and of my vows at thy holy Table to render unto thee better There thou hast been pleased to give me a sweet remembrance of thy past loving kindness and assurance of the future Bestow upon me likewise such a wise and considering heart that I may sink my thoughts deeper and deeper into the vast Sea of thy mercies and think my self happy when I am filled with such a great sense of them that all my thoughts desires and actions are under the power of Heavenly love O that the love of God my Saviour may be ever admirable in mine eyes that I may delight to think of thy love to speak of thy love and to imitate thy love so that all inordinate affections may die in me and I may perform most ready and easie obedience to all thy commands Thou hast laid also great ingagements upon me in that whilest thou makest this extraordinary provision for my Soul thou hast not neglected my Body but taken care that a world of good things should serve my needs and pleasure continually O that my heart were but duly sensible of all thy goodness I know then that I could not deny thee any thing thou desirest who hast opened thy hand so liberally to me even beyond my desires I could not but trust thee and resign my will wholly to thee and be contented with what thou orderest for me and in every thing give thanks which is thy will in Christ Jesus concerning me All that I have and can do is too little to give thee I can love thee but a little and therefore I desire that all the world would love thee and worship thee and glorifie thy name For thou art great and dost wondrous things Psal 86.10 thou art God alone O that all the Kings of the Earth would praise thee O Lord. Yea 138.4 5. that they would sing in the ways of the Lord for great is the glory of the Lord. That they may think it their greatest honour to be the Subjects of our Saviour and their greatest security to obey him and observe his Laws That being intrusted with thy divine power they may imploy it to right those that suffer wrong to ease the oppressed of their burdens supply the wants of the poor defend the fatherless and widow and comfort all mankind in their miseries I recommend this Church and Kingdom our Sovereign and all his Subjects to thy most powerful Protection beseeching thee to endue us all with thy Heavenly grace to dispose us to love thy true Religion and to be zealous of good works that our Lord and Master may be honoured by us and all men may know we are his Disciples by our loving one another Now to the most High God Dan. 4.34 35. who liveth for ever whose dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom from generation to generation before whom all the inhabitants of the Earth are reputed as Nothing and he doth according to his will in the Army of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the Earth be blessing and honour and praise rendred by me and by all Creatures now and eternally Amen August The Meditation before DOTH it not seem long my soul since thou wast at the Table of the Lord With what thoughts with what affections then dost thou receive this new invitation to it See what joy what delight it raises in thy heart that thou mayst know whether indeed thou lovest him or no. His love is so great that one would think it should never slip out of thy mind Our Lord hath done such great things for us that we may be tempted sooner not to believe them than to forget them But this is one piece of the greatness of that love that it hath taken care it should be alway remembered He hath not thought it enough to die for us but he hath left us a representation of it and a command to shew forth his death until he come What dost thou think of that command Is it a burden to thee to yield obedience to it Dost thou unwillingly hear the motion to go and do this in remembrance of him What Is it a sad thing to think of declaring the goodness of the Lord To magnifie the love of God our Saviour To celebrate his praises To profess our selves his servants and to ingage to him our fidelity Doth it make thee sigh to think of going to receive the tokens of his love To represent the death and satisfaction of Christ Jesus for thy sins To wait on God for the pardon of them And to be put in assured hope of immortal life Thou art not such a stranger sure to thy own happiness but knowest better things even things that accompany salvation Give glory therefore to the Lord that he calls thee again so graciously to shew forth his death Let him know that thou meanest to obey him to attend him at his holy Table and thank
from thy Ministers and the tender care * You may mention these and others if you have had this benefit religious education of my Parents Tutors and Governours For all seasonable reproofs wholsom counsels good admonitions and every truth I have received from my Friends or Enemies For the pious examples and good conversation of any of my Neighbours for all holy opportunities and the leisure I have to attend upon this heavenly employment For thy merciful chastisements and thy wonderful deliverances For all the good Books thou hast brought to my hands and the good advice which I have any way received For all my Benefactors all those that love me and pray for me And above all for thy gracious inspirations from above the holy thoughts thou hast put into my mind and the pious desires and purposes thou hast stirr'd up in my heart with all the furtherances helps and assistances thou hast vouchsafed me in my way to Heaven particularly now at this holy Feast where thou hast made me know and feel how good thou art beyond the compass of all our thoughts What shall I return unto thee for all thy love What shall I give unto my Lord who hath given himself for me I have given thee my whole self and now devoted all the powers of my soul and body to thy service that all my thoughts my words my desires my passions and actions may be disposed according to thy will and not my own And I think my self happy O blessed Jesus in the choice I have made of thee for my Lord and Master I rejoyce in the disposal I have made of my self to thy service and obedience For a world I would not revoke my consent to be absolutely ruled and governed by thee as long as I live Sin shall not reign in my mortal body Rom. 6.12 that I should obey it in the lusts thereof But here I come again to yield my self unto thee my God and to profess thy service to be the most perfect freedom and the noblest employment To beseech thy pardon for all mine unfaithfulness and the constant power of thy Holy Spirit to assist me in the doing thy will here on Earth as it is done in Heaven that all my resolutions may be persevering my endeavours successful and my obedience perfect and compleat in all things Lord Jesus do what thou pleasest in me and what thou pleasest with me Truly I am thy servant I am thy servant and I will make my boast continually in this that I serve the Lord Christ May I but ever love thee and stedfastly cleave unto thee and chearfully obey thee and faithfully live to honour thee I desire nothing else Come prosperity or adversity come sickness or health life or death so that I may but glorifie thee and be made conformable to thee and bear thine image in holiness here and in glory hereafter And let all the Earth stand in awe of thee thou Lord and Ruler of the whole world Let the hearts of all people submit themselves to thy Kingdom and Authority Psal 45.3 4. In thy Majesty ride on prosperously O thou most mighty because of truth and meekness and righteousness till all thine enemies fall under thee and think themselves happy in thy most just and merciful government I commend thine own family to thy gracious and powerful protection and this part of it especially in these Kingdoms That we thy servants being hurt by no persecutions may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church and triumph in thy praise saying Psal 48.14 This God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto Death Now unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own Bloud and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father Rev. 1.5 6 to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen September The Meditation before the Sacrament SHall we not be too bold in going so oft to the Table of the Lord May we not offend him by our forwardness to approach into his presence No sure not if love carry us thither and accompany us there And who can want that who knows and considers how forward he was to do that which we remember When he came to offer himself a Sacrifice for us he saith Lo I come Psal 40.7 8. in the volume of the book it is written of me I delight to do thy will O God And when he eat the last meal with his Disciples he said again Luk. 22.15 with desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer Behold what a hearty vehemence there was in his love what an ardor in his desire to be made an offering for us and to be remembred by us With what love should we commemorate his dying love with what desire should our souls approach to his holy Table in remembrance of him who took such content in dying for us and was so desirous to institute this holy feast for a perpetual remembrance of his death With the same joy that children use to welcome a Festival with such an hunger and thirst as a labouring man goes to his supper ought we to go to the Supper of the Lord that we may chear and refresh our souls with the memory of our Master and only Saviour with praises and joyful thanksgivings with the love of God and of our Brethren with the hopes of his Mercy here and eternally Awake awake then thy Faith call up thy love quicken thy desires excite all that is within thee to bless the Lord and speak good of his name Say with a great joy Lo I come according to thy command and delight to do thy will O God With desire I have desired to do this in remembrance of my Lord to declare thy mighty acts and shew forth the greatness of thy love to profess my self thy servant and to glory in the holy name of my Master Jesus to offer up my self unto thee an oblation of love to renew my covenant with thee and with all my Brethren to give thee thanks that I am one of thy family and for all the benefits I received and thou hast still in store for thy faithful servants But who is able to tell how much he hath done already for us Or find out all that he designs unto us Who can praise him according to his excellent kindness and his wonderful works for the children of men The thoughts of Angels are not wide enough to comprehend them And if we had their spirits and could love him and acknowledg him with their inlarged affection it would be too little a present to make unto him O give thanks therefore unto the Lord for he is gracious for his mercy endureth for ever O give thanks unto him who is so desirous of us such narrow souls such little hearts that can hold so little love unto him Let us go to him and desire that he would
to me support me under the heaviest afflictions fit me for the most sudden or lingring departure out of this life and for whatsoever thy wise providence shall order for me while I stay in it and by all these means prepare me for everlasting glory And O that the nearer I approach unto it the brighter sense of it may shine in my heart chasing away the fears of death and the cares of life And that I may now begin it by praising thee in the company of thy Saints with joyful lips and every day praise thee better and long more for that happy state where we shall have nothing else to do but love and praise thee for ever The Lord Jesus Christ be with my Spirit 2 Tim. 4. ult in whose holy words I further recommend my self to thy wonted Mercies Our Father c. The Meditation afterward IS there any need after all that thou hast heard and thought and said of thy blessed Saviour that I should call upon thee and bid thee love him Need I entreat and earnestly beseech thee my Soul to preserve the memory of his most obliging kindness and exhort thee to go again and again to praise him in this manner Methinks we may turn our thoughts and our speech to him thanking and admiring the excess of his love that he will let us approach thus near unto him It is his love that he will at all regard us and receive the love we offer to him But it is a great marvel of his love that he hath entreated us so often and used so many arguments to us and laid so many obligations on us to love him What are we that he should seek after us on this fashion who had a mind to lose him It is strange that he will accommodate and address himself to our very senses that our dull flesh may not hinder us from loving him Good Lord that thy delight should be with the Sons of men Couldst thou not live unless we lived also Canst thou be at all the better for us Have we been kind unto thee since thou hast done all this for us Or do we use half so many entreaties to thee to do us good as thou hast done to us to be good to our selves O be astonished at the greatness of his mercy Do but throughly affect thy heart with the heighth and depth of his love and love will make more pathetical and moving exhortations to thee than any thought can invent I will leave thee under the power and constraint of thy love Cease to love him if thou canst if thou dost but think of his love But think withal what an hopeless condition that Soul is in which the love of God in Christ Jesus cannot move and prevail withal to love him And what may all thy Brethren expect from thee who are partakers of the common Salvation together with thy self Canst thou find in thy heart to offend him for whom Christ died Wilt thou not open thy bowels of compassion towards others when thou standest in so great need even of infinite mercies thy self Shall some small differences between you four thy heart or blunt the edge of that affection which is sharpned by the Divine love to us when we were strangers and enemies to him by evil works How canst thou chuse but be ready to do good and to forgive even those that have done evil to thee To bless them that curse thee Luke 6.28.35 36. and pray for them that despitefully use thee Remembring that thy reward then shall be great and thou shalt be the child of the Highest for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil Be thou therefore merciful as thy Heavenly Father also is merciful Here resolve to meditate all this Month very often upon that part of our Lords example which he left us when he died in PRAYING FOR HIS ENEMIES his bitter enemies his malitious and ungrateful enemies his enemies that with implacable wrath most Devilishly contrived the destruction of the most innocent loving obliging and bountiful person that ever walked upon the face of the Earth Remember also how sweetly and mildly he treated even that villanous Traitor his own Servant who betrayed him with a base hypocrisie saying no worse words than these to him Matt. 26.50 Luke 22.48 Friend wherefore art thou come betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss And let not either the greatness of mens malice or their barbarous requital of the benefits they have received from thee or their treacherous hypocrisie or their vile dissimulation or any other aggravation of their crime hinder thee from following thy Saviour and stifle thy love to thy enemies And particularly express thy love by praying most earnestly for them bewailing their folly and madness pitying the ungodly hellish state wherein they are and imitating the charity of Heaven to which thou recommendest them Open thy mouth with meekness of wisdom Prov. 31.26 and let the law of kindness be in thy tongue Speak to them graciously who have disobliged thee And if thine enemy hunger feed him Rom. 12.20 21. if he thirst give him drink heap coals of fire on his head that if it be possible he may be melted into better nature and his evil may be overcome with good The Thanksgiving and Prayer afterward O Most holy and ever blessed Lord of Heaven and Earth who only hast immortality and dwellest in light unapproachable by mortal eyes shining in the glory of thy own perfections and not needing any reflections from thy Creatures Thou art full beyond our thoughts and ever communicating out of thy fulness abundantly beyond all that we can conceive We cannot comprehend the vast number of Creatures which thou hast made who all praise thee and declare thy magnificent goodness nor are we able to fathom the least part of that bounty which feeds them and provides for them and takes care of them every where Much less can we comprehend thee in whom they all live and move and have their being and from whom they are continually supplied without diminishing thy full goodness We the children of men have received a more liberal share in thy blessings than the rest of our fellow-Creatures and had most large experience of thy never ceasing love and kindness to us For after we had spent and wasted those great treasures wherewith thou didst endow our natures thou hast been pleased to grant us a new and better portion and to raise us up again with the addition of many Talents Having sent thy Son to redeem us and to be the Author of a supernatural birth to us to declare to us all the will of thee our Heavenly Father and to give us exceeding great and precious promises the expectation of which might incourage us to do all that thou requirest of us Thou hast sent him blessed be thy goodness to bring us Life and Spirit to strengthen us against all the powers of Hell and Earth to break
keep my body inâ—eâ—perance soberness and chastity Not to coâ—â— nor desire other mens goods but to learn aâ—â— labour truly to get mine own living and to 〈◊〉 my duty in that state of life unto which it shâ—â— please God to call me I desire also the good of all mankind that they may partake of the knowledge of the Lord and enjoy the fruits of his Death and Resurrection especially that all Christian people may walk worthy of the Lord who hath called them to his Heavenly Kingdom And particularly all Kings Princes and Governours may be as careful to observe his Laws as they are desirous others should observe theirs That they may remember the honour thou cast done them in exalting them so â—igh to the end they may imitate thee 〈◊〉 doing good to all below them Purge out of thy Church every thing â—hat dishonours the Religion of our Lord and endangers Souls Unite â—ll the members of it in the profession of the true Faith and in sincere Charity that the poor may be relieved the sick comforted the fatherless and widows visited in their affliction sinners â—eclaimed the obstinate softned and all that are in unbelief brought into the â—â—ock of Jesus Christ And grant unto us all that havâ— Communicated together this day thaâ— peace which passeth all understanding humility meekness obedience fortâ—tude contentedness patience longinâ— desires after Heaven and willingneâ—â— to die that we may rest in an hoâ—â— Hope and have a blessed Resurrectioâ— with the just Amen December The Meditation before the Sacrament NEed I be told after a whole years service at least of my blessed Master Jesus what that duty is I am now going to perform unto him Am I not preparing my self according to his command to make a solemn commemoration before God Angels and Men of his unheard of love in dying for us To make a profession of my sincere love and affection to him To engage to him my fidelity To renew the Covenant that is between us To open my heart to him and to confirm to him the most absolute possession of my Soul and Body To wait on him for his continued grace and that I may feel the â—ower of his Death and Resurrection To â—â—ow him my willingness even to take up â—is Cross and to be his Disciple and follower to the very death To testifie the â—ove I bear unto and the Communion I desire to hold with all the Christians that â—re throughout the world To exalt the â—ame of the Lord and to speak his praises who would give his Son for us and who hath condescended to a treaty of peace with us and upon such easie terms to become friends with us yea reward us and do great things for us O how sweet is the remembrance of these blessings How happy am I that he will not let me forget them But with a continued kindness invites me again to this delightful employment I will go and give him thanks for all his benefits and for this among the rest that he hath made me so often partaker of his blessed Body and Bloud and now gives me a new opportunity to celebrate in this manner the memory of his love And O that my heart were lifted higher than ever after so long acquaintance with him in admiration of his grace in faith in love in joy in praise and thanksgiving in strong and vehement desires and in cordial resolutions to be his devout and faithful Disciple O that the hearts of all men else who shall approach his Table may be disposed to the like zeal and fervent affection to his service and so many Souls as there are then present so many living Sacrifices there may be to God so many wills resigned into his hands with ardent love That so those holy Spirits which the Apostle tells us were present in their Christian assemblies may be invited to come into ours And beholding nothing but what is reverend serious pure and full of true devotion they may be excited to rejoyce and praise God together with us for our sincere affection to his Religion And they may make report among their Heavenly company above that Christian piety is still remaining in the world and that we have made a great increase in growth in it this year by our frequent remembrance of the Lord Jesus which may stir them up all to bless the great and glorious name of our God which is exalted above all blessing and praise The Lord hath prepared his Throne in the Heavens and his Kingdom ruleth over all Psal 103. Bless the Lord ye Angels of his Bless him all his hosts Bless him all ye works of his in all places of his dominion Bless the Lord O my Soul Stir up thy self to bless the name of God our Saviour who hath not cast us out of his sight when we threw off our obedience to him but sent his Son to gather us again to him to invite us by precious promises to endear himself to us by shedding his heart bloud for us to open the gate of Paradise again and restore us to immortality to make us equal with the Angels and rank us among the eldest sons of glory Let us go and if it be possible excite a greater love in our heart toward him than ever we felt before Let us offer up our selves to him with a stronger flame of devotion which may always burn and rise up higher and higher till it touch heaven and lift us up thither where our Saviour is in the high and holy place God blessed for ever Amen The Prayer before ETernal God whose omnipotent word brought me and this whole world of creatures into being Out of the fulness of whose goodness we are all fed and maintained and by whose rich and abundant grace it is that our souls are not in a desperate and forsaken condition but may approach with some confidence to thee our Maker who in thy Son hast revealed thy self unto us a most merciful Father I fall down before thee in an humble reverence to perform that Religious duty which I owe thee as thy creature and much more as thy redeemed one through the purchase thou hast made of us by the blood of Jesus I admire adore and love all that I know of thee I extol and praise thy wisdom thy bounty thy holiness and truth which endureth for ever I acknowledg my self beholden to thee beyond all my words or conceptions either I reproach my self for my base ingratitude and all the wrongs I have done thee I confess the justice of thy proceedings shouldst thou strip me of all those good things thou hast bestowed on me I give thee the glory of thy ineffable and never enough to be valued love in thy Son Christ I disclaim all opposition to thy will as base unjust and unaccountable I vow to thee my intire service and obedience and approve all thy Commandments as righteous wise and good I lay new bonds upon my self to keep and
whatsoever thou seest good and wholsome for me in this world referring my self wholly to thy wisdom and looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Tit. 2.13 in whose prevailing name I am emboldned to make these addresses to thee and still to offer up my desires in his holy words saying Our Father which art c. The Meditation afterward Psal 118.24 22. THis is the day which the Lord hath made I will rejoyce and be glad in it The stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner God hath raised up Jesus whom they slew and hanged on a tree Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour Act. 5.30 31. for to give repentance and remission of sins It is the Lords doing and it is marvellous in our eyes God is the Lord that hath shewed us light offer unto him the Sacrifice of righteousness Psal 118.23 27 28 29. Psal 4.5 and say thou art my God and I will praise thee thou art my God I will exalt thee O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever Could I ever cease to rejoyce if I heard for certain that a dead friend the dearest in the world was alive again and not only alive but preferred to the highest dignity and honour O my dulness that I rejoyce no more in God my Saviour For that Jesus whom I have now seen crucified before mine eyes is alive from the dead That Jesus who was such a friend that he died and hung on a gibbet for me is revived again and sits on the throne of glory Without all doubt he lives and reigns for me also and being reconciled by his death Rom. 5.10 I shall much more be saved by his life For God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities Act. 3.20 And we wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead 1 Thess 1.10 even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come He is the first begotten from the dead and hath the keyes of the grave Rev. 1.5 He will change this vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself Phil. 3.21 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him 1 Thess 4.14 Lord what a blessed hope is this seeing we look for these things what manner of persons ought we to be in holy conversation and godliness 2 Pet. 3.11 4. How diligent should we be that we may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless What can be more disagreeing than a crucified Christ and a carnal Christian What more contrary than a Saviour despising the world and one that professes friendship to him loving it above God himself A libeâ—al Saviour and a covetous disciple A Saviour that indured pain and anguish and â—orrow and a servant that will live in nothing but ease and pleasure A Saviour weeping and bleeding and a man acquainted with grief and a world that nothing but laughs and sports and maketh merry A Saviour that suffered all things and a world that will suffer nothing no not the mortifying of unreasonable lusts and desires A humble and lowly Saviour and a proud vain-glorious self-conceited people that profess him A meek and patient Saviour and a passionate angry and revengeful generation that pretend to be his followers A Saviour that was ever thinking of our good and men that call themselves his lovers who never to any purpose remember hiâ— love A gracious Lord that did us the mosâ— real courtesies and benefits and servantâ— that only complement with him and call him Lord Lord but do not that which he saith A master that never quarrelled with any oâ— Gods Commands no though it were to die and such schollars that count all his Commandments grievous murmur at all his lessons and say that it is impossible to obeâ— them O how unlike is a diffident distrustful Christian to a Saviour that laid dowâ— his very life in hope How il-favoured do these two sound together a conquering Christ and a Christian that is a slave Jesâ— that hath conquered death and a Christiaâ— that cannot conquer himself An head that is in heaven and a member of his that only looks at things on earth God forbid that having professed my self so often to be dead to sin I should live any longer therein I was buried with him by baptism into death Rom. 6.4 5 6. that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so I also should walk in newness of life And now I am again planted in the likeness of his death by partaking of his broken body and his blood that was shed and therefore shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin God be thanked that though I was the servant sin Ib. v. 17 18. yet now being made free from it I am become the servant of righteousness Henceforth I will serve no other master 1 Cor. 5.7 8. For even Christ our passover by whose blood we are redeemed from everlasting destruction is sacrificed for us And therefore I will keep the Feast not with malice and wickedness but with sincerity and truth Building up my self in our most holy Faith praying in the holy Ghost I will keep my self in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life The Thanksgiving and Prayer of afterward O Most mighty Lord the Creator and possessor of Heaven and Earth who art every where and canst not be excluded from any place no not from the closest thoughts of any of our hearts Who art always the same and canst no more change than thou canst cease to be what thou art unmoveably fixed in thy own eternal blessedness Thou needest not go out of thy self for any thing and I am sensible that I cannot possibly make thee greater or more happy than thou art But it is my bounden duty to admire and extol to laud and praise to worship love and honour thee and it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and praise is comely All the Host of Heaven delight to sing perpetual Hymns to the glory of thy infinite Majesty with whom I beseech thee to give me leave to joyn my poor and imperfect praises The whole world was made out of Nothing by thy Power and proclaims thy greatness wisdom and goodness in the multitude variety beauty comeliness and order of all thy works of wonder The Heavens are the work of thy
hands the Earth stands fast by thy appointment and every thing keeps the course wherein thou hast set it with admirable constancy Thou governest all things without any trouble because at once thou knowest and canst do what thou pleasest and thou dost all things with the greatest reason justice mercy and pleasure to thy self Man was raised by thee out of the dust of Earth and thou didst inspire him with a wise and understanding Spirit and placedst him in a Paradise surrounded with thy blessings and Lord over the work of thy hands And when he had degraded himself and forfeited by his disobedience his garden of pleasure thou didst not leave him without a remedy but openedst the way for him into the Paradise above Thou didst send thy holy Prophets and messengers in all ages to thy people and in the fulness of time thine own dear Son the brightness of thy glory whom thou hast made Heir of all things and to whom thou hast graciously committed the care of us Blessed be thy unspeakable goodness who hast made him in all things like unto us sin only excepted so that we know and are sure that he will take care of us and pity us and relieve us I adore thy unparalell'd love in giving him to die that he might make expiation for our sins and that he hath overcome death by his rising again and is set down at thy right hand because he was obedient to the death From thence we have received the gift of the Holy Ghost thanks be to thy Grace to confirm us in the belief of his Resurrection and of all his promises by signs and wonders and mighty deeds and to give us power to perform our duty towards thee and towards all men Thou hast spread this Gospel of Salvation into the furthermost parts of the Earth and the light of it hath long shone upon this Kingdom where I live I was born into this light as well as into the light of the Sun and had early assurances given me of thy love In my very infancy I was devoted to thee and all the engagements I was capable of laid upon me to be happy by being a faithful Disciple of Christ Jesus Thou hast not failed since to breath on me by thy Holy Spirit and to move me to my duty that I might be able to make the answer of a good Conscience towards thee 1 Pet. 3 21. and so be saved by his his Resurrection from the dead Many happy opportunities hast thou put into my hands to improve my self in Christian wisdom and vertue and engaged me to thee in many solemn vows only to seek the glory honour and immortality which Christ hath brought to light by patient continuance in well-doing I have now received the pledges of it and commemorated his love in dying for us and thy love in raising him to life again that he might perfect our Salvation and assure us he hath obtained an eternal redemption and comfort us against the fears of death and take care of us for ever and receive the power and glory thou promisedst him that he may be able to bless us and do us all good O how hath thy love abounded in Christ Jesus Besides a world of outward blessings which thy bounteous hand hath poured on me and still continues merely out of thy goodness and liberality How can I praise thee for all thy mercies to all mankind who cannot comprehend all those which thou hast bestowed on my self alone None can understand how much we are beholden to thee but those that know what thy Son Jesus was and what the blessing of the Holy Ghost and what the Resurrection of the dead and the unsearchable riches of thy Kingdom and Glory are Accept blessed Lord of such acknowledgments as I am able to make thee Accept of my whole self which I yield up unto thee with love unfeigned Thou whose infinite understanding pierceth into the greatest depths and secrets knowest that I love thee Do even what thou pleasest with me for it is but just and reasonable that I should not live unto my self henceforth but unto him that died for me and rose again I am twice thy Creature Thou hast given me life a second time by Christ Jesus through whom thou hast created me to good works in hope of a blessed Resurrection from the dead Inspire me good Lord with such a strong and lasting sense of thy love that I may alway live in sincere obedience to him and never forfeit the new title thou hast given me to life immortal But believing the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead I may most heartily acknowledg him to be the Lord and stedfastly believe his Doctrine obeying his commands hoping in his promises and fearing his threatnings and endeavouring thereby to prepare my self in all purity and holiness of life for the joys of the World to come And * The words of the Church Catechism explaining the Lords Prayer I desire my Lord God our Heavenly Father who is the giver of all goodness to send his grace unto me and to all people that we may worship him serve him and obey him as we ought to do And that he will send us all things that be needful both for our Souls and Bodies and be merciful to us and forgive us our sins and that it will please him to save and defend us in all dangers ghostly and bodily and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness and from our ghostly enemy and from everlasting death Which I trust he will do of his mercy and goodness through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen Now the God of peace Heb 13.20 21. that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Bloud of the everlasting Covenant Make us perfect in every good work to do his will working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen This short acknowledgment may be used sometime that Week Acts 4.24 25. LOrd thou art God which hast made Heaven and Earth and the Sea and all that in them is who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said Psal 2.7 8. Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee And I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession Thy word is true from the beginning Psal 119.160.89.90 For ever O Lord thy word is setled in Heaven Thy faithfulness is unto all generations For thou hast sent thy holy Child Jesus Rom. 1.4 and declared him to be the Son of God with power by the Resurrection from the dead Though he was Crucified through weakness 2 Cor. 13.4 yet he liveth by the power of God Thou wouldest not let thy holy one see corruption Acts 2.27 28. But hast made known to him the ways of life and made him full of joy with thy
my soul I only bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 3.14 15 c. of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named that he would grant me according to the riches of his glory to be strengthned with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in my heart by faith that I being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledg that I may be filled with all the fulness of God Amen The Thanksgiving and Prayer afterward O Lord the fullest and most bountiful good who art rich in mercy to all that call upon thee never weary of our importunities nor weary of importuning us to dispose our selves to receive thy blessings Eccluâ— 2. ult Thy power is the beginning of righteousness and is guided by the greatest wisdom and the greatest love As is thy Majesty Wisd 12.16 so is thy mercy and because thou art the Lord of all it maketh thee to be gracious unto all Thou lovest all things that are 11.24 25 26. and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made for never wouldest thou have made any thing if thou hadst hated it And how could any thing have endured if it had not been thy will or been preserved if not called by thee But thou sparest all for they are thine O Lord thou lover of Souls It is of thy mere goodness that I am not consumed Lam. 3.22 and because thy compassions fail not That I have so much liberty as to recount thy mercies which keep me in life and let it not be as wretched and miserable base and vile sickly and uneasie troublesome and tedious as it might have been according to my deservings is for ever to be remembred with most humble thankfulness I cannot forget unless I cast away all care and consideration of my self from how many dangers thou hast delivered me in what extremities thou hast succoured and relieved me and what friends lovers and kind acquaintances thou hast bestowed on me But the greatest of thy mercies are those which thou hast expressed to us in the Lord Jesus without which all the rest might have made our life in the next world to have proved more miserable and intolerable to us Thou hast sent him in the tenderest and most endearing manner in our own flesh with the most moving and compassionate entreaties and the strongest and most obliging arguments to surrender our selves to thy obedience to whom of right we belong And he hath laid down his life so great was his love the just for the unjust 1 Pet. 3.18 that he might bring us to thee our God And thou hast rewarded his obedience to the death with a glorious Resurrection and set him at thine own right hand and given him the promise of the Holy Ghost Acts 2.33 which he hath shed abundantly on his Apostles to guide them into all truth Joh. 16.13 that they might go and Teach all Nations and Baptize them into his Religion Matth. 28.19 20. and teach them to observe all things that he hath commanded I remember with most grateful acknowledgments the manifold gifts which thou bestowedst on thy Church to confirm the faith of Christ and propagate it in the world till it came to these Regions where I live Blessed be thy goodness that I was born of Christian Parents and without my knowledge very early by their care dedicated unto thee Blessed be thy goodness that ever since I have been thy care and that thou hast brought me up to the knowledge of thy holy Gospel wherein I read this story of thy marvellous love and am instructed in my duty towards thee and towards men and encouraged by exceeding great and precious promises being put in hope of immortal life the pledges of which thou hast ordered and appointed thy Ministers to provide for me and give unto me I have now by thy goodness received them and tasted that the Lord is gracious full of compassion and of great pity not desiring the death of a sinner but that he should return and live This raises thy mercy to the greatest height that thou hast done all this for those who are so dull and insensible cold and careless inconstant and uncertain apt too soon to forget these benefits and great obligations which thou layest on them But thou hast done all this and continuest thy kindness to make us better Which is the thing O Lord that I most heartily desire and labour after and shall ever account it the greatest blessing when I am overcome by thy merciful kindness and am willing to part with my self and all my own desires to gain thee and thy love by being led and ruled in all things according to thy will To that I unfeignedly again submit my self and humbly vow all the powers of Soul and Body to thy obedience I own thy blessed Gospel for the rule and direction of my life and thy Son Christ Jesus for my pattern and example and thy good Spirit for my guide and governour in whose holy comforts I rejoyce more than in any thing in this world For ever magnified be thy love that thou hast exalted one mighty to save and hast sent him not only with a pardon but with the power of the Holy Ghost to renew sanctifie and advance our Nature by changing it into the likeness of thine own I hope in thee O Lord for the continued influences thereof to quicken my Faith and render it more and more effectual in all the actions of an holy life That I may have high and adoring thoughts of thee and humble thoughts of my self overlook the little things here below and labour for those above do good with what I have and lay up treasures in Heaven be contented with my portion and sober and discreet in the use of it live peaceably with all men but not be partaker in their sins and that it may alway be part of my employment in this World thus to worship thee and reflect upon thy goodness and the rest may be to live according to my prayers and acknowledgments Amen and Amen O that all Nations whom thou hast made would come and worship before thee Psal 86.9 10. in Spirit and in Truth Joh. 4.23 O that they would glorifie thy Name for thou art great and dost wondrous things thou art God alone But let all Christians especially 1 Cor. 12.13 who by one Spirit are all baptized into one Body and have been all made to drink into one Spirit glorifie the Name of their Lord Ephes 4.3 by keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and agreeing together in Godly love And do thou O Lord the God of Peace direct their hearts into the more excellent way that though tongues and prophecies and miracles are ceased yet that humble kind meek and long-suffering Charity may remain and abound more and more which will bring us all to live in endless love and peace and joy together in the Heavens The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 13. ult and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with me and with all my Friends and all thy Servants every where Amen THus by the help of God I have brought this Treatise to a Conclusion which I hope will not be unwelcome to those that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity Ephes 6. ult And I most humbly beseech the Divine Majesty graciously to accept my weak endeavours therein to serve this Church and stir up every Member of it with hearty love to offer up themselves to him in its Publick Service Which so gravely and pathetically expresses the sense of pious hearts at the Holy Communion that these Private Prayers which I have composed to wait upon it can only serve to excite those who will make use of them to joyn with more fervour in the Common Devotions and to continue those holy dispositions which they declare to be in their hearts if they sincerely unite them with these words * In the Prayer after the Communion And here we offer and present unto thee O Lord our Selves our Souls and Bodies to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice unto thee Which that we may ever be we cannot in a few words better implore the Divine assistance than in those of that incomparable Prayer at the end of our Communion-Service PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain Everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE END ERRATA PAge 53. line 19. read went away p. 179. l. 1. r. heart l. 2. r. mouth p. 320. l. 27. 1. have received p. 357 l. 12. r. Lord Jesus p. 362. l. ult r. a member p. 383. l. 10. r. and growth p. 396. l. 13. r. earnests
the force of all temptations to sanctifie even our afflictions to us and the infirmities of our crazy bodies to take out the sting of death and to make it an entrance into an immortal life Thou hast advanced him to intercede for us at thy right hand to be our Advocate with thee when by our weakness we sin against thee or are afraid to approach thee to pardon us when we repent and return to thee and to bless us by giving us repentance and turning us from all our iniquities And to all other benefits thou hast added the comforts and refreshments of thy holy Table where I have now partaked of his most blessed Body and Bloud Thou hast shown me the greatness of my Saviours love and tied me in new resolutions to love and serve thee for ever and given me strong assurance of thine everlasting mercies in Christ Jesus These very acknowledgments will witness against me if I should carelesly throw away this new portion which thou hast given me in thy love The remembrance of them will be intolerable if I should not improve this extraordinary grace which I have now commemorated I flee unto thee therefore again O most merciful Father for the help of thy Holy Spirit to continue in me a perpetual memory of that love which thou hast bestowed on me and of the professions I have made of an unmovable love to thee O thou inspirer of all holy thoughts and desires O thou who delightest to incourage all those that seek after thee with thankful hearts stop not the currant of thy bounteous love but as thou hast drawn me to thee and moved me to devote my self to thy obedience so preserve and keep these thoughts and purposes in my heart for ever I believe thou hearest me and wilt be with me And filled with thy power and might and with constant hope in thee I will walk and not be weary and run the ways of thy Commandments and not faint To that Almighty goodness I commit my self of which I have had such long experience I will never doubt of thy readiness to assist and further me but always look up unto the Heavens from whence cometh my help My help cometh from the Lord which made Heaven and Earth The Lord shall preserve me from all evil Psal 122.2 7 8. he shall preserve my Soul The Lord shall preserve my going out and my coming in from this time forth and even for evermore O that all the ends of the Earth may see thy Salvation and worship thy Name for it is holy And especially all those to whom is given a Kingdom Dan. 5.18 Majesty Glory and Honour may evermore praise 4.37 and extol and honour the King of Heaven all whose works are truth and his ways judgment and those that walk in pride he is able to abase Psal 68.3 Let all the righteous be glad let them rejoyce before God yea let them exceedingly rejoyce 35.27 Let them say continually The Lord be magnified which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his Servants O that all mankind would praise the Lord for his goodness Psal 107.8 9 13. and for his wonderful works to the Children of men For he satisfieth the longing Soul and filleth the hungry Soul with goodness They cry unto the Lord in their trouble and he saveth them out of their distresses Blessed be the Lord God Psal 41.13.68.19 even the God of our Salvation from everlasting to everlasting Amen and Amen October The Meditation before HOw long is it since thou thoughtest of the best friend thou hast in the whole world And what were thy last thoughts of him Didst thou not a very little while ago long for his company and wish the time would come wherein thou mightest again enjoy him Didst thou not count the days till that happy time when he promised to return or to send unto thee And suppose he be dead with what passion dost thou follow his memory How art thou moved with the mention of his dear name How glad to possess any relique of him though it be but his shadow Or how oft dost thou look upon the lively picture of him which is drawn in thy own imagination And dost thou think it could fail to put thee in mind of what he left thee in charge when he departed this world Couldst thou forget the legacies he left thee or the inheritance he bequeathed to thee as the heir of his love O how long then is it my soul since Jesus was in thy thoughts Canst thou not tell Was there ever such a Friend as he that dyed to save thee Can any one pretend so much to thy love or merit of thee so kind a remembrance Who is there that ever died for the sake of his enemies O how pretious how dear should the Name of Jesus be unto thee with what joy shouldst thou receive the news that he is coming to visit thee How welcome must this invitation be from thy blessed Saviour whom if thou lovest thou canst not but long to see It is the voice of thy well-beloved that calls unto thee and saith come and feast with me Come and see by these sensible signs which I have left to represent me how much my love hath made me suffer for thee Behold the lively figure of my Body and Blood which was broken and shed to redeem thee I have caused it to be made on purpose that thou mightest not forget me What dost thou answer to him Canst thou say thou hast looked for this day That thou thoughtest it long till thou mightest go to his house or at least wast desirous to go and see him set forth crucified before thine eyes Why What good did the last sight of him do thee What pangs of love didst thou feel in thy heart what pleasure what joy in the remembrance of his kindness Did it call all his Commands to mind and recommend them effectually to thy love Did it stir thee up to do his will and make thee more zealous ever since in working that which is pleasing in his sight What didst thou think of the inheritance he hath given thee An inheritance incorruptible 1 Pet. 1.4 and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for thee Didst thou believe his word Col. 3.24 and verily expect to receive the reward of this inheritance How did that faith then work in thy heart Did it give thee extreme content Having hope to see him did it make thee purifie thy self 1 Joh. 3.3 even as he is pure Go then now as a friend of his and do the same again Renew thy remembrance of him Shew him the belief thou hast in him the love thou bearest to his name and word how resolved thou art never to forget him and how happy thou thinkest thy self in the portion he hath given thee in his grace and love Profess to him that his Commandments are dearer to thee than thy life and that thou