impudence fall to them till we have first worshipped and praised him that did invite us d Non debet quis quasi famelicus à cibo incipere sed antè à laudibus Dei Ambros de Sacram. l. 6. c. 5. for Christ himself blessed God before he eat Now if this hath perswaded us that it is our duty to praise the Lord just now this incomparable form will contribute very much to the elevating of our Devotion for it is a pure and genuine piece of Primitive Piety so antiently and so universally received in both the Eastern and Western Church differing in other things that we may justly deem it to have been of Apostolical Institution There is no antient Liturgy which hath not almost the very same words Let us lift up our minds and hearts c. say the Liturgies ascribed to St. James St. Basil and St. Chrysostom Lift up your hearts c. verbatim in the Apostolical Constitutions lib. 8. which are ascribed to St. Clement St. Cyprian also particularly expounds this Preface An. Christi 250. as will appear presently St. Chrysos divides the publick offices into three parts Prayers Supplications and Prefaces e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. 3. in 3. ad Colos and when private Spirits attempted to make new Prefaces of their own these were forbidden to be altered and the innovators censured by a Council f Concil Milevitan Canon 12. Not to mention how St. Ambrose proves the Divinity of the Holy Ghost from the following Hymn g Ambros de Spir. Sanc. l. 3. c. 18. But to shew that they deserve admiration as well for their intrinsick Excellencies as their antiquity we proceed to unfold the particulars The Analysis of the Prefaces and Trisagium Sect. 2. This Act of Praise hath four distinct Parts 1. The Resp nses in which a general Act of 1. Preparation is Propounded Lift up your hearts and Accepted We lift them up unto the Lord 2. Thaâ—kâ—giving is Offered Let us give thanks unto â—ur Lord God Embraced It s meet and right so to do 2. The geneâ—al Preface and Reason of this Duty shewing 1. Why we do it It is very meet right and our bounden duty 2. When. that we should at all times 3. Where and in all places 4. To whom give thanks unto thee O Lord holy Father Almighty Everlasting God 3. The Exercise of this duty containing 1. The Company with whom we join Therefoâ—e with Angels and Archangels a d wâ—th a l the Company of Heaven 2. The Act which we perform Wâ—â—â—nd and magnifiâ— thâ— glorious name eveâ—m re praising thee 3. The manner of performing it by 1. Confessing God in his Holiness and saying Holy Holy Holy Power Lord God of Hosts Glory Heaven â—â—d Earth art full of thy glory 2. Giving praise unto him Glory be to thee O Lord most High Amen 4. Particular Prefaces and Reasons why we must praise God especially on 1. The Feast of the Nativity 2. The Feast of Easter 3. Holy-Thu sday 4. The Feâ—â— of Whit-Sunday 5. Trinity-Sunday for 1. Christ Incarnation 2. His Resurreâ—tion 3. His Ascension 4. The gifâ— of he Holy Ghost 5. Revelation of the mystery of the Trinity A Practical Discourse on the Prefaces c. § 3. Priest Lift up your hearts Answ We lift them up unto the Lord. Having searched and tryed our ways by Repentance and by Faith turned again to the Lord we are next by the method of the Holy Ghost advised to Lift up our hearts Lament 3.40 41. They were oppressed with a load of guilt and fear before but as soon as that burden is removed there is all possible reason to lift them to praise our most gracious deliverer such was Davids practice Psal 25.1 such the Precept of the great Apostle Colos 3.1 and from these Divine Fountains this Pious form of Exhortation was derived into all the antient Liturgies It is capable of a twofold sence yet both do rarely agree to this place and to this Ordinance First As it requires a strict and intire attendance upon the duty in hand thus St. Cyprian expounds this Preface h Ideo sacerdos ante orationem praefatione praemissâ parat fratrum mentes dicendo Sursum corda ut dum Resp plebs Habemus ad Dominum admoneatur nihil aliud se quà m Dominum debere cogitare Cypr. de Orat. Dom. and St. Chrysostom i Hom. de encoeniis and St. Augustine k Aug. de vera rel c. 3 in like manner viz. That dismissing all Worldly thoughts we should wholly fix our minds upon the Mysteries and by Faith and Contemplation look into the Abyss of the Divine Mercy till we be even ravished and swallowed up with wonder and have forgotten all other things The very Heathens in all their Holy Rites saith Plutarch l 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutar. Coriolan Ea v x hortabatur ut qui sacra adirent reverenter attentè id facerent Lil. Girald had a Cryer who with a loud voice Proclaimed these words Hoc Age. By which they were warned to mind nothing but the Mystery and that neither idleness nor business might interrupt them And is not this much more necessary in this Coelestial Feast where there are so many of the best objects in the World as will take up our whole man and imploy all our power if we do attend them Secondly As it more directly respects the duty of praise which immediately follows after and thus it admonisheth us to lift up our hearts to contemplate the infinite Majesty and greatness the admirable mercy and goodness of him whom we are to praise that when our Souls are transported with the divine glories no baser or mean thoughts may dare to approach or disturb the holy pleasure we are to praise God in the highest Laudate eum in Excelsis sed cum cogitamus quomodo illic laudetur cor ibi habeamus non sine causâ audimus Sursum corda Aug. in Psal 148. to sing the song of Angels Let us therefore elevate our thoughts to consider how that glorious Choir doth sing this Hymn that we may do it with a fervency and pleasure almost unison to them and rejoice as if we were among them we are now going to do the work of Angels and so must be above the World Answ Now the Church hath taught all her Children readily to obey this pious Exhortation and to answer We lift c. as Psal 27.9 For the people being now purifyed by Faith are admitted also to bear their part which they must do not by a bare repeating of the words but an actual performing of the duty for it is not only a Promise We will c. but a Declaration of what we are now doing Take heed saith St. Chrys ye that in the time of the dreadful mysteries are thinking or talking of Vanity O Man what dost thou hast thou not promised the Priest who said Lift up your mind and heart and thou didst
only with the Priest but with Angels and with Archangels and all the Company of Heaven c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys hom 18. in 2. ad Cor. for Jesus by his Death hath united Heaven and Earth and designed all his redeemed ones to sing Hallelujahs with the blessed spirits above for ever Wherefore it is fit that in this Commemoration of his Passion we should begin to unite our Voices to them with whom we hope to praise God to all Eternity Only as we sing with them let us sing like them and not spoil their blessed harmony by mingling flat and discordant notes O with what delight and pleasure sincerity and joy do they sing this Hymn while they are ravished with the prospect of the divine perfections Could we but see their felicity and hear their Musick it would transport us above our selves and make us forget and despise all other pleasures to join with them It may be we fear that we cannot sing in so high a note yet if we do it with like sincerity our lower key may grace the harmony and compleat the Concord Behold those blessed Spirits who had no need of any Saviour and who never did offend do praise God with incessant Voices for his mercy and love to us and seem to invite us saying O ye Sons of men praise the Lord with us and let us magnifie his name together How then can we be silent especially when our glorified Brethren Prophets and Apostles Saints and Martyrs do also bear a part in this admirable Hymn How justly do we stile the object of these praises a glorious Name since all the World resounds its praise To it Cherubin and Seraphin Angels and Archangels continually do cry Holy Holy Holy and all the Saints in Heaven and Earth do join to set forth the glory thereof § 7. Evermore praising thee 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 This primitive and triumphant Hymn was first taught unto the Prophet Isaiah Chap. 6.3 when he was admitted to hear it sung in the Quire of Heaven But as Procopias well observes the Triple Holy could not fit the Jewish Synagogue and so was designed at first for the Christian Church who confess the Holy Trinity wherefore it was again revealed to St. John Revel 4.8 and afterwards constantly used by all Churches in the Celebration of these Mysteries for it is found in all the Liturgies of St. James St. Mark St. Basil and fully in St. Chrysostoms thus Before thee stand thousands of Archangels and many thousands of Angels Cherubins and Seraphins singing the triumphant Hymn chanting forth crying and saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God c. and the like appears in the Apostolick Constitutions lib. 8. cap. 16. so that though some affirm that Sixtus the eight Bishop of Rome brought it first in use with the Latine Church about 130. years after Christ yet Nicephorus doubts not to say it was derived from an Apostolical Tradition hist lib. 18. c. 51. The Grecians call it the Trisagium because the word Holy is thrice repeated and of latter times do express it thus Holy God Holy Strong Holy Immortal d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sixt. Sene◠Bib. Sanct. l. 5. annot 58. Have mercy on us And they have a Tradition that they were commanded thus to repeat it by a Child which for some time was rapt up into Heaven in the time of a great Earthquake in the days of Theodosius junior and Proclus the Patriarch and by so repeating it the City was delivered However it is certainly an Act of Praise wherein we worship and adore the whole Trinity and Galatinus d Pet. Galatinus lib. 2. c. 1. de Jesai 6.3 saith it was antiently read in Jonathans Chaldee Paraphrase Holy Father Holy Son Holy Spirit but as it is nothing is more plain e Non semel dicunt ne singularitatem credas non bis dicunt ne spiritum excludas non sanctos ne pluralitatem aestimes sed ter repentant idem dicunt ut etiam in hymno distinctionem Trinitatis divinitatis intelligas unitatem Ambr. de sp sanc l 3. c. 18. ita Epiphan in Ancorat Procop. Gazaeus in Jesaiam than that every Person is acknowledged to be Holy and all to be one Lord God of Hosts who commands the Armies of Heaven and all the Creatures of the World whose Glory fills both Heaven and Earth Which way can we look or what can we think upon that doth not declare how great and gracious their Creator and Preserver is and how can we then refrain from giving glory also unto the Lord most High In his nature he is holy in all his works glorious let us praise him therefore with pure hearts for he is thrice Holy let us bless him with a mighty vigour that as the Angels make the Upper so we may make the lower Region Eccho with his praise It was long since ordained that this Hymn should be used every day supposing the faithful would never be weary of so sweet and desirable an imployment f Quia tam dulcis desiderabilis vox etiam si die noctuque possit dici fastidium generare non possit Concil Vasens can 6. An. 450. But surely it is most proper for this blessed Sacrament that as every person in the Trinity concurred to our Redemption so every one may be adored in the memorial thereof The Father is Holy who gave us such a Saviour the Son is Holy who effected this Salvation and the Spirit is Holy who sanctifies us by the vertue thereof and yet these three are one Lord to whom we must now with most fervent gratitude offer up the Sacrifice of Eucharist and Thanksgiving O ye Heavenly powers that rejoice for the sake of us poor Sinners we join with you and with joyful hearts over our Propitiation do sing Holy Holy Holy Lord God c. Glory be to thee O Lord most high Amen An Appendix of the particular Prefaces § 8. It is long since the daily and weekly Communions have been generally laid aside by the people for St. Chrysostome himself takes notice that ordinary Christians in his time had appropriated their communicating to the greater Festivals of the Church g Chrys orat de B. Philogono and some affirm that Fabian the Martyr did order those seasons especially for all the faithful to receive h Sabellicus Volatteranus ad An. Christi 236. And truly a solemn time of joy seems the most proper for the Celebration of this Heavenly Feast Now hereupon it came to pass that as the Church was wont at this Holy Table to give thanks for all mercies so they did peculiarly praise God for the mercy commemorated on that Festival upon which they did Communicate which doubtless was the Original of these particular Prefaces In the Roman Church there were formerly nine of them to which Vrban added
have mercy upon us 3. A Doxology to him also together with the whole Trinity For thou onely art Holy thou onely art the Lord thou onely O Christ with the Holy Ghost art most High in the Glory of God the Father Amen A Practical Discourse upon the Gloria in Excelsis § 3. Glory be to God on high on Earth Peace and good will toward men This blessed Hymn the Church hath learned from that Heavenly Choire which came to celebrate our Lords Nativity Luke 2.16 And since we have tasted the Coelestial Manna and fed upon Angels food it is fit we should join with them in singing the praises of their Lord and ours and as one of the Angelick Order first began and then a multitude of the Heavenly Host united their Voices so it was the Custom b Angelicum posthaec sacrifex pater incipit hymnum Inceptum complet vociferando Chorus Hildebert Conoman Episc of old for the Priest first to begin and then all the Communicants to compleat the Harmony of this divine Anthem It was first endited to set forth the happy effects of that Redemption which Jesus did undertake at his Birth and it doth declare that it caused Glory to be given to God in Heaven and made Peace for poor Sinners on Earth because it did engage the good will of the Almighty towards Men But all this was but expected and prophesied of then whereas now when the Merits of this Redemption are really and effectually communicated to Penitent Souls in this Sacrament those things are all performed and accomplished so that the worthy Receivers have juster cause now than ever to sing Glory to God in the highest note who dwelleth in the highest place c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aliquando excellentissimè Math. 21.9 hoc loco terrae opponitur Grot. for he hath now done us the highest favour in making such Peace on Earth d Deus nobis haec otia fecit Virg. and giving such testimonies of his good will toward us No doubt the blessed Spirits above who sing at the Conversion of one Sinner do give glory to God in the highest now when he hath sealed his Covenant of Peace with so many and when they behold us all at peace one with another and rejoicing in these pledges of the divine favour The Church rejoyceth to see so many poor Souls revived with the hopes of Mercy e Gaudet Ecclesia redemptione multorum adstare sibi familiam candidatam spirituali exultatione laetatur Ambros de Sacr. l. 5. c. 3. every heart is full of joy and every Tongue is ready to bless the Lord for this happy reconciliation Oh let us strive to sing the Praises with an Angelick Spirit that so they above and we below may make a lovely Concord and if our Devotion cannot rise to the same note yet let our sincerity keep us in an agreeable Key and for the help of our affections let us thus meditate O my Soul behold and blush to see the Angels who are almost unconcerned sing for thy felicity while thou art silent and unmoved The Heaven is calm above thee the Earth is quiet round about thee and thy God hath testified his good will unto thee Rejoice and be exceeding glad admire and celebrate the Love of Jesus and the efficacy of that Sacrifice which hath filled Heaven with Glory Earth with Peace and all the World with Comfort O ye Celestial Powers it is my concern to magnifie him to whom you pay these Praises for I have received those Mercies which are the cause of your Joy Wherefore I will join with you and bless my God in the highest strain and I will pray that I may extol him more highly O let all the Lords redeemed on Earth and all the glorious Spirits of Heaven unite their Voices till all the World do resound with his Praise who hath restored Peace to us and shewed such good will unto men Hosanna in the highest § 4. We praise thee we bless thee we worship thee we glorifie thee we give thanks unto thee for thy great glory O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty Having before propounded the subject of our Praises we now begin to descant upon it and first we glorifie the Father Almighty to whom the former Praises are primarily directed And although we are taught with many words to express our gratitude and our joy yet none can censure this as a vain repetition because it is done in imitation of those Celestial Hymns recorded in the Revelations viz. Blessing and Glory and Wisdom and Thanksgiving and Honour and Power and might be c. Revel 7.12 and the like Chap. 5.13 as also because every word here used is highly pertinent and hath its peculiar and proper signification f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philem. Poet. Graec. We praise God by setting forth his Greatness we bless him by declaring his goodness we worship him with our Bodies we glorifie him with our mouth we give him thanks with our hearts for the great glory which he hath gotten to himself by these his Mercies toward us And further the adding so many words doth well express the vehemency of our affections and shew that we are so full of admiration and delight that we know not well with what words to signifie the pleasure which we feel within us And whilst we are repeating so many Phrases let our Souls be enlarged in comfortable reflections upon the goodness of God and then we shall not object against their number but find a new motion in our minds to comply with every one of these Eucharistical words and use every one of them with devotion O God the Father of Heaven whose mercy is over all the World I am infinitely pleased to behold the glory and to hear the Praises which thou hast gotten by thy mercy to poor Sinners and I could even pour out my Soul in the manifestation of that joy which my heart conceiveth at thy so universal Honour Wherefore I will praise thee by acknowledgments and bless thee with Hymns I will worship thee with the lowest reverence and glorifie thee in the highest note yea I will give thanks unto thee with all my Soul for thy Pity and thy Patience thy Mercy and long-suffering thy Bounty and Loving-kindness towards thy unworthy yet miserable Creatures And as all men do share in thy goodness I hope they will join in thy Praises in singing that Song of the Lamb which is to be the subject of eternal Hallelujahs Praise and Blessing Honour Glory and Thanksgiving be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne for ever and ever Amen § 5. O Lord the only begotten Son Iesu Christ O Lord God Lamb of God Son of the Father that takest away the Sins of the World Have mercy upon us Thou that takest away the Sins of the World Have mercy upon us Thou that takest away the
need be and never desert his interest either for cost or peril which Prayer we must not only make with respect to our temporal felicity but as duly considering that the Almighty and invisible Governour of the World doth not Rule us immediately by himself but by Kings to whom he hath delegated his Authority So that they bear his Name and act by his Power g Exod. 22.28 Psal 82.1.6 Dii i. e. Judices qui potestatem Dei exercent Ab. Ez. And such as Rebell h Quicunque obfirmat faciem suaem contra Regem perinde est ac si obfirmaret faciem contra Divinam Majestatem Midr. Cohel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Const do fight against God Act. 5.39 oppose his word and resist his Ordinance Rom. 13.2 Wherefore we desire grace to obey not only for fear of wrath but for the Lords sake 1 Pet. 11.13 that is for Conscience sake Rom. 13.5 And this will produce the firmest and readiest obedience to all the Commands of our Governours when we observe them as subordinate to the Laws of God Eph. 6.1 in the Lord i Sed intra limites Disciplinae Tertul. Quia poterant aliquid imperare perversum ideo adjunxit in Domino Hieron in Eph. 6. Superiorum imperia Dura Declinanda sensim relinquenda magis sunt quam Respuenda Aul. Gell. Noct. At. l. 2. c. 7. as far as they do not contradict the plain will of the Almighty and for the Lord Rom. 13.1 that is because of his Authority vested in them And thus the best Christian will be the best Subject Let us therefore most fervently beg that we may all be conscientiously obedient and if we desire that heartily we shall not only obtain grace from God to be so but this Petition is an evidence we are already loyal And were it sincerely put up by all there could be no Treason nor Rebellion harboured in our Breasts but we should live in peace and please God adorn the Gospel Tit. 11.10 oblige the King and declare to all the World that it is not only the Duty but the Interest of Princes to defend the Religion of this Church which makes the best men and loyallest Subjects in the World § 6. Through Iesus Christ our Lord who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen It was a false and malicious calumny of the Jews that the Kingdom of Iesus was inconsistent with the Empire of Caesar for Obedience to Kings was never so enjoined and asserted before as it was by Christ and his Apostles And he himself hath told us that he is a King but no Rival to the Monarchs of this Earth For his Throne is in Heaven And his proper Subjects Saints and Angels k John 18.36 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb He reigns but it is with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever For his sake therefore we may pray for the welfare of Temporal Kingdoms who hath power both to dispense them on Earth Math. 28.18 and to command blessings from Heaven on them especially on such Princes who are the Guardians of his beloved Church who own his Supremacy and daily confess and praise Him that liveth and Reigneth for ever The Paraphrase of the first Collect. § 7. Almighty God who art always ready to help us since thou art that King whose Kingdom is Everlasting and All sufficient to relieve us since thou art in Power infinite We beg not single or small Mercies of so great a Majesty but beseech thee to Have mercy upon all the Members of thy whole Church And especially that part thereof planted in these Nations which will be truly happy if it may please thee so graciously to direct the Counsels and so constantly to rule the heart of thy chosen and anointed Servant CHARLES by thy Providence and his undoubted right our King and Governour That He always remembring his Authority to flow from thee and knowing whose Minister and Vicegerent he is even the Deputy of thy Heavenly Majesty may above and before all things seek by defending Religion executing Justice and shewing mercy to advance thy honour and glory for he in so doing will ingage us all to praise thee for setting so wise and gracious a Prince over us And to compleat his and our happiness Grant that we and all others whom thou hast placed in the condition of his Subjects seriously and duly considering that for thy sake whose Authority he hath we owe him all duty and Allegiance may faithfully serve him with our Prayers Lives and Fortunes and also honour him in his person with our hearts and humbly obey him in his Laws by our whole Conversation so far as is possible in thee by the help of thy grace and for thee and for thy sake by a conscientious and exact Obedience according to the Commands of thy blessed word the appointment and Ordinance of thy Supream Providence O Lord let us be so happy to obtain this through the Merits of our great High Priest Iesus Christ who hath enjoined this Obedience and is our Lord who sets up Christian Princes on Earth to rule under him who with thee the Father and the Holy Ghost most gloriously liveth and reigneth in Heaven ever one God in that World which is without end and yet not forgetting us that are his Members in this changeable and uncertain World for his sake be it so Amen Of the second Collect for the King § 8. This Prayer is only added to help our Devotion with a greater variety but being as to the main so little different from the former it shall suffice to remark that the Petitions are here grounded on a never failing l Matth. 24.35 Foundation the word of God viz. Prov. 21.1 The Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord as the Rivers of Waters he turneth it whithersoever he will Although the Kings heart be unsearchable to men Prov. 25.3 and his purposes seldom to be alter'd by any of his Inferiors Yet Almighty God hath shewed many instances m Ezra 1.1 7.28 9.9 Neh. 1.11 Dan. 3.28 Rev. 17.17 that he can change the Decrees of the greatest Monarchs and as the Gardener n See Hammond on Psal 1.3 by opening certain Sluces can direct the streams of his Water-courses to which part of his Plantation he pleaseth So can the King of Kings direct the Counsels and turn the designs of all mortal Princes to his own glory and the prosperity of his Church To increase our wealth at home to secure us against foreign Enemies and defend us in the Exercise of the true Religion is the care of our gracious King the Prayer of all good Subjects and the end of government it self o See 1 Tim. 2.2 Vt placidam quietam vitam degamus cum omni pietate honestate Quid enim aliud est imperium nisi cura salutis alienae Ammian Mercellin and therefore let us rejoice that we have
stedfast and unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord. And I beseech thee give me constant and continual supplies of thy Grace that I may be able to perform whatsoever I have promised and let not forgetfulness or indevotion seize upon me hereafter Let me hold fast that which I have and daily strive to gain more and finally make me faithful to the Death so shall I receive the Crown of Life for he that endureth to the end shall be saved Amen § 8. Through Iesus Christ our Lord to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory World without end Amen There is a mighty efficacy in the name of Jesus used by a devout Soul that hath lately beheld the Commemoration of his great Attonement Through him we beg this Grace therefore And to him together with the Father and the blessed Spirit we offer up all honour and glory for the favours imparted to us in this Communion which but just now we did acknowledge and these Prayers and Praises we have cause to sign with an unfeigned Amen For we need the grace desired and the blessed Trinity deserves the glory ascribed wherefore we say Amen So be it But of this we have spoken before The Paraphrase of the second Prayer O Lord who art ever able and always ready to help thy servants being an Almighty and everliving God whose power and mercy can never fail We thy poor Creatures according to our bounden duty do most heartily thank and most unfeignedly praise thee for that of thy infinite pitty and bounty thou dost vouchsafe at this thy holy Table to feed us who have with penitence and Faith devoutly and duly received these holy Mysteries For therein thou hast refreshed our Souls with the spiritual and most desirable food of life thou hast made us Partakers by Faith of the most precious Body and of the most holy blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ which was offered for the Redemption of the whole World We acknowledge O Lord that besides the present comfort of this inestimable gift thou hast convinced us And dost assure us thereby of that which though we do not deserve yet we esteem above all things even thy favour thy gracious designs and goodness towards us poor Sinners And further by this holy Rite thou hast declared us thy Children and that we are very certainly living Members incorporate in and united unto the mystical Body of thy Son even thy Holy Church which is the blessed Company which are redeemed reconciled and sanctifyed by Jesus consisting of all faithful People in whose Prayers Priviledges and hopes we have now a happy interest And are also together with those thy servants by this Seal of thy Covenant made Heirs through hope already of thy Everlasting Kingdom which was purchased by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy Dear Son whose sufferings are set forth and the benefits of them conveyed to us in this Sacrament And now lest we should lose these blessings again by relapsing to folly as we have formerly done We most humbly and earnestly beseech thee O Heavenly Father for thy mercy sake so constantly and powerfully to assist us with thy grace in all our endeavours to perform our Obligations and our Vows that we may continue for ever in that holy fellowship with thy Son and thy Saints to which thou hast admitted us And do all such good works of Mercy Piety and Vertue as thou hast by the direction of thy holy Word prepared for us to walk in who have professed our selves to be thy Servants All which we beg through the most powerful intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom we have received these and all other Mercies To whom therefore with thee O Father Almighty and the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God let there be all honour and glory ascribed both now and World without end Amen Be it so SECT IV. Of the Gloria in Excelsis or the Angelick Hymn § 1. TO conclude this Office with an Hymn is so direct an imitation of our Saviours practice Math. 26.30 that it is observed in all Churches and hath been used in all Ages And although the forms may differ yet this is as Antient as any now Extant The former part of it is of an Heavenly Original and was sung by the Angels at our Lords Nativity Luke 2.14 and it seems from thence it was transcribed into the Oriental Liturgies for it is thrice repeated in that of St. James The latter part is by Hug. de S. Victor l. 2. said to be composed by St. Hilary Bishop of Poictiers but by Rabanus Maurus who lived 200. years before the said Hugo it is ascribed to Telesphorus about the year of Christ 139. Certain it is that it was added by the Ecclesiastical Doctors as we are informed by the fourth Council of Toledo a Concil Tolet. IV. Can. XII celebrated about 1000. years ago and yet those are accursed by that Council who shall reject this or the Gloria Patri or other Hymns because they are not verbatim in the Scripture for as is there well noted upon that pretence we might reject the most part of the Church Offices It is also to be noted that with very little difference we find this Hymn in Clement's Constitutions l. 17. cap. 48. so that it is likely to have been of very antient use in the Western Church And whereas in the present Roman Missal it stands in the beginning of this Office it is much more properly placed by our Liturgy here in the end of the Communion for every devout Communicant is now even full of gratitude and longeth for an opportunity to pour out his Soul in the praises of God and how fit this Hymn is for that purpose the Analysis and following discourse will shew The Analysis of the Angelick Hymn or Gloria in Excelsis § 2. The Angelick Hymn hath Two Parts 1. The Angels Song acknowledging 1. The Effect of Christs Death 1. Above Glory be to God on High and 2. Below in Earth Peace 2. The moving Cause of it good will towards Men. 2. A Descant upon it by 1. A Glorification of the Father expressing 1. The Manner how we offer this Praise We praise thee we bless thee we worship thee we glorifie thee we give thanks unto thee 2. The Reason why for thy great Glory 3. The Person to whom O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty 2. A Supplication to the Son who is 1. Confessed in his Titles O Lord the only begotten Son Iesu Christ O Lord God Lamb of God Son of the Father 2. Invocated by his 1. Office to 1. Pardon that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon us Thou that takest away c. have mercy c. 2. Hear us Thou that takest away the sins of the World receive our Prayer 2. By his Glory also to pardon us Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father
sins of the World receive our Prayer Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father have mercy upon us As the Father is the Object so the Son is the Subject of the Angelick Praises wherefore in the next place we are to glorifie him who is remembred and represented given by God and received by us in this Mystery It is usual at the Entertainment of great Princes by a Herauld to proclaim their Names Stile and Titles with great solemnity Even so the pious Soul which hath now received her dearest Lord doth with a mighty pleasure repeat all the names belonging to his Person to his Nature and his Offices and thereby declare the Majesty and Glory the Mercy and Goodness of him whom she hath now accepted for her Lord and King And whilst we are setting out his glories we do also invocate him by all these honourable and endearing Names that he will imploy his Power his Interest and Merits to make our Persons and our Prayers acceptable We behold him dying for the sins of all the World and we cannot but beseech him to grant our Pardon We discern him sitting at the right hand of the Father interceeding for us and thereby we are encouraged to beseech him to pitty our miseries and accomplish our desires His glory and our necessity makes us beg this with ingeminated cries and a redoubled importunity saying as he once in his Agony did the very same words And thus we do at once provide for our own relief and do honour to the Blessed Jesus for this part is so contrived that it is a Confession of our Faith an acknowledgment of his Glory a Prayer and a Tanksgiving all in one and thus we may reduce it to a practical Meditation How shall we express thy welcom into our Souls Blessed Jesus or how shall we celebrate thy praise We will remember what thou art in thy self and what thou hast done for us for thou art glorious enough in thy own perfections O thou Eternal and only begotten Son of God equal to the Father who art thy self both Lord and God How lovely art thou O thou innocent Lamb of God encircled with millions of redeemed Souls whom thou hast washed in thy blood O how illustrious a brightness shines round about thee whilst thou art in the midst of all thy happiness interceding for poor Sinners I adore thee and long to do thee honour and I delight to see all the Angels of Heaven worshipping thee my Lord and my God Hast thou merited so much on Earth and hast thou so much glory in Heaven sweetest Saviour then sure I cannot perish Behold how many poor Souls are prostrate before thee admiring and publishing the merits of thy Death and the power of thy intercession hear our importunate Supplications and help us all therefore O Lord that we may be able by experience to proclaim thy goodness Amen § 6. For thou only art holy thou only art the Lord thou only O Christ with the Holy Ghost art most high in the glory of God the Father Amen This Phrase thou only art holy with some others in this Hymn are taken out of the Song of Moses and of the Lamb Revel 15.4 as that thou only art the Lord is from the first Ep. Tim. 6.15 g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apoc. 15.4 Vulg. Solus Pius es 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Timoth. 6.15 Non quod non aliis is titulus aliquo sensu tribuatur sed quia hoc quicquid est à Deo venit Grot. in 1 Tim. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Responsor ad Quaest Graec. There are indeed holy Angels and Saints and there are Lords many 1 Cor. 8.5 Yet none of these have a propriety in this Title because their holiness is imperfect and derived Only Jesus is Holy in and of himself and of his holiness all others do receive He is Holy and Hallowed because he halloweth and sanctifieth us as the Liturgy of St. James paraphraseth it h Solus tu sanctus es qui sanctificas sanctificaris Liturg. S. Jacob. He only is that Lord saith St. Augustine i Solus verus Dominus es qui Dominum non habes Aug. Confes l. 10. c. 36. who hath no other Lord above him For he only with the Holy Ghost is equal to the Father God blessed for ever And this is the reason why we exalt him so highly and pass by the Mediation of Saints and Angels because none is so holy none so mighty none so high in the favour of God nor none so gracious and loving to us as Jesus is This we do acknowledge therefore with all possible joy and triumph and it is a mighty rejoicing to our Spirits that he who hath given himself for us and is come to dwell with us is so High and so Magnificent And while it doth chear our hearts to set forth his glory our Enemies are confounded For while the Church triumphs the powers of darkness tremble at the mention of his perfections Let us then refresh our selves with some such Meditation We have exalted thee O Lord as high as we can and yet scarcely so high as really thou art We will apply our selves to thee only for Holiness for thou only art most Holy we will seek for succour and protection from thee for thou art the supream Lord of Lords and we will not doubt of acceptance with our Heavenly Father because thou art a Partner in his Divinity the highest Favourite of the Coelestial Court Thou art the greatest and the best in Heaven and Earth and to my endless comfort whatsoever thou art thou hast made thy self mine so that the greater thy glory is the greater is my happiness now by Faith hereafter by enjoyment 'T is true I cannot see thee with my bodily Eyes but I admire and bless thee I love thee with ecstasies of affection for thou art my Lord and I am thy servant I feel thy influence and I believe thy excellencies so that I can rejoice in thee with joy unspeakable and full of glory Thou art the highest in thy Fathers favour and in my esteem also to thee therefore with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory now and for ever Amen The Paraphrase of the Angelick Hymn § 7. O come let us join with the Heavenly Host and sing Praises for the Redemption wrought by Jesus which bringeth so much Glory to God who dwells on high from all the Saints and Angels and which makes on Earth such a blessed Peace by reconciling us all to God and to one another and which also declares so great good will in the Almighty towards Men who had perished eternally without his Mercy Holy Father it is we that receive the benefit of this thy goodness wherefore We praise thee for the Power and we bless thee for the mercy of this great Salvation We worship thee with our Bodies and we glorifie thee with our Souls for thou hast redeemed them both We give
IMPRIMATUR Jan. 21. 1673 4 C. Smith R. P. D. Episc Lond. à sacris domesticis A COMPANION TO THE ALTAR Or an HELP To the worthy receiving of the LORDS SVPPER By Discourses and Meditations upon the whole COMMUNION OFFICE To which is added An ESSAY upon the OFFICES OF Baptism and Confirmation By THO. COMBER M. A. LONDON Printed by J. Macock for John Martyn at the Bell in St Pauls Church-Yard and Richard Lambert at York MDCLXXV TO THE MOST REVEREND Father in GOD RICHARD By the Divine Providence Lord ARCHBISHOP OF YORK Primate of ENGLAND and METROPOLITAN May it please your Grace I Have often with much pleasure and admiration observed how rarely every part of Divine Service is suited to its proper Subject whereof there needs no better instance than that which is under our present Consideration The Communion is the most sublime Duty of Christianity the Compendium of Religion the best opportunity for Repentance the highest exercise of Faith and the strongest engagement to our Charity and accordingly it is fitted with an Office agreeable to its usefulness and grandeur wherein the Directions are full and perspicuous the Exhortations vigorous and importunate the Devotions fervent and expressive of more than ordinary affections an Office wherein equal regard is had to the Majesty of the Ordinance and the advantage of the Receivers to the Custom of the Antient and the benefit of the present times So that the illustration of this one Part of Liturgy will contain Arguments to convince the Negligent Instructions to teach the Ignorant and be the properest method to prepare us for this Sacrament to assist us in Receiving and to confirm us in all Holiness and Vertue afterwards yea I dare affirm that he who will conscientiously practise by these measures can neither be an Ill Man an Vnworthy Receiver or an Enemy to that Church which affords him such excellent means of Salvation Wherefore that these endeavours may be made publick with more Advantage I have been bold to recommend them to your Graces Patronage and that with great reason For their subject being of the highest Mystery and their design to adorn the most eminent Office of the Church could no where be more justly presented than to your Grace who beside the Dignity of your Primacy and the honour of so High a Station in this Church are so known a Lover and Patron of all its Primitive Administrations Besides your Grace hath a peculiar title to the Author as well as a Right in the subject of this Discourse for he first received the Holy Order of Priesthood and the Power of Dispensing this Sacrament a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ignat. ep ad Smyr Apost Can. 39. Concil Laodic Can. 57. from your Graces Hands to whom therefore he will ever pay the Reverence and Observance due to a Spiritual Father b Esto subjectus Pontifici tuo quasi animae parentem suscipe Hieron ad Nepot Ep. 2. In fine I am obliged to make this Tender by my Condition and my Duty by Gratitude and Affection And your Graces fair Approbation of my first Essay encourageth this to hope for a Candid acceptance both as it is a Testimony of my Respect and as it may minister to the Devotion of those who approach to Gods Altar My Lord There is nothing more useful to the friends of this Church nor more convincing to the dissenters from it than to present her pure and Primitive Order of Worship in its natural and lovely splendor whereof by the Divine mercy I have seen some Experiments from my former attempt and if this may prevail also to undeceive the seduced to amend the prophane and to elevate the devotion of Pious Men I shall have all I aimed at in this Work only I most gladly comply with this Opportunity to testifie my self Your Graces Most dutiful Son and most humble Servant Tho. Comber THE INTRODVCTION Of the Communion Service in general with the reason and use of this Vndertaking § 1. WHatsoever benefits we now enjoy or hope hereafter to receive from Almighty God are all purchased by the Death and must be obtained through the Intercession of the Holy Jesus And for a perpetual memorial hereof we are not only taught to mention his name in our daily Prayers John 14.13 15.16 but are also commanded by visible signs to Commemorate and set forth his Passion in the Lords Supper 1 Cor. 11.26 wherein by a more forcible rite of Intercession a Fideles etiam inter orandum Christum afferunt Deo Patri victimam dum scilicet mente affectuque ad sacrificium ejus unicum feruntur ut Deum sibi habeant faciantque propitium Anon. apud Med. Chris Sacrif Sect. 3. we beg the Divine Acceptance That which is more compendiously expressed in the Conclusion of our Prayers through Iesus Christ our Lord is more fully and more vigorously set out in this most holy Sacrament Wherein we Interceed on Earth in Imitation of and Conjunction with the great Intercession of our High Priest in Heaven Pleading here in the Vertue and Merits of the same Sacrifice which he doth urge there for us And because of this Sympathy and near Alliance between these two Offices of Praying and Communicating we find the Eucharist in the purest Ages of the Church was a daily b Act. 2.42 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Companion of their Common-Prayer So that there is no Ancient Liturgy but doth suppose and direct the Celebration of this Sacrament as constantly as the use of Publick Prayers they being never separated but in the Case of Novices or offending secluded Christians who only had the benefit of the Petitions but were shut out before the Mysteries were begun And though the iniquity of our Age hath made the Imitation of this sublime Example rather to be wished for than expected Yet the Consideration thereof may both humble us for the sad decay of Christian Devotion and also shew us what Excellent reason our Church had to annex so much of this Communion Office to the usual Prayers of all our more solemn Assemblies § 2. As to the particular Form of this part of the Divine Service Our Church hath taken the same liberty therein which others had done before them For since our great Master who did Institute this Sacrament haâ—h not prescribed any particular Form for the Administration thereof in holy Writ there have been in all the first Ages many Liturgies composed suitable to the places and times for which they were designed Such are those which now bear the names of St. Peter and St. Barnabas but especially the Liturgy of Hierusalem called from St. James and that of Alexandria named St. Marks and that of the famous Clemens Most of which though with some Corruptions are still extant And yet notwithstanding St. Basil St. Chrysostom and St. Ambrose did every one of them compile a several Liturgy for their several Churches and yet all different from the Roman Missal
Christ for its Author than that Divine Prayer which ows its Original to the same person The Lords Prayer must be the most proper Introduction to the Lords Supper It seems our Saviour intended it should be joined to all our Offices of Devotion because he ushers it in with this Injunction Luke 11.2 When ye pray Say Our Father c. In Compliance wherewith as the Church hath again placed it at the entrance into this Service so let us repeat with a fresh Devotion Considering that these being the Words of the Son of a Agnoscat Pater filii verba Cypr. God will if duly repeated make way for the Acceptance of all the rest of our Petitions and Services And as there is nothing can be more agreeably united to the Intercession of Jâ—sus in Heaven in this our great rite of Supplication than that Prayer which himself hath indited So the form it self as the Ancients did explain it doth excellently agree b Oratio illa nihil terrenum habet sed omnia coelestia ad animum tendentia S. Germ. Theor. to this Mystery Wherefore passing by its Analysis and Discourse upon its several parts which we have done before Compan to the Temple We shall now as more pertinent to this Occasion by a brief Paraphrase direct the pious Soul how to apply it to the present duty The Paraphrase of the Lords Prayer § 2. We confess O Lord we are not worthy to be called thy Servants and yet desire so to be united to thy Son by Faith and to one another by Love that thou maist be Our Father in Jesus Christ by the visible remembrances of whose Death on Earth we set forth thy goodness which art in Heaven and not to be seen with mortal Eyes O let us so reverently celebrate this Mystery that Hallowed and adored by us and all the World may â—e thy Name for the Mercies of our Redemption And let us by this Manifestation of our Saviours love be won so fully to thy Obedience that thy Kingdom of Grace being set up in all our hearts we may be ready against thy Kingdom of Glory come where these outward signs shall cease and we shall see thee face to face In the mean time let this and every part of Thy will be done with the like sincerity and Devotion by us thy Servants in Earth as it is by thy holy Angels in Heaven who are now attending upon and desirous to look into these Mysteries But since we want that immediate fruition of thy glorious presence which those blessed Spirits do enjoy Give us at thy Holy Table which thou hast prepared for us â—his day that Bread of Life the Body of Christ c Et corpus ejus in pane censetur panem enim peti mandat quod solùm fidelibus est necessarium Tertul. de Orat. Ita Cypr. Hieron in Math. 6. c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophil in Math. 6. which is as necessary for our Souls as our daily Bread is for our bodily sustenance And since thou hast admitted us to Feast upon the remainders of the great Sin-offering Be pleased by virtue of that expiation to pardon And forgive us fully and freely all our trespasses against thy divine Majesty as we moved by the experience of a greater mercy in this holy Sacrament do heartily forgive those that now or at any time in word or deed trespass against us Finally when with the expence of thy Sons blood thou hast reconciled us to thy self and to one another Let not the Enemy renew the breach And lead us not into evil circumstances lest we forgetting our vows should comply and fall into temptation again and so provoke thy Spirit to forsake us We are thine O Lord leave us not but deliver us as Members of thy dear Son from all the snares of the wicked one that we may be preserved from evil spiritual temporal and eternal And as a pledg thereof do thou in this Sacrament to these Petitions set thy Amen SECT II. Of the Collect for Purity § 1. THis Ancient and Devout Collect was retained not without great Prudence as being a most exact and compendious expression of our desires of Purity Nor could it be more conveniently placed since it is not only an excellent entrance for the Communion Office as the Discourse will manifest But a very proper Preface even when there is no Sacrament to the rehearsing of and examining our lives by the Ten Commandments to which it is immediately prefixed For if we hear the Law with an impure heart Sin will take occasion by a Rom. 7.8 Admonent enim saepe dum interdicuntur Cypr. de Spect. the Commandment to cause thoughts of desire after or delight in the very iniquity which is forbidden And then how is it possible we should heartily say Lord have mercy c. Or Incline our hearts c. So that we are obliged upon both accounts earnestly to beg a pure heart And that we may do it with a more knowing Devotion We shall open the particular Form by the following plain Division Discourse and Paraphrase The Analysis of the Collect for Purity Sect. 2. This Collect hath 3. Parts 1. The Reason of the Request Gods Omniscience which is expressed 1 Affirmatively Almighty God unto whom all hearts be open all desires known 2. Negatively From whom no secrets are hid 2. The Request it self viz. 1. The Matter of it Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts 2. The Means By the inspiration of thy holy Spirit 3. The end 1. Internal That we may perfectly love thee 2. External and worthily magnify thy holy name 3. The Argument used to obtain it through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen A Practical Discourse upon the Collect for Purity § 3. Almighty God unto whom all hearts be open all desires known and from whom no secrets are hid Of all the Divine Attributes there are none so likely to make us afraid in this our nearest approach to God of coming with an unclean heart as his Omnipotence and Omniscience And these therefore are in Scripture phrase here set before us to mind us that we b Jerem. 17.9 Psal 38 9. Cui omnis voluntas loquitur Missal Rom. Psal 44.21 Job 42.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Petlaei versio Lit. ex Heb. 4.13 Allusio ad victimas excoriatas suspensas dum sacerdos exta scrutatur come before an Almighty and All-seeing Majesty So that if any wickedness be but imagined in the heart desired by the will or acted by the hand in the darkest night or most secret corner it is apparent to him and he will condemn us for it unless we first condemn our own selves Which Consideration we may improve two ways First To shew how necessary it is for us to labour for pure hearts since we are about to draw near to him who is so able to punish and so sure to discover the most secret sins To whose power all things are subject and to whose
our Lord Jesus in that rare pattern of his present Intercession in Heaven the last Prayer he made upon Earth for his Church did pray That all of his Religion might be preserved in Truth and Unity John 17.17.21 so that we are assured we beg the same here that he intercedes for above and therefore if it should not be compleatly granted yet he that hath asked this with a great Devotion and endeavoured it to his power shall have satisfaction in the Testimony of a good Conscience and hath testified his unfeigned Charity to the Church and his love to all the Members thereof § 7. We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings Princes and Governours especially thy Servant CHARLES our King that under him we may be godly and quietly governed We have often prayed for the King already but principally respecting his Authority in the State so we prayed for him alone but now we consider him as a Principal Person in the Church of which he is under Christ i Nutritii patres Ecclesiae Jesai 49.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristot pol. 3. as the Bishops of Rome of old confessed the supream Head and so are other Christian k Christus Imperatori omnia tribuit dominari eum non solum Militibus concessit Greg. Mag. Epist 64. ad Theodor. Princes in their several Countries wnom we therefore here do pray for also as St. Paul commands 1 Tim. 2.2 and as the Antient Church ever did in the time of this Mystery There are now three sorts of Rulers in the Christian World which are here expressed by three words First Kings that is such as have absolute Monarchies Secondly Princes who have Royal Authority in lesser Dominions though not without paying some homages Thirdly Governours who preside in Aristocracies and Common-wealths these and each of these are or ought to be supream Presidents over Ecclesiastical as well as Civil Affairs in the several Jurisdictions and since their Power is imployed to save and l Deus Op. Max. pietatis justae Actionis quoddam quasi vinculum nos esse voluerit Theodos Imp. Ep. ad Cyril defend the Church she is obliged to desire the King of Kings to save and defend them all from Invasions and Rebellions Treasons and all Mischiefs that they may not be hindred in the exercise of their most useful and pious Authority And if we prevail many Millions will receive benefit thereby and every Christian Nation shall have its share in this Blessing It happens I confess sometimes contrary to the wish of all pious Men that even Princes of the same Religion have differences with each other but then we must at this Holy Sacrament forgive our Enemies and with the welfare of the whole Church only we must pray for the safety of other Kings no further than is consistent with the welfare of our natural Liege for whom we must pray especially because under him we enjoy our Liberty and Religion our proprieties and our Peace and if it please God to defend him we doubt not but we shall have under him Quiet and peaceable lives in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 2.2 that is in two words we shall be godlily and quietly governed and thus our own interest may move us earnestly to intercede for the safety of our Soveraign for the benefit is ours more than his § 8. And grant unto his whole Councel and to all that are put in Authority under him that they may truly and indifferently Minister Iustice to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the maintenance of thy true Religion and Vertue When Justice is purest in the King the Fountain thereof it is often corrupted in the streams the subordinate Dispensers for Mortal Princes cannot see all with their own Eyes m Numb 10.31 Heb loco oculorum h. e. Confiliarius 70. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut oculus nobis charus necessarius Fag Grot. in loc nor Act all things with their own hands though they be said to judg the Nation Psal 72.2 yet the Mountains or higher Magistrates and the little Hills that is inferior Officers do bring this Righteousness to the people who can seldom receive judgment immediately from the Princes mouth ver 3. Wherefore since we must be more particular in our desires for the welfare of these Kingdoms it is necessary that we pray for all that advise in the making and assist in the executing of good Laws viz. for the Kings Council at large in Parliament as the old Christians prayed pro Senatu or more strictly for the Lords of his Privy-Council who besides their Examination of Causes in those places and their influence upon the Royal Determinations are usually Persons enjoying the highest Dignities and weightiest Offices of the Nation And because by them and the lower Orders of Magistrates all Causes are decided we are bound to pray heartily for them that they may judge by the Rules of Equity truly and indifferently without mistake or partiality and have before their Eyes the great end of all Laws which is the punishment of evil Doers and the incouragement and reward of them that do well u Leges improbos supplicio afficiunt ac defendunt tuentur bonos Cicer. de leg 2. Pius IV. Pont. R pingebat laures cum Virgis cum hoc lemmate Praemium Poena pro sumbolo suo Nic. Cauâ—sin 1 Pet. 2.14 Rom. 13.3 4. And surely happy are the people that are in such a Case when their Counsellors are faithful and prudent their Judges deliberate and upright their Officers careful and without rigour for then the profession of Religion shall be guarded and the practice of Virtue incouraged Innocence shall be safe and wickedness punished nay all Vices made infamous according to the Will of God the desire of our gracious Soveraign and the wishes of all this people especially those who now at this Sacrament come to dedicate themselves to Piety and Devotion they have peculiar Reason to pray that they may be secured in their rights and encouraged in their holy purposes by the due Administration of Justice and the punishment of all that would harm or hinder them because their innocence doth more expose them to the designs of evil men § 9. Give grace O Heavenly Father to all Bishops and Curates that they mat both by their life and Doctrine set forth thy true and lively Word and rightly and duly Administer thy Holy Sacraments The greatest gifts that the divine goodness hath bestowed upon the Sons of Men saith Justinian in his Authenticks are the Royal Power and the Office of Priesthood Both of which are so contrived that they are necessary not only for the Conservation of the World but for the mutual support of each other o Christus voluit ut Christiani Imperatores pro vitâ aeternâ Pontificibus indigerent Pontifices pro cursu temporalium rerum Imperialibus legibus uterentur Rom. leg c.
yea upon all thy Merits and Graces Lord thou reachest out most freely that which I need infinitely and that which I wish for above all things Adored be thy admirable bounty in complyance wherewith unworthy though I am I do stretch out a trembling hand I do open my mouth yea my heart to receive thee Open your Doors O ye Gates of my Soul and the King of Glory shall come in Rejoice and be exceeding glad for behold thy King cometh meek and lowly to visit the meanest of his servants Come Lord Jesus come quickly A Meditation while we Eat the Bread §. 8. In remembrance that Christ died for thee An Act of Contrition O my Soul behold how thou hast incensed the Majesty of Heaven see how he gives up the most innocent and most holy Jesus thy best thy only friend and his own dear Son to be tortured and tormented for thy Sins O how cruelly was he scourged with whips wounded with Thorns loaden with the Cross torn with Nails pierced with a Spear and rackt on the most painful instrument of Death His lovely Face is defiled with blood and spitting his Ears filled with taunts and curses his Eyes drenched in tears for the ruine of his Enemies and his Soul amazed at the terrors of the divine wrath till at length all wounded broken and bloody with many groans yet with admirable patience he breaths out his holy Soul And yet whatever he suffered was my portion My pleasure hath been his pain my wicked life hath caused his bitter death Wretch that I am to live in such a manner that nothing else could satisfie or make my Peace But here I come this day to call my sin to remembrance I will look on thee whom I have pierced with a most tender and sympathizing affection and while I break this holy Bread with my Teeth I will commemorate how thou wast bruised for our iniquities and how our offences did grind thee with grief and pain Holy Saviour I am angry at my self and full of anguish to see what I hâ—ve brought upon thee I am sorry with all my heart that I have given harbour to thy Murtherers but I hope this most dismal spectacle l Est enim tanta vis crucis Christi ut si ante oculos ponatur in mente fidelitèr retineatur ita ut in ipsam mortem Christi intentis oculis adspiciatur nulla concupiscentia nulla libido nullus furor nulla potest superare invidia Origen in 7. ad Rom. shall mortifie in me all desires after Evil and make me abhor all those desperate pleasures which must be so dearly paid for by thee or else stand charged upon my Account for ever No no I will never crucifie thee again by renewing my disobedience for I have done too much already A Meditation after the receiving of the Bread §. 9. And feed on him in thy heart by Faith with thanksgiving An Act of particular Application and Gratitude Hail holy Lamb of God thrice welcome art thou to a poor perishing Sinner was it not enough that thou shouldst suffer so much for me but thou wilt also give all the purchase of those sufferings to me thy loving kindness is truly admirable Thou hast taken my sins on thy self and communicated thy Righteousness unto my Soul Lord while I believe and consider the benefits of thy Passion I am revived and filled with an unwonted vigour My Conscience doth accuse me of many and grievous sins but I do here most humbly and thankfully set forth this perfect Sin-offering before thy divine Majesty and I know thou canst not except against it I believe it is sufficient to attone thy anger what I owe he hath discharged what I have deserved he hath endured so that for his sake I hâ—pe thou wilt set me free Blessed Jesus how is my Soul refreshed that it is thus restored again to thy Fathers Love Let Heaven and Earth praise thee and declare the merit of this glorious Sacrifice and I will bless thee while I have my being I will love thee because thou hast loved me better than thy own life my heart shall feast with joy and Eucharist upon the pleasures and Comforts which I expect to draw from this Coelestial food I have received thine immaculate Body and it shall cleanse my sinful body and teach me by the vertue of so rare an example to relieve my poor Brethren for whom thou hast died and to conquer my Enemies by my Charity for thus thou hast done to me And both my lips and my life shall set forth thy Praise I begin to feel my self one with thee already and I will wait till I am perfectly united to thee in Everlasting Glory Amen Meditations before the receiving of the Cup. §. 10. The blood of our Lord Iesus Christ An Act of Acknowledgment It will not suffice me Dearest Saviour to receive thee in part only for I must be wholly thine and blessed be thy Name thou art willing to be wholly mine also Thou hast already given me thy holy Body to cleanse my nature and now thou art preparing thy precious Blood to wash away my guilt My sins have poured out every drop thereof wherefore thou presentest it to me by it self to shew how truly thou didst suffer Death for me And now O my Redeemer thou hast said this Cup is the Communion of thy blood and thy Truth is unquestionable thy power is infinite and thy love was such that thou gavest thy hearts blood for me I will receive it therefore as the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant the seal of all the Promises of thy holy Gospel I have indeed vile Sinner that I am drunk in iniquity like water and therefore am unfit to taste this Water of Life and yet I shall perish without it for I am all over defiled and this is the fountain which thou hast opened to cleanse us I am scorched with the flames of evil Lusts and unruly Passions and this is the Cup which thou hast provided to cool and refresh us O thou Medicine of immortality my Soul longeth for thee what value is sufficient for me to put upon this Heavenly Cordial how can I reverence it enough since the God of Heaven esteemed it a price sufficient for millions of perishing Mankind Lord let me taste and my soul shall live let me wash in this Laver before I come to thy great Tribunal so shall I be whiter than Snow §. 11. Which was shed for thee An Act of Repentance mixed with Faith Was there ever so base a wretch as I have been who have accounted those sins small and trivial yea and made them my sport and pleasure which have pressed down and wounded the holy Jesus till he is all over drenched in his own blood Woe is me I have easily committed that which nothing but these streams can wash away O ye accursed Lusts ye have by wicked hands taken Crucified and slain the Lord of Life and if he had
forth the Death of Christ and that homage and service which thou commandest us to perform Wherefore Dear Lord be thou pleased with this so sincere though poor acknowledgment not weighing or considering our merits by which we cannot pretend any right to thy acceptance but pardoning our offences which might cause thee to reject us Oh do thou deal thus with us through the Merits and Intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom as our Mediator and with whom as thy only Son in the unity of and together with the Holy Ghost we desire all honour and glory may be given unto thee O Father Almighty both now in this World and for ever in the World which is without end Amen SECT III. Of the second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 1. WHen we communicate often it may be very grateful and sometimes very helpful to our devotion to vary the form for which cause the Church hath supplyed us with an other Prayer that so according to the temper of our spirit we may make our choice This being more full of praises and acknowledgments will be most fit when our minds have a joyful sense of the benefits received in this Sacrament as the former consisting chiefly of Vows and resolutions is more proper when we would express our selves in love or duty And yet we may use either of them at any time because neither doth the former want Thanksgivings nor this Petitions for Grace The Composition of this also is regular and judicious pious and extracted out of antient forms and as the former Prayer it will not only serve to close our Devotions within the Temple a Non est vera Religio quae cum templo relinquitur Lactantius but it offers very useful Meditations for the Closet also after we return home as the ensuing method will demonstrate The Analysis of the Second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 2. This Second Prayer consists of Four Parts 1. A hearty Thanksgiving for the present Favour describing 1. The Object of our Praise Almighty and everlasting God we most heartily thank thee 2. The Subject thereof for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual Food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ 2. A free Confession of the Benefits assured thereby 1. In possession 1. The Love of God And dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us 2. Union with the Saints and that we are very Members incorporate into the mystical Body of thy Son which is the blessed Company of all faithful People 2. In reversion Eternal Life And are also Heirs through hope of thy everlasting Kingdom by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy dear Son 3. An humble Petition that we may retain them shewing 1. The Thing requested And we most humbly beseech thee O heavenly Father so to assist us with thy Grace 2. The Ends why we do request it viz. for 1. Perseverance that we may continue in that holy Fellowship 2. Fruitfulness and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in 3. The Motive to obtain it Through Iesus Christ our Lord 4. A concluding Doxologie to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory world without end Amen A Practical Discourse upon the second Prayer with Meditations after the Communion § 3. Almighty and everliving God we most heartily thank thee for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ This Act of Thanksgiving may be expressed in various words but it must not be omitted after the Communion and therefore it is put into both these forms We ought not at any time rudely to ask for blessings from God until we have prepared the way by Praises b Arrogans oratio si ab homine quid petiturus dicas statim da mihi hoc Peto Debet inchoari oratio à laude Dei ut sequatur supplicatio Ambr. de Sacr. l. 6. c. 5. But having so lately received so great mercy it would be unsufferable to pray for more till we have acknowledged that which is already bestowed on us And by confessing the former mercy in the very entrance of this Prayer we do both encourage our selves to ask and expect further blessings c Sequentium rerum certitudo est praeteritorum exhibitio Greg. in Evang. hom 1. and we do also by our gratitude engage the Almighty to give us more d Ascensus gratiarum descensus gratias Cassiod Efficacissimum genus est rogandi gratias agere Plin. Paneg. Indignus est dandis qui ingratus est pro datis Aug. de temp 112. Besides the very gift it self now imparted to us is the greatest and the best the most sweet and most necessary for us in the World we bless God for our daily Bread our common food how much more then ought we to praise him for this spiritual food which nourisheth our Souls unto life everlasting True it is that carnal and unworthy Receivers have little cause of joy e Sacrificia non sanctificant hominem non enim indiget Deus sacrificio sed conscientia ejus qui offert sanctificat hominem pura existens Irenae l. 4. c. 34. for they have eat the Bread and drank the Wine not discerning the Lords Body and Blood but those that prepared themselves by Repentance and received by Faith those I say have fed upon the spiritual part and therefore they have the most reason with all their powers to bless the Lord in this wise An Act of Thanksgiving It is a mighty favour to me O my God that thou hast made bread to grow out of the Earth to nourish my mortal body but O how far hast thou transcended that mercy in giving me the Bread of Life from Heaven to feed my immortal Soul Whom was there in Heaven or Earth that I could have wished for in comparison of Jesus Christ and now thou hast given him to me whom my Soul longed for and in him thou hast given me all for he is all in all He is the fairest of ten thousand for whose sake I will trample upon all that this World accounts desirable O my Soul bless thou the Lord I came not to gaze at or taste of the outward part but to satisfie the longings of my sin-sick Soul by laying hold of the merits of a Crucified Saviour yet I have received the Sacred Elements and thou hast made them to me that which I needed and desired even the Body and Blood of thy Son I have received his flesh in Sacrament but his grace in reality f Ideo in similitudine quidem accipis sacramentum sed verae naturae gratiam virtutemque consequeâ—is Ambr. de sacr l. 6. And O how it fills my Soul with joy to behold thy Majesty
there is no impediment we may then very justly receive them into our Communion and sign them with the cognizance of Christs Religion as we do in this present Form 1. By Words 2. By a Sign concluding Thirdly with a practical Application 1. The Words are a solemn Proclamation made by a Sacred Herald according to the Custom in humane Creations Investitures and Admissions to Honourable Orders declaring the party is now and ought to be reputed a Christian and this ought to be spoken with a loud voice that all the Congregation may rejoice in beholding one more listed under Jesus Christ Now if we seek any Precedent for this in Scripture methinks it may very well be deduced from that solemn Proclamation made by God the Father immediately after the Baptism of Jesus Christ Math. 3.17 This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased As he by the Master so we by the Servant are declared to belong to God He as his own only-begotten Son we as adopted by him into the Family of our Heavenly Father Again St. Paul speaking of the Ephesians who were baptized which is meant by their being raised up together in Christ c Ephes 3.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac in loc he declareth that whereas they were before Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers to the Covenant of Promise ver 12. they were now become fellow Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God ver 19. Our Lord Jesus hath rescued this poor Soul from the Bondage of Satan he hath found this strange and straying Sheep and hath sent it home wherefore let us joyfully receive it The Church on Earth is compared to the Moon daily diminishing and encreasing we see many of our Brethren do die and are parted from us but God hath now filled the vacant places and by these continual accessions the visible Church shall be continued to the end of the World Our Saviour himself is the great Shepheard but under him the Pastors of the flock of Christ are to admit the Sheep into his Fold and accordingly the Priest here saith We receive c. and withal sets the mark of Christ upon the new Baptized Person declaring by Actions as well as Words the self-same thing Even that this Person is of the Religion of Jesus Christ and one of the Society that do profess the same But because this Signing with the sign of the Cross hath been scrupled by some and reviled by others as abominable superstition c. I will endeavour somewhat more fully to vindicate the Church in this particular and to give satisfaction to those whose prejudice hath not made them inflexible 2. The Sign which is Ordered to be annexed to the foregoing Words is the Sign of the Cross which seems designed from the beginning to some great mystery for not to mention that it is the figure of Mans Body when the Arms are Extended we find that God did chuse it to be the mark which should be set upon those who should be saved from a common Destruction Ezek. 9. ver 4. And though the Rabbins the sworn Enemies of the Cross do expound the Hebrew word Tau there to signifie a mark I see no reason why the Christians should follow them having Translators d Omnem autem super quem videris Thau non occidetur Vulg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aquil. Theod. ita Explicat Tertul. in Marcion l. 3. c. 22. Origen Homil. de Epiphan Hieronym in loc c. and the most learned Fathers against them particularly St. Jerome affirming that it signifies the letter Thau which in the old Samaritan Alphabet had the form of a Cross even as Τ among the Greeks which it may be from thence was the mark of the Living and Τ was set in the Muster-roll after a Battel against the names of the living e Sixt. Senens bibliothec l. 2. Thau as θ was against the names of the slain And further it is very remarkable what is related in the Church History f Ruffin Eccl. Histor l. 11. cap. 29. Socr. l. 5. cap. 17. Sozom. l. 7. cap. 15. Niceph. l. 21. c. 16. Isidore l. 1. Orig c. 3. and observed by others g Hor. Apollo Hieroglyph cum notis Nicolai Caussini That one straight line upright and another transverse was an Eminent Hieroglyphick among the Aegyptians and signified sometimes the one upholder of all things sometimes Eternal Life which was so well known to the Worshipers of Serapis at Alexandria that when they saw this Figure of the Cross so often used by the Christians they did many of them believe by remembring the Antient signification of the Cross among them supposing it was a mysterious prediction that the Christians were the Servants of the one true God and were in the right way to Eternal Life But to come nearer when our Blessed Redeemer had expiated the Sins of the World upon the Cross the Primitive Disciples of his Religion who as Minutius Foelix affirms did not worship the Cross yet they did assume that figure as the Badge of Christianity and long before material Crosses were in use they did with their finger make this sign either in the Air or upon their Foreheads or Breasts in their rising up and lying down going out and coming in in washing eating c. as might abundantly be proved out of Tertullian St. Basil Cyril and many others but only that it is too evident to be denied wherefore we must condemn the purest Ages of the Church if we shall censure the making this sign to be idolatrous or superstitious and it may be become injurious to the Spirit of God who did work many Miracles in the first Centuries by the sign of the Cross as is apparent to all that are versed in the History of those Times All this is confessed by many who yet pretend that it was not used in Baptism although they alledge no sufficient reason why they might not have used it there as well as upon all other occasions But as to the matter of fact it seems to me very plain that the sign of the Cross was used in Baptism also for Lactantius speaking of the Converted Heathens saith They came under the Wings of Jesus and did receive his great and noble sign upon their Foreheads which like the blood on the Lintel causeth the destroying Angel to pass over h Lactant. Instit l. 4. c. 27. yea he calls a Christian one with a signed forehead And Tertullian i Mithra signat illic in frontibus milites suos Tertul. de praeser adv haer c. 40. saith that Satan not only imitated the Christians in the washing but the signing his Souldiers in the forehead which shews it to have been then a known rite of Christianity St. Basil also affirms it to be an antient tradition to sign those with the sign of the Cross who had placed their hope in Christ k Basil de Sp. S. c. 27. that is
thus offendeth Secondly For the sins of our Words which are the superfluous scum of an evil heart running over out of the mouth p Math. 12.34 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. James 1.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alas how many lies and slanders Oaths and Curses boasting flattering and filthy speeches proceed thence Beside infinite and innumerable vain words q 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quod fine utilitate loquentis dicitur audientis S. Hieron all which the Jewish Doctors say shall be noted in a Table to be produced and read before us in the hour of Death r Vajikra Rab. Sect. 26. And a greater than they saith we shall give an account for them in the day of Judgment Math. 12.34 Thirdly For our Deeds of Wickedness all which are open to God and our Consciences and many of them publick and notorious to the World By these we have done great dishonour to God brought much of scandal on Religion and done real injury to our Neighbours Let us therefore reflect upon all this and consider that we have offended in all these kinds and whereas we should have glorified God in our Hearts with our Lips and by our Lives we have sinned 〈…〉 â—ry one of these ways that is as many 〈…〉 arâ— capable of sinning against the Divine 〈…〉 â—nd that our Confession may be more humble and passionate let us further meditate of the dreadful effects of such and so many Sins St. Paul informs us they produce in God Indignation and Wrath against us Rom. 2.8 And oh how terrible a thought it is to think that God is angry with us this makes the Spirits of darkness tremble and melts the heart of an ingenuous Christian into tears and mourning But it may be we fancy as Basilides of old that God will see no sin in us or being so merciful however will not be so much incensed at us and so we shall confess with Agags vain Confidence 1 Sam. 15.32 that the danger of death is past Oh take heed When God hath said that he hates all iniquity and vowed yea sworn that he will punish it what madness and presumption is it to think he is not just or not serious This is so vain and so impudent that it adds one greater to all the former sins Å¿ Nemini itaque facilis sua causa fit nullus difficiliùs evadit quam qui se evasurum praesumpserit S. Salvian and thus to hope against sense and reason and the truth of God hath been the ruine of thousands The Church therefore will have us to acknowledge that we have deserved the wrath of God yet not as the Athenians who obliged the Malefactor convicted by Law to confess himself worthy of Death that they might ground the sentence upon his own words but that God may upon our free acknowledgment most freely acquit us for Jesus sake If we believe we have merited the indignation of the Almighty we shall fear it and if we fear it we shall strive to escape it and so we shall never feel it t Hoc metueret conscientia nostra si crederet si autem crederet caveret si caveret evaderet Cypr. de un Eccl. And thus the Divine Anger may bring us to Repentance and become the Instrument of our Pardon u Indignatio ejus non est ultionis executio sed magis est absolutionis operatio Tertul. in Marc. Consider how great a miracle of Patience it is that God hath not begun with us how miserable we shall be if ever we fall into his avenging hands and how great a mercy it is that he is pleased to try us now once more And if either his love can draw us or our own danger drive us by repentance into the Arms of his Mercy we may yet be saved and his name glorified in our deliverance § 6. We do earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings the remembrance of them is grievous unto us the burden of them is intolerable In pursuance of our first general affirmation we did before acknowledge and now we do bewail our manifold sins That is the first and this the second part of every just Confession and surely when we have owned the facts to be so many and so abominable we cannot but be exceedingly grieved for them the boldest Sinners being hardly so confident when their crimes are discovered to say they do not repent of them and therefore our hearts must be moved with those passions which our mouths do here express in so many and dolorous terms First We must repent most seriously and fervently w Earnestly Graeca Vers Lit. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nota verba duplicata in Hebr. passionem exprimentia Nostrates reddunt earnestly Job 7.2 c. Jerem. 31.20 I do earnestly or passionately remember him still having indignation against our selves that ever we did commit them and wishing again and again they had never been done Secondly We must be heartily sorry for them and if possible we must testifie the real Passion which we feel by our tears Bassianus could never look upon the Picture of his Brother Geta whom he had slain but he wept as Ael Spartianus reports and can we with dry Eyes behold Christ Crucified for our Sins We do not read saith St. Ambrose what Peter said but we do read that he wept bitterly and there was a mighty Oratory in those tears x Interdum lachrymae pondera vocis habent Ovid. 3. de Pont. El. 1. yet if our temper be not apt to express it self in tears we must be truly sorry and sometimes the heart may bleed when the Eyes shed not one drop Thirdly We must look back upon them with a sad Remembrance we acted them rashly in the hurry of a Temptation not discerning the evil or the danger of them but now that we soberly view the guilt the shame and the misery following upon them the remembrance of them is grievous to us as the murther of Clitus was to the Grecian Conqueror when his Wine was gone and his reason returned for then he was like to have done violence to himself for so base an Act. Alas we have grieved our dear Father in committing them and the recollecting of that must be as grievous to us as the acting of them was to him Fourthly We must feel the heavy burden of them y Nullum onus graviùs est quam sarcina peccatorum pondus flagitiorum Amb. Ep. 18. In the day of our madness we never felt the strokes nor discerned the load but now that we discover our condition the grief the shame and the fear do even sink us with the mighty pressure Our Souls are greatly vexed they go stooping and bowed down Baruch 2.18 they are a sore burthen too heavy for us to bear Psal 38.4 and in this distress we pray with the Greek Church z 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Liturg. Eccles Graecae O Lord stretch out thy
life-giving hand and lift us up who are bowed down and lie groveling upon the Earth under a grievous and deadly burthen We can hardly bear up under the weight of this momentany sorrow and how then are we like to endure the eternal Vengeance Thus then we must be affected when we say this Confession for let us remember that we do not confess to instruct an All-seeing God but to humble our selves And to reckon up our sins without such contrition is but a renewed provocation he that abhorred our wickedness when it was done will abhor us if we tell the story of it with an unrelenting heart Let him therefore not only hear the words of our lips but the sad groans of our penitent hearts saying a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo legis alleg l. 2. Ah me how long have I been sick of the Disease of folly Miserable wretch can I excuse or dare I deny any of this Indictment the facts are apparent the Law is plain and the sentence unavoidable I must confess I have been as unworthy and as grievous a sinner as ever the Earth bore and I am amazed at my self for I am here liable to all that God hath threatned to the greatest offenders Wo is me I have no refuge no sanctuary but in the divine mercy and thither will I fly for succour § 7. Have mercy upon us have mercy upon us most merciful Father for thy Son our Lord Iesus Christ his sake forgive us all that is past After the Confession of our sin and our hearty Contrition for it most regularly follows this supplication for Mercy We have clearly represented our miserable Estate how we lie groaning and oppressed with an intolerable load of guilt and terror and he that commands us not to see our Enemies Beast lie under his burden without relief Exod. 23.5 will never suffer our poor Souls to perish under this our grievous pressure but will pitty and help us especially because we do with so much Passion beg his Mercy with redoubled Cries Have mercy upon us have mercy c. We must not censure this as a vain repetition for it is the very words of David Psal 57.1 123.3 and doth rarely express our great necessity our earnest desire and our imminent danger b Repetitio ardorem precandi denotat clementiam divinam commovet ad opem accelerandam Muis. Gejer. in Psal 57. it is an importunity pleasing to our gracious God Mark 10.47 48. who is ready to give his mercy as soon as we are fit to receive it and when by our urgent cries we shew that we have found ouâ— want of mercy he rejoices in that opportunity to bestow it He is a most merciful Father and the fountain from whence all the pity in the World doth flow and if men who are often churlish and unnatural can scarce deny the cries or abuse the expectations of their Children Luke 11.11 12 13. how much more impossible is it for our Heavenly Father to reject so earnest and so necessary a request The Prodigal no sooneâ— pronounces the word Father Luke 15.21 but the resâ— of his speech was much of it interrupted by his Fathers embraces charmed with that endearing name which as we here use on the same occasion let us do it with like affections and it shall have the same success Mercy is the first but not the only thing we ask for we further beseech him to forgive us and this will follow thâ— other because the mercy of God is not a meer useless pity or ineffective condoling c Misericordia est animi condolentis affectiâ— cum additamento beneficii ut compatiamuâ— proximo largiamus de proprio August but it immediately brings us help for by removing our sin the cause it soon takes away our misery which was only the effect thereof we desire therefore his mercy may appear in our forgiveness and we have a powerful motive annexed not for our Righteousness d Non quia merui sed quia egeo justitia meritum quaerit misericordia miseriam Bern. but for our Lord Jesus sake whose Death is here set forth and who hath so purchased mercy as to satisfie justice e Misericordia tunc est vera misericordia si sic facta est ut justitia per eam non contemnatur Chrysos hom in Math. Wherefore we may most chearfully ask a pardon in his name even for all that is past because he hath deserved mercy for all the World if they will receive it and there are Millions of Souls now in Heaven that once lay under as great a burden as we now do who making their Confession and supplication in his name have for his merits sake been advanced to a state of glory Let us ask then also and that with all possible fervency considering how blessed we shall be when God hath crossed out all our debts and Jesus cancelled all our Obligations Oh how will this dispel all our Clouds of sorrow how chearfully shall we stand upright and praise God in the following Office when this dismal load is thus removed § 8. And grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life to the honour and glory of thy Name through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen In the same breath that we ask for Pardon we must also Petition for Grace to amend our lives or else we affront the Holiness of God f Non est poenitens sed â—rrisor qui adhuc agit â—nde poeniteat S. Bern. while we pretend to crave his mercy He that only desires forgiveness to be quit of his present fear is an Hypocrite g Improbus quo ad metuit omnia est promissurus fimulatque timere desierit similis est futurus sui Cicero 2. Phil. and doth not hate or grieve for his iniquity but for the punishment annexed to it and when that fear ceaseth will be as bad as ever But I hope we have truly felt the weight of sin and duly apprehended the misery of having God to be our Enemy and if so we shall be as desirous to be kept from future sins as we are to be delivered from our past offences We have seen how base how foolish and how desperate a thing it is to displease the Lord let us now therefore beg it as a mighty favour that we may hereafter please him by an obedience that may last for ever and may extend to all parts of our duty so that we may be wholly changed into new Persons and live in newness of life Rom. 6.4 Proclus tells of one Eurynous who died and was buried at Nicopolis yet some days after was taken up alive h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Comm. in Plat. Rep. and afterwards did lead a much more holy life than he had done before h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Comm. in Plat. Rep. Even so should we who were dead in Law and by the sentence of our own Conscience being