rejoyce in nothing so much as in this that I love thee XX. O my bountiful Saviour O my loving Redeemer When when shall it be that I shall love thee perfectly Here on Earth I must not hope for this Happiness but in Heaven I shall O Heaven Heaven How desirable art thou Where the Love of Jesus shall eternally reign in my Soul Where my Love shall be perfectly pure perfectly Seraphick perfectly Extatical and Eternal Ages shall not alter it At present I am in Prison encompassed with a Mortal Body and must sojourn in a wicked World Oh when will that Day that Hour that Minute that happy Time come that I shall be delivered from this Dungeon and translated to that place where Love is all in all where Love knows no End no Decay no Period where it is pure without Mixture invariable without Changes eternal without ceasing Come Lord Jesu Come quickly Particular Acts of Devotion at the Acts of Consecration and Receiving of the Consecrated Bread and Wine At the Minister's pouring out the holy Wine into the Cup. O Jesu Who can think of the flowing of thy Blood without being desirous to be washed with it Or I fancy I do at this present stand under thy Cross and see thee bleeding for my Sins Or Oh. Let thy Blood flow upon my wounded Soul that I may become a sound Member of thy Mystical Body At the Minister's laying his Hand upon the Bread O Blessed Saviour Lay thy Hand upon my Soul that all my Distempers may depart from me Or Oh lay hold on my Soul as the Angel did on Lot Save me from the Flames and let me escape into the Mount of God that I perish not At the Minister's Breaking the Bread Lord Jesu In suffering thy Body to be broken for my Sins I see the Vehemence the Strength and Fervour of thy Love Oh make me all Love all Fervour all Charity Or Oh break the united Forces of my Sins scatter them by thy mighty Arm. Gather the broken Planks of Vertue in my Soul unite them make them whole and strong and secure against the Fury of Winds and Tempests At the Minister's pronouncing the Words This is my Body Lord Let me look off from these material Things and shew me Things invisible and Heavenly Or O Lord The Benefits of thy wounded Body my Soul longs for Oh say They shall be thy Portion At the Minister's touching the Cup. Lord Touch my Soul that it may feel the Power of thy Super-abundant Charity Or Oh! Touch me as thou didst the Blind of old that I may see the Bowels of thy Compassion and rejoyce in the glorious Sight At the Minister's pronouncing the Words This is my Blood Lord My Soul wants Wine of another nature than is in this Cup Oh wash it and cleanse it and purifie it in thy Blood Or Lord Speak thou to my Soul and say I will be thou clean At the Receiving of the Bread Lord Let thy Death be my Life And the Bread represented by this Bread feed me into Everlasting Life Or Lord As thou hast provided Food for my Soul so give me a Taste and Relish also of this Food and a Tongue to praise thy Name for ever Or Lord As thou hast given thy Body for me so I freely offer my Soul and Body as Living Sacrifices to thy Majesty At the Receiving of the Cup. Lord Nothing is more precious than thy Blood Oh! Let it warm my Heart that it may comply with thy Will wlthout wavering Or Lord Bid me look upon thy Blood and in thy Blood upon the Reconciliation wrought by it to the Comfort and Edification of my Soul Or O Lord I am heavy laden and my Pollutions are great And as thy Blood alone can remove that Burthen so free me from those Spots and Wrinkles which make me look deformed in thy Sight CHAP. XXVIII Of the proper Acts of Devotion after we have Received The CONTENTS The Time that is left after our Personal Receiving before all have Communicated not to be spent in Gazing or Looking about Acts of Devotion to be used after Receiving and relating to the Wisdom Mercy Liberality Love Goodness Greatness and Majesty of God to our own Vileness and Unworthiness c. IT falls out so often that when we have Communicated and our Souls have been fed at this Table a considerable Space of Time remains before the united Praises and Thanksgivings of the Congregation begin again This Time be it more or less must not be spent in looking about or in sitting still or in thinking of what Objects our Fancy is pleased to offer and present to us but in holy Aspirations And that the Communicant may know how to employ himself in that Interval it may not be amiss to set down some pious and proper Ejaculations whereby he may exercise his Mind according as Time will permit I. O God! Thy Love in Christ Jesus deserves to be praised admired and magnified There is all that in it which can engage a Soul to break forth into Praises and Hallelujahs There is Beauty Wisdom Condescention Mercy Liberality Sweetness Power Greatness Majesty in it and all these in the highest Degree which would force even a dumb Man to speak of thy Glory II. I adore thee O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity for that infinite Care of my immortal Soul which I see in all thy Proceedings and Transactions and particularly in the Cross of my dearest Redeemer Here thou seemest to empty all thy Stores and pourest out thy Grace abundantly upon the Heads and Hearts of thy Servants Behold Bless ye the Lord all ye Servants of the Lord which by Night stand in the House of the Lord Lift up your Hands in the Sanctuary and bless the Lord. The Lord that made Heaven and Earth hath blessed us out of Zion III. O Charming Son of God! I alone am not able sufficiently to praise thee and therefore I wish that every Drop of the Ocean every Grain of Sand every Leaf of the Trees of the Field and every Sprig of Herbs and all the Creatures that ever were or are or shall be might be turn'd into Seraphick Tongues to praise thee IV. O Jefu When I behold thy wonderful Love how it hath bowed how it hath stooped to so mean a Creature as I am the Thoughts of it force my Soul into the humblest and deepest Prostrations Thou art Beauty I am Deformity Thou art Wisdom I am Ignorance Thou art Light I am Darkness Thou art Omnipotence I am feeble Thou art Purity I am Filth and Dung Thou art rich I am Poverty it self Thou art happy I am Misery it self Thou art Perfection I am Weakness Thou art All in All I am nothing V. O Blessed Saviour When I see how Men fall in love with a mortal and fading Beauty which to Day shines bright as the Sun to Morrow by Sickness or Death is all tarnish'd and decay'd how do I blame my self that I do not love thee better whose
The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. WE may take notice here of the strange decay of Christianity especially with respect to Fasting a piece of Devotion whereby the Primitive Believers effected very great things And it 's to be feared that the over-tenderness of Men to their Bodies in this Age and a fancy that every thing is necessary which their Appetite craves is no small hinderance to their eminency in Virtue and Goodness It 's granted that Men may be very vicious and yet great Fasters too as one John Scot in Scotland in the year 1539. a man of no Learning and no good Qualities neither who was able to abstain thirty or forty days together from all manner of Meat and Drink whereof the King willing to make tryal shut him up in a Room within the Castle of Edinburgh suffering no creature to come at him A little Bread and Water indeed was set before him at his first coming into the room but upon examination it was found that he had not so much as tasted of it in the space of 32 days And going afterwards to Rome the like proof of his fasting was given to Pope Clement VII and some time after preaching against King Henry the Eighth's Divorce at London he was shut up in Prison where he fasted 50 days yet continued still a dissolute man But it is not the bare abstinence that makes a Man a Christian but the spending a Fast religiously and to good ends works the Miracle of Holiness and such were the Fasts of the Primitive Believers who by such frequent Mortifications made their Graces tower and climb and culminate to the admiration of the unbelieving World when they would conquer any Corruption when they had a mind to arrive to any excellency in Vertue when they wanted a signal spiritual Blessing nay when their Friends and Relations or any eminent Servant of God lay sick they presently applied themselves to this piece of Mortification and found great success And it stands to reason that where the Soul gets thus above the Body slights the Pleasures of the flesh determines to converse with God and entertains herself with the thoughts of his Greatness and her own Vileness God who ever loves an humble Spirit will look down and satisfie the longing Soul and fill the thirsty Soul with Goodness Yet II. Let 's not think we have discharged our duty when we have received the Lord's Supper fasting that will signifie but little if after receiving we do not fast from sin This is the acceptable Lent and must be observed more religiously than the Mahometan doth his month Ramasan This is the Fast which the Lord hath chosen and except our Abstinence from Food be in order to this Fast God regards it no more than the lowing of Oxen or the bleating of Sheep To fast from sin is both a Preparative for the Lord's Supper and must be the consequence of it This Fast must be the very end of our coming to the holy Table and we eat and drink there that we may be out of love with this dangerous Meat Nor is this Fast from sin a thing impossible if by sin as we ought to do we understand wilful and habitual sin and the Motives to this perpetual Fast are very cogent He that believes that sin is the Food of Devils and the Meat of Hell and the Festival of Fallen Angels can have no great Stomach to it Nothing starves the Soul sooner than sin and as pleasant as it may be to the Palate the Soul suffers extreamly by it and falls into Palsies and Apoplexies It makes it not only lean but miserable too it shuts her out from the care and tenderness of a Gracious God and in its pernicious effects goes beyond the Apples of Sodom for whereas these upon touching of them fall and shatter only into Ashes that ends in eternal Fire The Ears must be stopt therefore against its Charms the Eyes shut against its alluring Dresses and thus we may wean our selves from any affection to this forbidden fruit The PRAYER O My God! Thou art the most Charming Object and though the sensual World will not be persuaded to believe it yet it is because their eyes are blinded The enlightned Soul discovers such Beauty in thee as transcends the fairest Pictures that mortal hands can make Thou who art the Creator of all Excellencies must needs be more excellent than all thy Creatures O how have I been mistaken in my choice How greedy have I been after the Meat which perisheth To fast and abstain from that I have thought death and misery while I could be content to live without thee and to be deprived of the Communications of thy Goodness hath not so much as caused the least solicitude in my Breast The want of thy favour hath troubled me no more than the want of things which are contrary to my Nature and Constitution I see now where my Happiness lies and to feed on thee I perceive is to feed on that which is incorruptible O kiss me with the kisses of thy Lips and my Soul shall leap for joy Make sin odious to me and make me as averse from it 〈◊〉 my nature is from Poison Let my desires be after thee alone and let me feel that when I enjoy thee I have the best Meat and Drink and that which will nourish me into everlasting Life Let nothing satisfie me but to live for ever Let that be my Ambition Let that be my Resolution Let that be my Endeavour My Soul hath been precious in thy sight thou hast not yet condemn'd me with the World Thy patience hath long waited for me while others have been sent into Darkness thou hast spared me and suffered me to enjoy the Light of the Living I will trespass upon thy Goodness no more I feel the workings of thy Spirit in my Soul I feel desires and propensities to Goodness I will cherish them O help thou me Let those drops of Goodness in me swell into Floods and the riâ—ulets of Grace that run through my Soul into larger streams Let thy voice be heard in my Soul thy convincing thy converting thy pardoning thy sanctifying voice At thy Word I will let down the Net O let me enclose a multitude of Virtues Goodness hath been meat I have had an aversion from now let it become my daily Bread Teach me the art of Abstinence perswade me to abstain from that which will certainly be my ruine Give me a Holy greediness after thy Word let mine ears delight to hear it and mine eyes delight to see it and my feet delight to walk in the way of it Lead me to the Rock that is stronger than I let me freely-Sacrifice unto thee Let my great endeavour be to please my Redeemer who hath saved my Life from the Nethermost Hell He bids me follow him O blessed Jesu I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest Only give me alitority and readiness to make haste after thee who
art the Captain of my Salvation To whâ—m with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen CHAP. VII Of the Elements in this Sacrament and First of the Bread Christ made use of and of the Nature and Design of it The CONTENTS The Bread Christ made use of was in all probability unleavened Bread The reason why in the Church of England we make use of Bread that 's leaven'd Wheaten Bread made use of in the first Institution Substantial Bread necessary in the Celebration of this Sacrament not Wafers Several Reasons why Christ made use of Bread in the Institution God makes use of very mean and ordinary things to represent great Mysteries by them Examination necessary whether we are strengthned by the Holy Bread in this Sacrament Several signs and characters of spiritual strength laid down The Prayer I. THat Christ made use of Bread in this Sacrament we have the concurrent Testimonies of the Evangelists and considering the circumstances he then was under cannot but conclude that it was Unleavened Bread he used because at that time when he instituted this Sacrament no other Bread was to be had it being the First day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as we are informed by St. Matthew Chap. 26. 17. Now the first day of Unleavened Bread the Disciples came to Jesus saying unto him where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eâ—t the Passover If Christ did eat the Passover of Unleavened Bread and instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist after he had eaten the Passover it must necessarily follow that he used Unleavened Bread in this Institution for from the first day of Unleavened Bread to the last no Leaven was suffered to remain in any Jewish House whatsoever For Seven days shall ye eat Unleavened Bread even the first day ye shall put Leaven out of your Houses for whosoever eats Leavened Bread from the first day until the seventh day that Soul shall be cut off from Israel saith the Law 12. 15. And therefore Christ who came not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it must be supposed to have done according to this Law and consequently instituting this Sacrament immediately after the Passover he could not possibly make use of any other Bread but Unleavened because there was no other to be found in the Houses of the Israelites at that time And whereas it is said by some that Christ did eat the Passover before the Jews and consequently there migh be Leavened Bread to be had I answer That he did indeed eat it before the Jews but still the same day that the Jews did eat it Christ in the beginning of the Fourteenth Day of Nisan the Jews about the latter end of it and if so no Leaven could be had for from the Fourteenth to the One and Twentieth Religion exterminated and banished Leaven from all Mens Habitations But here will arise a Question If Christ made use of Unleavened Bread Why doth the Church of England use Bread with Leaven in it in the Holy Sacrament But the reason of this is 1. Because the Primitive Church and the Christians that succeeded the Apostles and who could not but know the sense of the Apostles in this point looked upon it as a thing indifferent whether Leavened or Unleavened Bread were used in the Sacrament and therefore in times of Persecution especially they made use of such Bread as they could get never disputing whether it had Leaven or no Leaven in it Indeed about the Year 1053 there arose a great Controversie betwixt the Greek and Latin Churches whether Leavened or Unleavened Bread ought to be used in the Eucharist The Greeks standing up for the Necessity of using Leavened The Latins for using Unleavened Bread And the Greeks proceeded to that Heat in the Dispute that they asserted That Unleavened Bread was no Bread at all But in this they were so palpably mistaken that a Child which had read the Bible might discover their wilful Error the Scripture calling both the Leavened and Unleavened Composition of Meal and Water by the Name of Bread Exod. 29. 2. and Judg. 6. 20. What Michael the Patriarch of Constantinople objects here that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bread is derived from a Word importing elevation or lifting up and therefore must be such Bread which hath received Elevation and Warmth from Salt and Leaven is a Fancy and Quibble rather than an Argument But this hath been the Custom of the Greeks ever since they became Strangers to the Primitive Simplicity of the Gospel to stand up for little and inconsiderable Problems of Divinity as if they were Articles of Faith and to defend a Ceremony or Circumstance as hotly as if the whole Frame of Salvation depended upon it 2. We make use of Leavened Bread in the Church of England because the Substance or Essence of the Sacrament is not at all prejudiced by it and in things merely circumstantial the Church hath not only varied from the first Customs but may lawfully vary as she sees occasion as will appear more fully from what we shall hereafter lay down concerning Ceremonies The reason why Christ made use of Unleavened Bread was because there was no other to be had at that time that which he chiefly intended was Bread which Feeds and Nourishes the Body thereby to represent the spiritual Nourishment of the Soul the greater thing intended in this Sacrament and since Leavened Bread will do this as well as Unleavened we need not be very scrupulous about it though if the Church thought fit to alter the Custom and use Unleavened Bread I should be ready to subscribe to it for no other reason but because it best represents the Temper a Christian ought to have at all times but more particularly at his approaching to the Lord's Table viz. Sincerity and Godly Simplicity to which the Apostle alludes 1 Cor. 5. 8. Therefore let us keep the Feast not with the old Leaven neither with the Leaven of Malice and Wickedness but with the Unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth II. As it was Unleavened Bread Christ made use of in this Sacrament so it was Bread made of Corn and particularly of that sort which Bread is usually made of among us and that 's Wheat for though the Jews especially the poorer sort used Barly Cakes and Barly Bread sometimes and our Saviour himself took the five Barly Loaves and distributed them to the Disciples and the Disciples to the Multitude Joh. 6. 9. Yet in the Passover wherein they remembred the greatest Deliverance that ever happened to the Jewish Nation it 's probable they made their Unleavened Cakes of the best Corn i. e. Wheat the rather because in their Meat Offerings and Cakes which they offer'd to God they were commanded to use the finest Wheat Flour Levit. 2. 12. 45. and as their Deliverance from Egypt gave them a Title to that Land one great blessing whereof was their being filled with the finest
when he whose Wisdom cannot by searching be found out hath given us these Symbols and by them thought fit to help our infirmities to fancy that Christ did more than he need to have done as if he understood not our Natures better than we Those that look upon those Symbols as Crutches for weaker Christians to lean upon and such as they themselves have no need of had need examine and search their Hearts better than hitherto they have done lest they be unable when the time comes to stand before the Son of Man II. Why this Sacrament is to last in the Christian Church to the end of the World or till Christ come to Judgment may easily be guess'd at for 1. The means of Grace are the same and unalterable to the end of the World and whatever things bore the name of ordinary means of Grace in the Apostles days still bear that Name and shall bear it till Heaven and Earth do perish for God intended but one Gospel to the Christian World even that Gospel which we have and after it we are to expect no other This is to serve the Church while it is a Church and as the Church is to last to the consummation of all things so this Gospel is to last for which reason it is expresly call'd The Eternal Gospel Rev. 14. 6. And the Apostle is very peremptory in his Assertion Though we or an Angel from Heaven should Preach any other Gospel meaning either now or hereafter than what we have Preached to you let him be accursed Gal. 1. 8. And if the Gosbe to last to the end of the World this Ordinance of the Lord's Supper in the Church must needs last as long for this is part of the Gospel as much as Prayer Preaching or any other message delivered in that Book That which is most properly called the Gospel or Glad-tidings is the mistery of God's reconciling the World to himself in Christ Jesus and this is in an eminent manner express'd in this Sacrament so that this Sacament is the principal part of the Gospel the chief subject it treats of the principal thing it aims at the very foundation of the whole For other Foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Christ saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 3. 12. Nay he determined with himself not to know any thing save Jesus Christ and him Crucified which is the very purport and scope of this Ordinance and if the Gospel be a thing perpetual and eternal the principal part of it without all peradventure must be so 2. The comforts of Christian Souls are to last while Christians live in the World and that by virtue of Christ's Pontificial Prayer Joh. 17. 20. 21. Neither Pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word i. e. to the end of the World that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us than which there cannot be greater comforts and if such are to last to the Worlds end the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper must needs be of the same perpetuity for from hence flow the greatest comforts of true Believers this assuring us that as the material Bread by eating is united to ouâ— Bodies so is Christ united to our Souls or our Souls united to him as Members to their Head and to be one with Christ it such a Treasury of Comforts that there is no affliction no condition so mean or so calamitous but may receive ease and content from this Consideration for if I am one with Christ my Blessed Redeemer will be concern'd for me will take care of me will be with me in the Tryals that fall to my share will support me under Temptations assist me with his Grace relieve me by his Presence subdue Satan under my Feet shortly will furnish me with Arguments to resist will not leave me when I dye but convey and conduct my Soul where her Head is that it may be for ever with her Lord and will make me partaker of the same Glories too which himself is possest of By this Sacrament we become one with Christ Jesus and this comfort being to attend sincere Christians while Christians are in the World the means whereby that Union is made must necessarily last as long as Christianity lasts i. e. to the Day of Judgment 3. Lo I am with you saith Christ to his Disciples who were Representatives of all future Christian Congregations that should maintain the purity of his Doctrine and Morals to the end of the World Matth. 28 20. This is not to be understood of his Bodily Presence or Human Nature for that was to be Translated into his Father's Kingdom and with respect to that he had told his Followers before that they should not have him always with them Matth. 26. 11. And as to his Divine Nature though the words may be referr'd to that yet it is to be noted that he spoke these words as one who had all Power given him in Heaven and in Earth v. 18. and therefore as Mediator or the promised Messiah of the World and if he spake these words as Mediator or Head of the Church it must follow that he meant them of his being with them and their Followers to the World's end by his Spirit and virtue and influence in their observing all things whatsoever he Commanded them as the words immediately preceding do evince for he doth not tye his special Presence to a bare function of Men as the Romanists falsly infer but to Obedience and as Baptism was one of the things he commanded them to use and observe in the Verse before so the Lord's Supper and Celebration of it was another so that if Christ's Presence be necessary to the Worlds end and that Presence be tied to Obedience and this Sacrament be one of the things he hath commanded and in which he must be obey'd in order to his Gracious Presence this Ordinance also must be necessary and must needs be kept up to the end of the World 4 Christ's Church is to last to the World's end for it is for his Church's sake that the World stands so long as it doth as the World was created upon that account because God meant to gather a Church out of the World out of the foreseen corrupt Mass of Mankind so it is preserved upon that account even that the number of those that shall be saved may be compleated which great Truth is I believe aim'd at by the Apostle Col. 1. 15 16 17 18. and to this end this Church is said to be so durable and so firm that the Gates of Hell shall not be able to prevail against it Matth. 16. 18. The Devil we may be confident will endeavour to bâ—tter it to to the very last moment of the World's duration and if with all his stratagems and continued and lasting assaults he shall not be able to conquer or to destroy