Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	covenant_n	promise_n	seal_v	2,532	5	9.8875	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30305	The poor man's help and young mans guide containing I. Doctrinal instructions for the right informing of his judgment, II. Practical directions for the general course of his life, III. Particular advices for the well-managing of every day : with reference to his [brace] 1. Natural actions, 2. Civil imployments, 3. Necessary recreations, 4. Religious duties : particularly I. Prayer [brace] publick in the congregation, private in the family, secret in the closet, II. Reading the Holy Scriptures, III. Hearing of the Word preached, IV. Receiving of the Lord's Supper : unto which is added an earnest exhortation unto all Christians to the love and practice of universal holiness / by William Burkitt ...	Burkitt, William, 1650-1703.	1694 (1694)	Wing B5738; ESTC R34773	72,112	85

and Obeyed Consider also That if thou art a Doer of God's Will he will be a Doer of thine he will make as much of thy Prayers as thou dost of his Commands John 9.31 If any Man be a Worshipper of God and doth his Will him be heareth What a Priviledge is this to have God's Fiat set to all we ask 8. Be careful to take an Account of thy self after thou hast heard the Word Preached God has indued man with a noble Faculty of Self-reflection he has a power of calling himself to an account for the several Actions performed by him Now when a Christian after hearing of the Word Preach'd is found in the Exercise of this Duty frequently and faithfully interrogating his own Heart what he has heard and how he has heard it is a good Evidence of his Sincerity both because First It is a secret Duty And Secondly A searching Duty This is not the Hypocrite's Walk who desires not to search himself nor that the Word should search him he is for taking all upon Trust and nothing upon Tryal And having called thy self to an account in Secret how thou hast heard the Word in Publick what Benefit thou receivedst and what Assistance thou enjoyedst call likewise thy Family if thou hast any under thy Charge to give thee an Account what they have heard and how they understand endeavouring to inform their Judgments aright as to the Nature of those Divine Truths they have heard and praying with them and for them according to the Directions given before Chap. 8. Page 29. CHAP. XIII Concerning the Lord's-Supper THE Sacrament of the Lord's Supper being one of the most Tremendous Mysteries of the Christian Religion and the highest Act and Exercise of Religious Worship he must be unthankful to Christ and unjust to himself that does not warily attend his Soul in so sacred an Homage Therefore that I may Assist you in a faithful Preparation for this Ordinance and excite you to the frequent Participation of it I shall briefly dispatch the following Severals 1. I shall acquaint you with the Nature of this Ordinance 2. Inform you of the Ends of its Institution 3. Lay before you the Obligations which are upon you to frequent it 4. Answer the several Pleas made by many for the Neglect of it 5. What Preparation is necessary to fit you for it 6. What Directions may be useful to assist you in it 7. How we ought to manage our Deportment and Behaviour after it 1. Concerning the Nature of this Ordinance Know that the Lord's Supper it is a Spiritual Feast appointed for a Solemn remembrance of Christ's Death and to be a Seal of that Covenant which God has made with us in Christ The Use then of this Ordinance is two-fold 1. To be a solemn Remembrance of the Person and Passion of our Holy Lord to excite us thankfully to call to mind all that Christ hath done and suffered for our good and in our stead in order to the inflaming of our Affections with Love unto his Person and our Wills with Resolution to obey his Precepts 2. 'T is a Seal of the new-New-Covenant or Covenant of Grace which God has made with us in Christ in which Covenant he has assured us of Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life upon the Conditions of Faith and Repentance Almighty God Seals to us in the Sacraments and assures us that he for his part will make good his Promises and we Seal on our part to him that we will endeavour by his Grace enabling to perform the Conditions This is the Genuine Nature of the Lord's-Supper 2. Now as touching the Ends of this Institution and the special Reasons and Purposes for which it was ordained by our Saviour they are such as these 1. The renewing of that Solemn Covenant with God which we entred into at our Baptism when by the Piety of our Parents we were Dedicated to the Lord and took an Oath of Fidelity unto Christ the Captain of our Salvation to become his faithful Souldiers and Servants unto our Lives end Now because our Infirmities are many and our Covenant-Breaches too frequent that we may not want a merciful opportunity to bewail our Backslidings and to renew our Covenant this Ordinance was appointed 2. Another end is to Remember the Love of our dying Redeemer in laying down his Life for us St. Luke 22.19 This do in Remembrance of me In Remembrance of my Bloody Sufferings in Remembrance of my Bitter Death and Passion 3 To Seal up unto us the Pardon of our Sins and the Assurance of Everlasting Life St. Matth. 26.28 This is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the Remission of Sins Christ assures us of Pardon on his part if we perform the Conditions of Faith and Repentance on our part 4. Another end of this Ordinance is to fortifie the Soul with power to resist Sin and to get the Victory over it yea to mortifie and subdue it That our Souls being as Giants refresht with this Spiritual Wine all the Enemies of our Salvation may fall before us and we may be more than Conquerors over them 5. The last but not the least end of Christ in Appointing this Ordinance was for the Uniting all the Professors of his Holy Religion together in the strictest Bond of Love and Charity 1 Cor. 10.17 We being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all partakers of that one Bread That is as many grains of Wheat united together as one Mass or Lump do make one Loaf of Bread so Christians tho' many by the Death of their Saviour and by partaking of his Supper are Spiritually incorporated into one Mystical Body and should labour to be of one heart and of one mind 3. Next let us consider the Obligations which lie upon Christians to Attend upon Christ in this Ordinance now these are especially two namely an Obligation of Duty and of Interest First We lie under an Obligation to frequent this Ordinance in Point of Duty and Obedience to our Saviour's Command especially if we consider what kind of Command it is namely the Command of a Sovereign the Command of a Saviour the Command of a dying Saviour 'T is a Command of Love a gracious Command Eat and Live 'T is a pleasant easie and honourable Command What more pleasant than a Feast What more easie than to come to a Feast What more honourable than to Feast with a King yea with the King of Kings In a word 't is such a Command the due Observation whereof will help us to keep the rest of God's Commandments better it will be an efficacious means to make you do well Finally 't is a plain positive express Command from which nothing can discharge us but a Countermand from Heaven which we must never expect or an impossibility of doing it for want of Opportunity which we cannot plead Secondly We lie under a super-added Obligation to the practice of this Duty from a tie

of Interest For by a due Approach to our Lord's Table our Baptismal Vow is renewed our weak Faith strengthened our languishing Love inflam'd our Desires after Christ enlarg'd our Sorrow for Sin heightned fresh Power against and Victory over Sin obtained our present Joy and Comforts multiplied and our future hopes of Heaven advanced Oh how unkind then are they to their Saviour and also cruel to their own Souls who live all their days in the neglect of this engaging uniting quickning confirming Ordinance of the Lord's Supper whom all the melting Entreaties and passionate Importunities of the Ministers of Christ could never prevail upon to the practice of this most Reasonable and most Advantagious Duty 3. But let us hear the several Pleas and Pretences which so many Thousands of Persons tho' professing Christianity do make for this notorious neglect of their dying Lord's Command 1. Plea or Excuse made by some is the extraordinary Dread and Solemnity of the Ordinance these put their Saviour off with a Complement telling him that the Privilege is too great the dignity too high and the Ordinance too solemn for them to approach unto Answer This is a good Reason why you should approach the Ordinance with Preparation and Care but no Argument at all why you should turn your back upon it As if a King should invite and command you to pay Attendance at Court upon his Person and you very gravely tell him That is too high an Honour for Persons of your Rank you will therefore out of Reverence to his Person violate his Precept and at once Affront his Authority and Contemn his Kindness Know then that the Reverence which our Saviour expects to his Holy Institution is a Reverence of Obedience That man has a due sense upon his Mind of the Solemnity of the Sacrament who is careful to approach it with all the Humility and sense of Unworthiness which becomes polluted Dust and Ashes but such a superstitious sort of Reverence as makes men afraid of doing their Duty is dishonouring to God and detrimental to themselves 2. Plea Is that of Unworthiness We are unworthy to come and therefore afraid to come For he that eateth unworthily eats his own Damnation therefore we will be of the safest side and prevent coming Unworthily by keeping away and not coming at all Answer 1. There is a two-fold Worthiness in reference to the Sacrament A Worthiness of Merit and a Worthiness of Meetness if by being worthy you mean the former a worthiness of Merit by which you deserve to be Entertained at Christ's Table in that sense not only the Holiest Saint on Earth but the highest Angel in Heaven is unworthy of this Priviledge But then there is a worthiness of Meetness which imports such a fitness and preparation of Soul as the Gospel requires and Christ will accept A Begger is not worthy of your Alms yet you would not account it Humility but Pride in him to refuse your Alms when entreated to accept them upon pretence of being unworthy of them The Truth is an humble sense of our unworthiness is in God's Account our greatest worthiness 2. Whereas thou pleasest thy self that thou art on the safest side by keeping away from the Ordinance this is a manifest mistake because the guilt and danger of unworthy Refusing is certainly as great or greater than the danger of unworthy Receiving For not to come at all is a bold Affront to the Authority of Christ a mighty contempt of the love of Christ 't is the casting off the Profession of Christianity 't is a Renouncing of the Communion of Saints and a quitting all claim and interest in the Covenant of Grace Did they in the Gospel who made light of Christ's Invitation to the Marriage-Supper escape any better than he that came without the Wedding-Garment Were they not both destroyed they for their Disobedience and he for his Disrespect 3. Plea Is that of Unfitness and Unpreparedness My Conscience tells me says the Sinner that I am unfit to come to this Ordinance and therefore I had better stay away Answer 1. Whose fault is it that thou art unfit It must be either God's fault or thy own Canst thou dare'st thou say 't is God's fault when he is willing both to Assist and Accept thee when he offers thee his Assisting Grace but thou art not willing to accept it But what is it that makes thee unfit Is it not some Sin that you are not willing to part with Does not Conscience tell you that you live a bad Life that there are some sensual Lusts which you indulge and are not willing to part with This is that which makes you unfit to come and afraid to come 2. If you are unfit for this Ordinance you are not fit to die you pretend you must stay all the days of your Life till you are prepared for the Sacrament but will Death stay for you till you are prepared for that When Death calls appear you must at God's Tribunal whether fit or not fit Now what is it that prepares you for Death Is it not the exercise of Repentance and a Holy Life This will fit you for the Sacrament and without this you can never be fit for Heaven nor hope to come there 3. Speak sincerely Did you ever go about to make your self fit Didst thou ever spend a day in thy Closet in searching for and finding out thy Sins in Confessing and Bewailing of them in Resolving against them in praying earnestly to God for the Aid of his Grace to enable you to mortifie and subdue them Did ever you repair to your Minister and desire his Assistance in fitting you for the Ordinance If not which is certainly the very case of many Good Good what horrid Hypocrisie is this to offer it as a reasonable excuse that thou art unfit when thou didst never in thy whole life once attempt or endeavour to make thy self fit Unfit thou art not only for the Sacrament but for every holy Duty also unfit to Pray unfit to Hear and unfit thou wilt be for ever without thy own Endeavours to make thy self fit For Almighty God never wrought a Miracle to maintain Sloath. If thou sayest thou canst do nothing without God I Reply That God will do nothing without thee use a Faithful Endeavour to prepare thy self and thy God will both assist thee and accept thee also but it is great folly to think of excusing one fault with another 4. Plea Alas say some we are poor ignorant Creatures we were never Book-learnt and therefore want the Knowledge which is requisite in a Worthy Communicant Answer 1. If thou art wholly and grosly ignorant in the Fundamentals of Religion thy Ignorance is dangerous and damnable such as will shut thee out of Heaven as well as debar thee from the Sacrament But why dost thou rest contented with thy Ignorance Why do you not repair to your Spiritual Guides for private Instruction who would thank you for such an

Opportunity of being Serviceable to you Will you choose rather to carry your Ignorance to Hell with you than make it known to such as are willing to Relieve you against it But 2ly It may be thou art not so ignorant as thou thinkest thy self peradventure thou art mistaken in the Measures and Degrees of Knowledge which are requsiite in a Worthy Communicant if thou hast a Competent Knowledge of the Author the Use and End of this Ordinance it is sufficient tho' thou art not able to dispute Controversial Points relating to it If thou understandest the Author of the Ordinance to be Jesus Christ the End of the Ordinance to be a Representation and Commemoration of his Death that the breaking of the Bread represents the breaking of his Body upon the Cross and the pouring out of the Wine the Shedding of his Blood for thy Redemption If thou understandest the Use of this Ordinance to be for the Renewing of thy Covenant with God which thou enteredst into at thy Baptism to remember the Love of thy Dying Saviour to Seal up unto thy Soul Pardon of Sin and to Engage thee daily to die more and more unto sin To Unite Christians together in the strictest Bonds of Love and Charity If thou knowest all this and endeavourest to Act suitably thereunto I dare assure thee thou hast the Knowledge of a Worthy Communicant And if thou comest to the Sacrament with a desire to grow more and more in thy Knowledge and Obedience Almighty God will mercifully Accept thee 5. Plea But I fear I am under the Power of an hard Heart I cannot mourn for Sin so much as I would and weep over it so often as I ought and what should a person under the power of an hard heart do at this Ordinance Answer If thou hast such a degree of sorrow as puts thee upon loathing and leaving off thy Sins tho' thou canst not mourn for sin so much as others do and as thou wouldst do yet thou may'st be a true Penitent Know that another's degree of Sorrow is not the Standard to measure thine by all are not Sinners alike and for that Reason the Sorrow of all persons will not be alike some men's Sins have been Infamous and Notorious their Lives tainted with hainous Crimes now their Sins looking ghastly upon their Consciences no wonder if they labour under such Agonies of Mind such Horrors and Terrors of Conscience and meet with such melting Sorrows as others are Strangers to and unacquainted with But perhaps God has blest thee with a pious Education and his Restraining Grace has kept thee from those presumptuous Acts of Sin which others have been guilty of and consequently thou art a Stranger to their violent Expressions of Grief and Sorrow yet at the same time thou hast such a convincing sight of Sin as causes thee to hate it to forsake it and to loath thy self by reason of it And tho' thou dost not mourn so much as thou wouldst yet thou mournest that thou canst mourn no more Now for thy comfort that thou art not under the power of an hard heart thou dost not wholly want the Grace of Repentance but oughtest to come to this Ordinance for the encreasing of thy Godly Sorrow for Sin believing and expecting that the sight of a Broken Bleeding Saviour will tend to the further breaking of thy Heart and encreasing thy Godly Sorrow for Sin 6. Pretended Excuse for not coming to the Sacrament is the danger of Relapsing I fear say some if I come and afterwards fall into any known sin that Almighty God will never pardon it but my sin will be like the Sin against the Holy Ghost which shall never be forgiven therefore we judge it safest to stay away Answer It must be acknowledged that to Sin wilfully and deliberately after we have been at this engaging Ordinance is a great Aggravation of Sin but not such as to render it unpardonable but after our Fall we may be recovered by Repentance Because we have an Advocate with the Father 1 John 2.2 Doubtless the Primitive Christians who probably received the Lord's Supper every day certainly every Lord's-Day did occasionally fall into many voluntary and deliberate Acts of Sin but far be it from us to think that their sins were unpardonable 2ly Know that Almighty God tho' he requires after you have been at his holy Table your utmost care to avoid Sin and to shun Temptations yet he doth not expect that you should live wholly free from Sin whilst you continue in this mortal state He expects a Holy Life after the Sacrament but not an Angelical Life the Life of a Saint but not the Life of an Angel a Life of Purity not a Life of Perfection he expects we should be sincere not that we should be sinless Could men live wholly free from sin after they have been at the Sacrament then they need not Receive it more than once in their whole Lives but the Sacrament being an appointed means to enable us more and more against Sin and to get Victory over it our Duty is to have frequent recourse to it notwithstanding our Relapses into Sin after we have humbly implored pardon for them 7. Plea is this I dare not come because I labour under so many Fears and Doubts as to my own sincerity had I an assurance of my state of Grace I might venture to come but I have heard no man ought to come to this Ordinance that wants Assurance Answer There are two sorts of Doubtings some that proceed from want of Faith others which proceed from weakness of Faith As to the former some men there are whose Consciences tell them that they are either open Sinners or close Hypocrites these Men have great reason to doubt of their condition for it is certainly very bad and very dangerous not one moment longer to be rested in But then there are Doubtings which arise from weakness of Faith St. Matth. 14.31 Oh thou of little Faith wherefore didst thou doubt Now the Ordinance of the Lord's-Supper is the proper Remedy for the Relief and Cure of these doubtings and the longer we keep from this Ordinance the stronger will our fears grow and the more will our doubts encrease And whereas thou hast heard that none should approach that want a full Assurance of their Grace this is a great mistake for the Sacrament being a Sealing Ordinance is the great means of procuring a full Assurance of Faith which if a man has already there is no need of going to the Sacrament for it No Man will go to the Insuring Office to secure an Estate which he has in his own Possession and Apprehends to be out of the reach of danger 8. Excuse is this I see not say some much good gotten by this Ordinance many that come to the Sacrament lead as bad Lives as those that never come and if it does them no good we are sure it does them hurt and they had better never come there

be drawn in And take heed of making any Resolutions in your own strength but earnestly implore the Grace and Assistance of Almighty God Oh be sensible that your own strength is small your Enemy strong your Temptations many your Danger great if ever you desire to bring your Resolutions for a better Life to perfection look up to Heaven for Auxiliary Aid from thence engage God's Strength which will enable Thee to do all things so saith the Apostle Phil. 4.13 I can do all things c. 4. Apply thy self next to the Duty of Meditation particularly Meditate on the Sufferings of thy Saviour And to help and quicken thy Meditations upon them let me advise Thee constantly to read over the History of them before a Sacrament as you find them Recorded in the two last Chapters but one of all the Evangelists Meditate on his wonderful Abasement in his Incarnation that the Creator of the World should become a Creature Meditate on the Meanness and Poverty of his Life and that will work in thee true Contentment of Mind in thy poor and low Condition But above all meditate on his unparallel'd Sufferings at his Death his Patience under them and his readiness to pardon and pray for his Enemies and Murtherers that were the occasion of them This will at once inkindle thy hatred against Sin inflame thy Love to Christ and inspire thee with a Spirit of Meekness towards thy greatest Enemies in imitattion of thy dear Saviour who offer'd up his Blood to God on the behalf of them that shed it 5. Set more than ordinary time apart before the Sacrament for Sccret Prayer earnestly pleading with God to make the Sacrament effectual for the mortifying of thy Sins for the streng●hning of thy Grace for the quickning of thy Desires for the confirming of thy Resolutions to make a Soul-nourishing Meal unto Thee and that thou mayst experience the strengthening comforting quickning assisting and accepting Presence of Christ in and at the Ordinance and that so thou mayst be able to sanctifie the Name of Christ in the highest Act of Homage and Adoration to him suitable Petitions for such an occasion you have many in that excellent Cook called The Whole Duty of Man and in Bishop Patrick's Christian Sacrifice with many more in want of which if thou canst not of thy self express thy own Desires make use of the following Form of Words A Prayer before the Sacrament O Eternal and Ever Glorious God! Who dwellest in the highest Heavens yet in the humblest and lowest Hearts In a great sight of thy Infinite Majesty and Adorable Excellencies as also in a deep sense of my own vileness and unworthiness I come unto Thee Beseeching Thee for the Passion of thy dear Son to Accept of me a poor Prodigal now returning to Thee and Prostrating my self at thy Door who am by Nature a Child of Wrath by Practice a Child of Disobedience and therefore liable and obnoxius to thine Everlasting Wrath But thou of thine Infinite Goodness hast promised me thy Favour and Friendship in Christ if at the call and invitation of thy Gospel I will accept the Merit of his Death and submit to the Authority of hie Laws and Proclaim and Prosecute an open and irreconcible War against all known Sins the Enemies of thy Glory and the disturbers of my Peace Oh Lord I heartily lament them and from the bottom of my Soul I Renounce them all whether in thought word or deed committed against thy Divine Majesty faithfully Covenanting with thee for the time to come not to allow my self in any known sin but to use all those means which I find prescribed by thee in thy Word for my Spiritual Advantage and for the Death and Destruction of all my Corruptions Oh thou God and Father of Hcaven whose Thoughts of Mercy towards me have been from Everlasting I Dedicate my self Soul Body and Spirit to thy Service and Glory as a small Return of Duty and Thankfulness for thy matchless Love promising to serve Thee in Righteousness and true Holiness all the dayes of my Life Oh thou Blessed Jesus the Precious Lamb of God whose Soul was made an Offering for Sin and who hast declar'd thy readiness to receive and embrace Repenting and Returning Sinners Receive me Graciously who am weary and heavy laden with the Burthen of my Sins and humbly desire by Faith to Approach unto thee I own my self unworthy to gather up the Crumbs that fall from thy well-spread Table much more unworthy to be entertained at it but seeing such is thy condescending Grace and Love to invite me to the participiation of thy self I do here with all humility Accept thee for my Lord and Saviour for my King Priest and Prophet Oh permit me to come to thy Holy Table to Ratifie this Engagment And oh thou Holy and Good Spirit the Sanctifier and Comforter of thy Church and Children enable me to resign up my self intirely to the Guidance and Dominion of thy Grace that I may evermore hereafter walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the Lusts of the Flesh And now that I am going to the Holy Table in obedience to my Lords Command to Commemorate his Dying Love vouchsafe thy Gracious Presence with me and render thy self powerfully present to my Mind and Thoughts Oh help me that I may attend my Lord without Distraction Enable me to give up my self an holy and acceptable Sacrifice to my Redeemer who has given himself a Meritorious Sacrifice for my Redemption Oh help me to follow my Holy Lords Example in all the steps of an Imitable Vertue Let me Admire and Imitate his Condescending Humility his Fervent Charity his Patience under Sufferings his readiness to forgive Injuries and let the same mind ever be in me which was also in Christ Jesus that having been a Welcome Guest at thy Table here on Earth I may hereafter be Adjudged worthy to be called to the Supper of the Lamb and may Feast with my Blessed Redeemer in his Everlasting Kingdom All which I ask in the Mediation of Jesus Christ saying Our Father c. An Hymn before the Sacrament THis day the Lord of Hosts Invites Unto a Costly Feast I will take care and will prepare To be a Welcome Guest But who and what am I oh Lord Unholy and Unfit To come within thy doors or at Thy Table for to sit Awake Repentance Faith and Love Awake O every Grace To meet your Lord with one Accord In his most Holy Place Worldly Distractions stay behind Below the Mount abide Cause no Disturbance in my mind To make my Saviour chide O come my Lord the time draws nigh That I am to Receive Stand with thy Pardon Sealed by Perswade me to Believe Let not my Jesus now be Strange Nor hide himself from me But cause thy Face to shine upon The Soul that longs for thee Come Blessed Spirit from above My Soul do thou Inspire To come again to My Lords Board With fulness of Desire Oh

admit me this day into thy Presence to renew my Covenant with Thee which I have so often and so perversly broken before Thee I have once more lifted up my hand to the most High God and sworn Allegiance to my Soveraign and my Saviour Oh keep it in the purpose of my Heart for ever to continue stedfast in his Covenant and let neither the smiles of a flattering World allure me nor the Frowns Threats and Terrors of an Angry World be ever able to drive me from my Duty or hinder me in the way of well-doing Holy Father accept I Beseech Thee of that renewed Dedication which I have made of my self this day unto Thee even of my whole Man Soul Body and Spirit to thy Service and Honour And now Glory be to Thee Oh God the Father whom I shall from this day forward with an humble Expectation look up unto as my Father and God in Covenant Glory be to Thee Oh God the Son who hast loved me and washed me from my Sins in thine own Blood and art now become my Saviour my Justifier and Redemer Glory be to Thee Oh God the Holy Ghost who hast by the Power of thy Victorious Grace overcome the obstinacy of my Heart and turned it from Sin to God Oh Lord God! Omnipotent Father Son and Holy Spirit Thou art become my Covenant Friend and I through thy Grace am become thy Covenant Servant Truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant heartily devoted to thy fear Thy Vows are upon me Oh God! Thy Vows are upon me I will render Praises unto Thee Oh let me never more start aside from my Vows like a broken Bow but give me such a stedfastness and stability of Mind such a firmness and fixedness of Resolution that my after-Conversation may be suitable both to my present Profession and future Expectation that so I may in all Companies in all Conditions walk worthy of him that hath called me to his Kingdom and Glory And let the sence of my Redeemers Love this day to me inflame my Heart with a never failing Charity unto all Mankind whom I pray God to do good unto especially to thy Church particularly to these Nations under their Majesties Care and Inspection whom may Almighty God long and mutually Bless in the Happy Enjoyment of each other and work in the Minds of all Christians a dread of thy Name an Honour of their Superiours and un unfeigned Charity one towards another All which Mercies I humbly Beg in the Name of the Holy Jesus saying Our Father c. An Hymn after the Sacrament LOrd any Mercy short of Hell For Me it is too good But have I Eat the Flesh of Christ And also Drunk his Blood Mysterious Depths of Endless Love My Admirations Raise Oh God thy Name exalted is Above the highest Praise My Saviours Flesh is Meat indeed His Blood is Drink Divine His Graces Dropt like Honey-Combs His Comforts Taste like Wine This day Christ has refresht my Soul With his abundant Grace For which I magnifie his Name Longing to see his Face Oh when shall I ascend on high Most Holy Just and True To eat that Bread and Drink that Wine Which is for ever New To Him that sits upon the Throne And Christ the Lamb therefore Be Glory Blessing Strength Renown And Honour evermore CHAP. XIV Containing an Earnest Exhortation to the Love and Practice of Universal Holiness THE Consideration of our Baptismal Vow renewed and ratified by many Sacramental Engagements at the Holy Table is certainly one of the strongest ties that Christianity layes upon us to oblidge us to the Love and practice of universal Holiness for most certain it is if we relapse and fall back into an evil course of Life if we wilfully return again to Folly we kindle Gods Wrath against us we provoke him to plague us with divers Diseases and sundry kinds of Death But if we escape these there are more dismal Plagues than these that will overtake us such are hardness of Heart blindness of Mind and a Seared Conscience These are indeed invisible stroaks which make not a noise and strike not our Senses but verily if we consider the Effects and consequences of them they are more formidable and dismal than the raging Pestilence and the loudest Claps of Thunder Let us then Piously Resolve as we Fear the Wrath of God and Love our own Souls after we have renewed our Covenant with God at his Holy Table to oblige our selves to an Eminent and Exemplary Piety of Conversation Let us live as those that are Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus as those that are Sanctified and Sealed by the Spirit of Jesus as those that do expect an Eternal Fellowship and Communion with Jesus in his Heavenly Kingdom To this end it may be very advisable 1. The next Morning after thou hast been at the Sacrament as soon as thou art up enter into thy Closet And before the Lord piously and positively Resolve and Vow to maintain a strict Watchfulness and Care over thy Heart Words and Ways for the time to come Such a Resolution as this made in the Strength of God will work wonders because God will Assist and Bless it 'T will fortifie thee against Temptations and the strongest Solicitations to return to the Love and Practice of Sin and Wickedness Suppose thy dearest Friends and Familiars suppose thy Indulgent Mother that bare thee nay suppose the Wife of thy Bosom the Delight of thine Eyes should all set upon thee yea Entreat and Importune thee to Omit some known Duty or to Commit some wicked Act such a Resolution as thou hast now made for a Holy Life will Antidote thy Soul against the Poyson of such a Temptation and put the same Reply into thy Mouth as was found in Holy Joseph's Gen. 39.9 How can I do this great Wickedness and sin against God 2. Having made this Solemn Vow betwixt God and thy own Soul for a Holy Life for a Life suitable to a Sacramental Engagement you will find it very advantagious to write it down and keep it by you thus At such a Time and on such a Day having renewed my Covenant with God at his Holy Table I did with all the Devotion of my Heart and Soul entirely surrender up my self and all that is mine to the Service and Glory of Almighty God Vowing all Fidelity and Obedience to him and Resolving that he shall have the full Guiding Governing and Disposing of me and mine And after every Sacrament look upon it and consider seriously of it saying thus to thy self Behold Oh my Soul the Bonds that are upon thee this is thine own Act and Deed it is as certainly Recorded in Heaven as it is here Written on Earth and shall one Day be brought forth against thee to thy Everlasting Condemnation if thou dost not walk answerably to the Obligation of it Keep it by thee as a Memorial of the Solemn Transactions betwixt God and thy Soul and besides the