others and beget a discountenance in your self But there will be no ground left for this surmise when it is duely consider'd that the Person to whom you are thus to reveal your self is a pious and discreet Minister of Gods Word one who will be as faithful to conceal as you are to discover your infirmities and as ready to heal your sores as you are to rip them up one too who will be so far from insulting over your Weaknesses or thinking ill of you for discovering them that he will love and encourage your ingenuous and Christian dealing and restore you in the Spirit of meekness and help to set things at rights between God and your Soul But suppose the discovery of your Scruples should indeed turn to your shame which is the worst you can fear yet to abstain from doing it upon this account is to betray in you a less care of your Soul than of your Body For the foulest and most shameful Diseases of the Body you can without blushing lay open to your Physician and will you then be coy and squeamish to confess the sickness of your Soul of which your care ought to be infinitely greater than of your Body as no less excelling it than the heavenly Manna did the Earthen Pot that contained it So that neither fear of shame nor any thing else ought to keep you from using such means as any way tend to its Salvation LXXV And thus having with what brevity and plainness I was able run through the several Duties to be perform'd at your coming to the Communion and brought you as it were to the Rails of the Holy Table before I leave you I will take the freedom to mind you how you are there to carry your self Where two things are now required of you namely a Devout frame of Mind and a decent gesture of Body LXXVI As to that Devout frame of Mind required of you at the time of receiving it chiefly consists in thoughts of your own unworthiness of being a Guest at so Divine a Banquet And in order to raise in and to humble you under a due sense of this Unworthiness call to mind the sins you have committed since you were last at the Sacrament because you are now come again to repeat and renew that Covenant which thereby you have broken LXXVII Be attentive to the actions of the Minister and when you see him breaking the Bread and pouring out the Wine meditate How Christs Body was broken and his Blood shed upon the Cross And above all think with your self that it was your Sins that drove the Nails into his Hands and Feet and pierced his blessed Side with the Spear That it was your sins with the sins of others occasioned all his Sufferings the pains of his Body and Soul and that if he had not suffered once upon the Cross you had been tormented to everlasting Ages And upon these sober Thoughts you will even abhor your self and with indignation behold your cruel dealing with your Gracious Lord. Consider too how nothing but the Blood of Christ can cleanse your sins and that it doth not like Abel's speak for Vengeance but loudly calls for Mercy upon them who spilt it if they repent and reform and still draws down Blessing upon all who worthily receive it in the Sacrament Consider too how Christ by those Sufferings which are represented and commemorated in the Sacrament has made an Atonement for your sins appeased the Wrath and satisfi'd the Justice of God which you have provoked and incensed against your Soul And this will raise up your hopes and make you come with an humble and religious boldness to the Communion being assured God will not onely there seal unto you but put you in possession of the benefits of Christs Sufferings namely Reconciliation with God and Pardon of your Sins LXXVIII Let your Tongue and Heart joyn with the Minister in that excellent Prayer wherewith he delivers the Bread and Wine The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given c. The Bloud of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed c. Lift up your Heart unto the Lord. Let your Thoughts be wholly set upon Christs death and its benefits for the remembrance of Christs death as it was one main end of the Institution so is it of your receiving of the Sacrament And look not upon the Bread and Wine being consecrate and blessed as ordinary things but as they are after a spiritual manner the Body and Bloud of Christ LXXIX And as these and the like considerations may serve to render your Soul devout so will they also make your Body humble For though Humility properly belongs to the Heart yet it cannot be outwardly expressed but by gestures of the Body And you are to manifest your Reverence at the Lords Supper by using such gestures as the custom of the place where you receive it account most decent humble and reverend Kneeling is the posture appointed by our National Church as fittest to signifie your humble and grateful acknowledgment of the benefits of Christ therein sealed to every worthy Receiver and for the avoiding of such profanation and disorder in the Holy Communion as might otherwise ensue LXXX If you look to the first Institution of the Sacrament you will find Christ employing therein such a singular care that nothing low or mean appears about it And in all times where Schism and Faction were excluded nothing but solemnity and expressions of greatest reverence appear'd at the receiving it But to proceed LXXXI Besides Humility and Reverence there is required of them who come to the Lords Supper a thankful remembrance of Christs death And this you cannot want when you reflect upon what he suffer'd for you both in credit and Body when he underwent the most painful and ignominious sort of dying and in those sharp and fearful Agonies of his Soul which forced him to cry out His God had forsaken him And seeing all this was to save you from perishing this must needs awaken you to an holy ambition of making your Thankfulness if possible as unspeakable as his Sufferings And how can you but praise and magnifie his Goodness who hath redeem'd you at so dear a rate especially when you come to the Sacrament to make solemn Commemoration of Gods mercies in sending his Son to die for you and appointing the Sacrament to be a continual Pledge of your Thankfulness for the same With Angels therefore and Arch-angels and all the Company of Heaven laud and magnifie his glorious Name praising him and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory Glory be to thee O Lord most high Thanksgiving or praising of God was the devout practice of the first Christians at the receiving of the Lords Supper Acts 2.46 47. And in after-Ages Thanksgiving was thought so necessary at its celebration that the Sacrament it self thence got the name of Eucharist A word though it be not found
sinful Body may be made clean by his Body and my Soul washed through his most precious Blood At the receiving of the Bread LOrd I am not worthy thaâ— thou shouldest come undeâ— my Roof but speak the Word and my Soul shall be healed Adding with the Priest THE Body of our Lord Jesuâ— Christ which was given foâ— me preserve my Body and Soâ— unto everlasting Life Amen At the receiving of the Cup. WHat Reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the Benefits that he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. Adding with the Priest THE Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for me preserve my Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life Amen Immediately after your receiving of the Sacrament say OH my God thou art true and holy Oh my Soul thou art blessed and happy Oh the depth of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! how incomprehensible are his Judgments and his ways past finding out Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name which saveth thy Life from Destruction and feedeth thee with the Bread of Heaven Glory be to God on high and in Earth Peace good Will towards men I praise thee I worship thee O Lord and I magnifie thy Name for ever who hast vouchsafed to fill my Soul with Gladness and to feed me with the heavenly Mysteries of Christs sacred Body and Blood I humbly beseech thee that from henceforth I may walk in all good Works and serve thee in holiness and pureness of living to the Honour of thy Name Amen Meditations whilst others are Communicating HAppy are those Servants whom when their Lord cometh he shall find thus doing Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you If any one defile the Temple of God him will God destroy Behold thou art made whole sin no more lest a worse thing happen unto thee Be ye followers of God as dear Children and walk in love even as Christ loved us and gave himself an Offering and a Sacrifice of a sweet savour unto God for us As you go from before the Communion Table this Doxology TO thee O King eternal the immortal invisible and only wise God be all Honour and Glory now and for evermore Amen A Thanksgiving after the receiving of the Communion to be said at Home THou O my God hast comforted my Soul thou hast strengthned and refreshed me with thy Blessings and rejoyced my Heart with the tokens of thy Love O how sweet are thy comforts how ravishing are the Effects of thy Goodness toward them that fear thee Wonderfuâ— vouchsafement Thou hast treated a vile wretched Sinner at thâ— own Table and fed me with thâ— Bread that came down from Heaven Wherein am I better than those to whom thou dost not grant this Favour It is not it is not for my Merits but because thou wilt be glorified in doing good to the most unworthy thou hast this day made me a happy Example of this thy free Grace and Bounty Vouchsafe me this favour also O my God that through the whole course of my Life I may give thee Praise and Glory and that the due sense of thy Mercies may make me unfeignedly thankful and that my thankfulness may appear in my care to walk before thee in Holiness Sobriety and Righteousness all the days of my Life Amen FINIS Books Printed for W. Crooke at the Sign of the Green Dragon without Temple-Bar near Devereux Court HISTORY 1. AN Institution of general History or the History of the World being a compleat Body thereof in two Volumes by W. Howel late Chancellour of Lincoln in folio price 2 l. 10 s. 6 d. 2. Clelia the whole Work in five parts written in French now put into English in folio price 1 l. 5 s. 6 d. 3. Scarron's Comical Romance being an Historical account of a company of Stage-Players full of variety of Novels rare Adventures amorous Intreagues c. being both witty and pleasant in fol. price 6 s. 4. Popish Cruelties being an account of the Treasons of Dr. Parry against Qu. Elizabeth with his Confession of it at his Tryal and his Denial at his Execution Folio price 1 s. 5. The Life of Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury written by himself in Latin since translated into English in folio price 6 d. 6. 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TO THE Right Reverend Father in God SETH Lord Bishop of SARUM My LORD YOur Name is here prefixed to the Ensuing Discourse neither for Charm nor Amuâ— to save it from the Rude and Censorious for it doth not at all â—gard what Entertainment it meets â—ith at such hands But it assumes â—is Honour upon the Account of â—s Author who having the Happiâ—ess to be one of your Diocesan Clergy thinks all he can perform in that Relation ought to be devoted to your Lordship as a sincere Testimony of his bounden acknowledging your Paternal
you may here do wisely to call to mind by what occasions and with what baits you have been â—nd still are apt to be drawn away and enticed to the end you may with greater vigilance and courage avoid and resist them For common Prudence will teach you to strengthen the Fence where the Beast useth to break in and to re-inforce that Avenue where the Enemy is wont to make and prevail in his Attack XLVIII The last thing I shall mention concerning your Religious Resolutions is their speedy execution for delay therein has ever been thought dangerous aâ— having a throat wide enough tâ— swallow the biggest opportunâ—ty And you cannot be suâ—â— till you practise what you puâ—pose for seeing your life coâ—tinually walks to and fro â— a breath and that you have 〈◊〉 warrant of being able to do thâ— the next hour which this yoâ— neglect and put off this througâ—ly concludes for the present dâ—ing of what you purpose Anâ— if holy Resolutions might safeâ—â— be delay'd yet they can be delay'd no longer than your comâ—ing to the Scarament becauâ— you cannot safely approach thâ— Ordinance without stedfastâ— purposing to lead a new lifâ— for till you are a new Creaturâ— or begin to lead a new life yoâ— are in sense of Scripture deaâ— And how absurd a thing is it 〈◊〉 put Bread and Wine into a deaâ— mans mouth none so stupid aâ— not to imagine You may indeed naturally eat and drink the Bread and Wine receive into your stomach the elements of the Sacrament but if you live in the liking much more in the commission of any thing you know to be sin you can receive no more spiritual nourishment in the Sacrament than a dead Carcass at the best Entertainment XLIX And this is another consideration that lays upon you a necessity presently to renounce your sins to give them a Bill of Divorce and to withdraw from them all degrees of kindness and respect For without this you can be in no fit disposition to be married to Christ and to embrace all the Graces flowing from him In short that Resolution which I call a branch of Repentance and which is indispensible required of you when you come to the Lords Table is made up of these two things First Renouncing of all sin Secondly Embracing of all Christian Vertues The first without the second is but sweeping the house without furnishing it And therefore when you have cleansed your Soul of the nastiness and dirt of sin you are not to let it lye empty but to furnish it with all those Graces commanded you in the Gospel such especially as are required in every one coming to the Supper of the Lord. And those are chiefly three namely Faith Charity and Devotion L. The necessity of Faith is expresly taught you by your first Catechism where it saith That a lively Faith in Gods Mercies through Christ is required of every Communicant and that the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lords Supper For it is by Faith that you there look upon him whom God hath set forth to be the Propitiation for your Sins even Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World Rom. 3.25 John 1.29 You easily perceive the necessity of Faith when you mind that in receiving the Holy Sacrament you are to believe that Jesus is the true Seed of the Woman which was promised in the beginning and was sent in the fulness of time that in hiâ— all the Nations of the Earth iâ— they will may be blessed he being the Universal and Mighty Saviour who both will and can save all that come unto him there being no other in whom Salvation is to be expected Yoâ— are likewise to believe that he was crucified or died an ignominious or cursed death and that the Merits of his death are sufficient to save all Sinners and that all those Merits are convey'd to you in the Sacrament when it is worthily received LI. But as to the clear Nature oâ— that Faith now required of you the Church fairly intimates whaâ— it is when she calls it a lively Faith in Gods Mercy through Christ LII And Faith is said to be lively when it works through Love shewing it self in well doing for where Life is there will be Action And the Life of Faith like that of Nature will shew it self in the Heart Tongue and Hands In the first by sincereness of Devotion and holy Thoughts in the second by wholsome and gracious Communication And in the last by works of Justice and Charity LIII The Object of this lively Faith is God's Mercy upon which it reflects as the Fountain whence the Scriptures have proceeded in which Gods Covenant for Mans Redemption is established and his Promises to believing penitent Sinners are contained And if you shall inquire into the reason of all this you will find that nothing but his meer Mercy moved God to make known his Will and in the Holy Scriptures to reveal the Means of Salvation and make the way to Heaven plain and easie It was onely to shew the great love wherewith he loved you and the exceeding Riches of his Grace that prevailed with God to be thus kind unto you LIV. But all this is through Christ he is the Conduit of all these Blessings being of God made unto all Believers Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification Redemption He is the Author oâ— all true Knowledge the cause oâ— your Justification your Sanctification and will be also of your Deliverance and rescue from all Calamities that you are subject to in this Life and at last from Death it self by raising you again 1 Cor. 1.30 And as by a voice from Heaven God declaed with Solemnity that he was well pleased with Christ so he hath likewise declared that he is well pleased with Believers only for his sake By Christ you are predestinated adopted accepted and pardon'd and shall be glorified So that in your own Person you may speak as the Apostle did in the Name of all Christians Ephes 1.3 4 5 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed me with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly things in Christ according as he hath chosen me in him that I should be holy and without blame before him in Love LV. In whom I have Redemption through his Blood the forgiveness of Sins according to the riches of his Grace c. It is impossible in any Duty without Faith to please God or to be accepted of him because whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin But in the matter of the Holy Sacrament Faith hath a more appropriate Office for by it as by a Hand Mouth and Stomach you receive eat and digest the spiritual Food and heavenly Sustenance by which your Soul is nourished to eternal Life And in the sense of the Spirit to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ is properly to believe on him