my advice or allurements or by neglect of reproof and correction 5. Com. Have I not broken the fifth Commandment in thought word or deed by refusing to give due honour maintenance and other rights to my superiours in Church or State have I murmured against their authority scrupled their just commands or exposed their jurisdiction Have I contemn'd the person age or injunctions of my natural Parents not praying for them not relieving their wants not valuing their blessing not hearkening to their counsels Have I embrac'd any Heresy or Schism in the Church or been of any party or faction in the State Have I been unthankful to my Benefactors or of a morose and rugged demeanor towards those amongst whom I converse 6. Com. Have I not broken the sixth Commandment in thought word or deed by not loving my enemies by not living peaceably by harbouring malice and anger in my heart by using my tongue to speak evil or by hurting the body of my neighbour either openly or secretly either by my own hand or anothers by quarrelling my self or inciting others to do so 7. Com. Have I not broken the seventh Commandment in Thought Word or Deed by unclean desires obscene discourses or filthy Songs by lascivious glances or impure Dreams the result of my waking Thoughts or by any act of corporal uncleanness Have I indulged to Luxury or Excess that I might pamper my body or provoke my Lusts Have I been fond of a loose and immodest Garb or wanton Company 8. Com. Have I not broken the Eighth Commandment in thought word or deed by violence or fraud by covetousness or extortion by not paying my debts or spoiling the goods of my neighbour by not being just in my dealings faithful to my trust or Charitable to the poor and indigent 9. Com. Have I not been guilty of the breach of the Ninth Commandment in thought word and deed by lessening or blasting any Man's reputation either by my self or my encouraging others to slander him by harbouring and countenancing tale-bearers or spreading false news Have I not past rash judgement and contemn'd the weak and ignorant and rejoyc'd at my Neighbours hurt Have I ever refused to testifie the truth or ever given false witness have I neglected my own and busied my self in other mens affairs 10. Com. Have I not broken the Tenth Commandment in thought word or deed by being discontent with the station in which God hath placed me by envying the prosperity of others by entertaining ambitious thoughts and being greedy of honour and preferment Have I sought to be great by unlawful means to the prejudice of my Neighbour pursuing either my profit or my pleasure And have I not been guilty of sinning against my own Soul have I not been possest with pride and vain-glory and a high conceit of my self of the gifts of nature or the acquisitions of study or industry Have I not sought my self and the praise of men more than the praise of God Have I not been rash and inconsiderate or negligent of my best interests have I not resisted the holy Spirit and defiled the Temple of God and spent my time ill Have I not indulged to too much sleep or been irregular in my dyet apparel or recreations or averse to peace and reconciliation To which may be subjoyn'd if the Examinant be in such a state Have I ever broken the bonds of Matrimony in point of honour love maintenance and advice Have I neglected my Children in their Education or making provisions for them have I ever given them a bad example or other encouragement to be vicious or not reproved and punish'd their faults Have I been harsh cruel or unjust to my Servants not instructing them not reclaiming them when irregular Have I been unjust or false to my Friendship Have I omitted my duty in any thing to my superiors equals and inferiors If I find my self guilty after every general head I subjoyn Lord have mercy upon me pardon my violation of these Laws for the time past and for the future incline my heart to keep them to the end An Examination according to the Lord's Prayer HAve I not either wholly omitted my Prayers or not been so often at Prayers as I should have I not performed them coldly being often on my knees but seldom at my devotion have I not perform'd them irreverently without bodily humility or the compunction of my Soul without Faith and without Purity Have I not defiled my Mind which was design'd a Temple for the Spirit and a house of Prayer by making it a den of Thieves and the residence of unclean thoughts and wicked resolutions Have I been thankful for the liberal provisions of my most Merciful Father Have I fixt my affections on Heaven where my Father dwells Have I glorified the Divine Majesty as I ought or have I hindred others from so doing Have I not broken the most holy Laws by which his Kingdom is govern'd Have I with the meekness sincerity chearfulness and constancy of Angels done his will Have I not preferr'd my dayly Bread to the food of my Soul and been more concerned for the things of this life than for the honour of approaching to God's Table and have not the necessities and often my wanton appetites taken up that time which should have been bestow'd on Eternity Have I not begg'd God to forgive me those Sins which I have resolv'd to continue in and have I been so merciful to others as I have desired God to be to me When I have begg'd God either to preserve me from or to deliver me out of temptations have I not been either a tempter to my self seeking occasions of sinning or else have entertain'd the injections of my ghostly adversaries with delight and complacency Have I diligently used the grace which hath been given me to the mortifying of my Lusts and rescuing my Soul from the Divine anger Have I not made a League with Satan faln in love with Death and hasten'd towards destruction Have I not been a rebel in God's Kingdom an opposer of his Power a dishonourer of his Name and Glory and when my lips have said Amen hath not my heart contradicted my supplications And have I said this Prayer as heartily for others as I do for my own Soul To which I subjoyn Lord have mercy upon me Teach me to pray and teach me to practice that my prayers may ever be acceptable in thy sight here and my person for ever hereafter An Examination according to the Sacraments Baptism HAve I been truly thankful to God for my being called to a state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord Have I duly considered what an honour 't is to be a Christian How often have I broken my baptismal Vow and defeated and made void the endeavours of my Godfathers and Godmothers and other my instructors in the Faith of Christ Have I not neglected to acquaint my self with the Principles of Christian Religion or the due preparations
Ground without Accomplishment Did the Truth ever entertain the world with a Lye 'T was a denunciation of the greatest Veracity as well as of the deepest Horror That the present Generation should not pass away till all should be fulfilled and that even in similar circumstances At the Passover they murdered the Messiah and at the same time of the Year when all the people of Judea were come up to Jerusalem to worship did the Roman Armies beleaguer the City From the Mount of Olives did the compassionate Jesus exhort them to know and consider in the day of their visitation the things belonging to their peace And on the same Mountain the first Tents of the Roman Army were pitcht the miseries of the siege when Famine and the Sword raged in every street were very terrible the Sack of the Town more affrighting when the Flames spread themselves over all the beautiful Palaces the publick Buildings and the Glorious Temple of God and blended their ruins with the common rubbish but the most astonishing Judgment is That to this day that infatuated people have lost the priviledges of going up to the House of God have never since had the face or show of a Kingdom among them and are scattered over all the world and this probably was a wise Providence that the Gentiles might dread the like Ingratitude towards God which hath made the Jews a visible spectacle of the Divine Vengeance to all Nations and to all ages Israel of old was Gods First-born and his Darling they were a Holy Nation a Kingdom of Priests separated from the rest of the world the seed of Abraham the Children of the Promise and by natural Birth the kindred of the Messiah but now they are the off-scowring of the Earth and a proverb and by-word to all Nations For who can contemn the Son of God and be innocent VVho can disobey his word neglect to be better'd by his Sacraments grieve his Spirit and refuse to be convinc'd by his Miracles and hope to escape the Anger of God With what greater reason then shouldst thou tremble O my soul and be in a great Agony when my conscience is examined My fears are not of the loss of temporal priviledges of being disfranchis'd of losing my Liberty my Estate or my Life but of being cast into Hell and ruin'd for ever The loss of a worldly Kingdom is no way comparable to the loss of the Kingdom of God Crowns and Scepters are but Trifles when put into the Ballance with the Favour of the Almighty and how much more dreadful are the inflictions reserved for those who have been blest with greater priviledges and yet have requited their Saviour with more gross Offences and more notorious Ingratitude How shall they escape who have neglected so great Salvation And is it not a greater Crime to affront despise and reject a Saviour now he is glorified than it was when he was a man of sorrow and acquainted with Grief And is it not an addition to the offence to continue in the ways of disobedience when so many examples of God's indignation are visible to the world how sharply he resents the contempt of his long suffering And am I not convinc'd that the same Anger hath already seized many Churches of the Gentiles that fell so heavy upon Jerusalem In what a sad and deplorable condition are the once famous Churches of Carthage and the rest of Africa How is the once religious Aegypt overrun with Mahometanism And where are the anciently venerable Seven Churches of Asia If Antichrist hath fixt his Seat in the Temple of God who can hear and does not tremble And what should hinder O my stubborn heart but that thou shouldst at last relent Do not these Examples unriddle thy Doom and can there be more mercy reserv'd in store for thee than hath been shown to those others who were as much in Covenant with their Maker and more justly intituled to his Tuition If no Church dare presume on its priviledges no single person ought to think himself secure of thy Favour O my God any longer than he obeys thy Commandments Teach me therefore O my Saviour not to be high minded but to fear lest if God spared not the natural Branches he may be much less inclined to spare me whose Title is worse and whose Enormities have been more notorious The Collect. O Most Gracious Lord God who hast caused all the Divine Oracles to be written for thy Churches Learning and hast recorded thy former punishments to affright the sinners of the present Age from committing the like Offences bring to my remembrance all the sins of my Youth and enable me to mourn over them with a sorrow never to be repented of let thy Mercies and long-suffering lead me to amendment of Life and thy denunciations and judgments affright me from continuing a proselyte to vice and folly that I may live in awe of thy Power and Justice and secure my spiritual Interests with fear and trembling that nothing may separate me from the Love and Compassion of my God through Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour Amen Another ALmighty and incomprehensible Being who tho the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain the Glory of thy Majesty art pleased to stoop thy self to the meanest of condescentions to bespeak the contrite and humble Spirit for thy Habitation soften my obdurate heart and give me that broken and penitent frame of mind which thou wilt not despise Nothing is impossible to my Almighty Saviour for he can raise up children to Abraham of the stones give me therefore a thorough sight of my sins a true fear of thy Judgments and a repentance unto life Teach me to comply with the great exemplar for if he who knew no sin was yet a man of Sorrows how much more should such a wretch as I who am nothing but Pollution refuse to be comforted till I have sorrowed to repentance and then let me partake of the merits of his Tears and Agonies of his Shame and Sufferings Let thy Love and Condescentions prevail upon me to make me penitent but if they prevail not awaken me by thy Thunders wound and affright me rather than let me continue in this spiritual Lethargy that tho my present state be afflicted my soul may be saved in the day of the Lord that I may serve thee with Humility and a true Grief and offer up my supplications with strong Crys and wash thy Altar with my Tears Every where do I meet with Encouragements to this Compunction within me a deplorable Frame of mind cover'd with shame and the Fears of thy Judgments without me a giddy world making haste to Hell before me an angry Judg and behind me a dismal Prison Sanctifie these Considerations unto me that they may deter me from being vicious that I may no longer dare to continue in my Rebellions against my Maker that my present confusions may end in eternal Confidence and I may see that day with comfort when
Truth and Reality and not in Appearance so his Humiliation should be attended not by imaginary but by real Witnesses Moses came from his unknown Grave and Elias from the place whither his fiery Chariot had driven him to accompany Jesus on the Holy Mount whence probably they went into Paradise together Moses the great Lawgiver and Elias the representative of the Prophets the one a Man of the meekest Temper the other a Man of the warmest Zeal to assure the World that this Jesus was he of whom Moses and the Prophets spake the Lamb of God and the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah That neither Elias nor Moses nor any other of the Ancient Wondrous Men were deputed to be the Messiah but only the Lord of Glory the Prince of the World and that he came not to destroy the Law which Moses gave and Elias vindicated but to fulfil it Moses and Elias were present with Jesus two of his most immediate Representatives with the great Redeemer both wrought stupendious Miracles both fasted forty days and nights and both convers'd with God in the Mount in the days of their Flesh Nor canst thou O my Soul imagine that these great Persons had this interview without some Conversation and it is very remarkable that they discours'd not of the ineffable Union of the Holy Trinity nor of the Orders of the Holy Angels they discours'd not of the Songs of the Saints nor of the Employment of the Seraphim of the hidden Decrees or the Laws of Providence but of the Sufferings of Jesus at Jerusalem of that very Article of the Christian Faith at which the Apostles were so startled The Holy Redeemer of the World had resolved to carry the Marks of his sufferings with him his Scars and his Wounds when he ascended into Heaven and therefore it could not be absurd for those who dwelt there to discourse of them for they also were Partakers of the Benefits of his Crucifixion Peter as soon as he did awake being all heat had presently forgot the place of his Nativity and of his Residence no longer did he think upon his Wife and Family his Trade and Interests the Mountain with such Company was preserable to all the World in his Opinion and he thought it better to be there than in the Palace of Princes and because he imagin'd that that Holy Society could not subsist without some accomodations he was for having Three Tabernacles built there as if glorified bodies needed earthly Conveniences But his Devotion made Compensation for his Ignorance and his Master construed it as it was a well-meant mistake tho what the Apostle wisht the Piety of succeeding Ages perform'd The devout Mother of the Great Constantine St. Helena built on that Mountain a beautiful Temple to which were added Two Monasteries and so the Tabernacles were erected tho not for the use of the Persons that were concern'd in the Transfiguration for they needed them not but for the benefit of those who were to imitate the meekness and humility of Moses the mortifications and zeal of Elias and the Patience and Obedience of the Holy Jesus And this Piety was a greater Honour to the Church than all that the Apostle could project could have been to himself or that Triumvirate of blessed Persons for irregular and misguided zeal commonly loses its reward as it happened to the Apostle for immediately upon this Proposal Moses and Elias retired to their proper stations and left our Holy Saviour alone And this also had its just reason for presently thereupon came a Voice from Heaven to confirm the Apostles in the belief of their Master telling them that he was the beloved of God and that they ought to hear and to obey him Now had not the Prophets retired there might have been some ground for mistake but when Jesus was alone the voice out of the Cloud could never deceive them This was the most sensible and publick demonstration that a Company of men were capable of and thus begun our Redeemers Glorification on Earth This Transaction was for a while concealed even from our Masters blessed Mother and his brethren to assure us that it would have been of no advantage to the Holy Virgin to have born him had she not believed in him nor to his Kindred to be allyed to him had they not been his Disciples because it is Grace not Nature that makes a Christian but now that Priviledg is conferr'd on all mankind on us of the Gentile World that were without God and without hope that we might be no longer strangers forreigners but fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God God forbid therefore that I should desire to know any thing but Jesus Christ and him Crucified it is the Theme of Angels and Glorified Saints and how can I distrust such a Saviour who in his deepest Humiliation was crown'd with so much Honour This Consideration strengthens my Faith and secures my hope of Everlasting Life For why should I despair while my Saviour is my Friend and hath promis'd to be so till I renounce and forsake him and what should incline me to be so brutish since without him every thing is miserable and in his Company under his Influences a Wilderness is as the Garden of God And how should I long for his Company in Heaven for if while he was here on Earth the Place where he resided was from his occasional residence called Holy as Tabor is called the Holy Mount what preference ought I to give in my Opinion my Esteem my Love to the place of his fixt residence To see him at his Fathers Right Hand is a sight would engage a man to be a Martyr to enjoy it there are Moses and Elias and all the goodly Fellowship of the Prophets there are Peter James and John and all the Glorious Company of the Apostles there is the Noble Army of Martyrs and Confessors and what should hinder but that I a poor Sinner may make one of that blessed Society and sing the Praises of my Saviour with them to Eternity The Collect. HOly Jesus who by thy Humiliation didst not so much debase thy Divinity as magnifie our humane Nature and who in thy lowest State and Condition wert always glorious Grant me thy Grace that I may sequester my self from the World may pray often and fervently and be made partaker of thy influences reveal thy self unto me O my holy Saviour and incline my heart to accept of thee as my Priest my Prophet and my King that I may here enjoy in Hope and Expectation in imitation and wish the society of Saints and of the King of Glory and hereafter may be happy in the Vision of what I now long for and may for ever remain with thee my Blessed Saviour and Redeemer Amen Another O Most Glorious Saviour incomprehensible in thine Essence incomparable in thine Attributes and wonderfully Gracious in thy Dispensations to sinners how great is thy goodness and how great is thy
which our Redeemer once offered to cleanse the world from their sins and we offer as often as we communicate setting that Immaculate Lamb before the Eyes of God and by that intreating him to have Mercy upon us For our Saviour commanded us to do as he did at the Institution in remembrance of him not only to our selves and our Neighbours but to God also as the Ancients and the most judicious of the Modern Writers affirm For tho my Saviour was many Hundred Years since Crucified yet he is the Sacrament represented as if his Passion commenc'd at the same time in which the Holy Office is performed and what should hinder my receiving the benefits of his sufferings tho so long since undergone For if by reason of my share in the first Adam's Transgression notwithstanding the vast distance of Time and Place I and every one that is born is infected with Original Sin what should hinder but that the Crucifixion of my Saviour tho transacted so many Ages past and in a Countrey so remote as Judea should be available to my Salvation For as by one mans sin many were made Offenders so by the Obedience of one many are made Righteous The Priest therefore offers a Sacrifice at Gods Altar a commemoration of that one full perfect and intire Sacrifice which was once offered on the Cross And at the same time Jesus our High Priest offers in Heaven pleads his VVounds and the merits of his Death and implores the Divine Pardon and the assistances of Grace for all his Servants And this is as much as the Church can pretend to while it is Militant so under the Old Law the Priests who had admittance into the Temple were denied entrance into the Holy of Holies thither only the High Priest went once a Year but they were not denied the Liberty to direct the smoak of their incense toward that sacred Place and their Prayers and their Incense had access where themselves could not come And so is it in the Christian Congregration for when the Oblation is made we that are concern'd in the Offertory cannot reach Heaven while we are in this state of Imperfection but our High Priest is there already and gives his People liberty thither to address their supplications and the sweet Odours of their Devotion this is the Honour and these the Priviledges that are purchased for the Church by that Sacrifice and secured to it in this Sacrament Blessed Eucharist Glorious things are spoken of it in the Writings of the good men of old It is called the Supernatural Bread the Divine Mysteries the Sacrifice of Sacrifices the Honourable the Holy the Heavenly the unspeakable Gifts the Sacrament of Sacraments the Holy of Holies the food which gives Life and Salvation the nourishment which endears a man to his God which recovers those that languish which recals those who are in error which raises them that are fallen and secures to the dying penitent the rights of Immortality and by way of eminency it is called the Sacrament the blessed and holy Sacrament when we eat of it we feed on the fatness of the Lord's Body and when we drink of it we taste the immortal Blood of our dying Saviour If Manna were Angels food this is the Bread of God and what an honour is it to receive my Saviour If Joseph's Tomb tho but a little and narrow place when it entertain'd the Body of our crucified Lord was by that means made more venerable and august than the Palace of Kings and became more glorious by containing the Son of God than by being the residence of the Angels who there took up their station how much more excellent is my injoyment when I give my dear Saviour a lodging in my heart and my bosom becomes an habitation for the Lord of Life With trembling therefore will I approach the Altar of God I will admire the Mystery and contemplate the circumstances of his Passion in which every word that he spoke was a Sermon for his Cross was his Pulpit and Mount Calvary the House of Prayer for there he prayed for his enemies and from thence he preached patience and submission to his Friends and I will remember his last actions for tho in all his discourses he spake so as never Man spake like him yet he never entertain'd the world with so eloquent and convincing a Sermon as when he went dumb before his persecutors and opened not his mouth when he carried his Cross silently and bore the marks of his adversaries cruelty without murmuring I will remember this my greatest and best Friend I will remember his last words and dying injunctions and I will communicate with him in the benefits of his Passion till his second appearance to judgment when the just shall eat of the Tree of Life in a better Paradise at that time all Signs shall cease all distant methods of conversation shall expire for in Heaven there are no Sacraments so that at the dawning of the day which the Lord himself shall enlighten when no other beams shall be needful but those of the Sun of Righteousness to make it glorious for ever then all Types and symbolical emblems shall be accomplisht then I shall be united to my Jesus and personally enjoy that immediate communion of which these Mysteries are but shadows and remote representations The Collect. BLessed Lord who bast so graciously invited me to partake of the merits of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ conveyed to me in the blessed Sacrament grant that I may receive it to the remission of my past sins and to the preservation of my Soul against future temptations to the correcting of the deformities of my mind and the rooting out all evil customs out of my heart to the inlightening of my understanding to the strengthening of my faith and that I may be able to give a good account at the dreadful seat of thy judicature help me to spend this day and every day in thy fear and in the offices of holy Religion let thy Mercy pardon me thy Angels guard me and thy Goodness lead me to repentance that I may live and dye thine for Jesus Christ's sake our only Mediator and Advocate Amen The Anthem PETER Mourning IN a cold dark and melancholly night To gloomy shades which did augment the sright Where dismal horrors and confusion dwell And ghastly sights that made the place like Hell The trembling Peter tends and with swoln eyes Deeply laments his fear and cowardise Wretch that I am thus to deny my Lord Fit to be scorn'd by men by God abhorr'd Disconsolate and sad where shall I fly T'escapte the lightnings of my Master's eye That glance that passionate and killing look When Jesus turn'd his head me thunder strook Sufficient was the warning which was given By the infallible Oracle of Heaven Peter said my wise Master boast no more The rich in brags are in performance poor In vain thou promisest with me to dye Thou e're
That my past sins may be intirely forgiven and the rest of my life spent in the works of repentance I beseech thee c. That the end of my life may be Christian without pain and without shame if thou seest fit and that I may be able to render a good account when I shall stand before thy dreadful Tribunal I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. From mine enemies defend me O Christ Graciously look upon my afflictions Pitifully behold the sorrows of my heart Favourably with mercy hear my Prayers Mercifully forgive the sins of thy Servant O Son of David have mercy upon me Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear me O Christ Graciously hear me O Christ graciously hear me O Lord Christ O Lord let thy mercy be shewed upon me As I do put my trust in thee Pardon O Lord the guilt of my sins remove the punishment and wash out the pollutions keep me from the shame and the suffering due to them and rescue me from the dominion of Satan the tyranny of my own Lusts and from everlasting destruction Amen Bp. Andrews BLessed Jesu Interpose between God and my Soul thy Priesthood and Sacrifice between my self and Satan thy Kingdom and Conquest between my Soul and my Sins thy Innocency between my Soul and my Concupiscence thy Charity between my Soul and the punishments due to a Sinner thy Passion and the satisfaction of thy Blood between my Soul and my Conscience and God's Tribunal thy Advocateship between my Soul and its want of Righteousness thy absolute and complete Obedience between my Soul and its want of desert thy alsufficient Merits between my Soul and its want of fervour in Devotion thy Intercession between my Soul and its want of sâ—rrow and repentance thy Agony and bloody Sweat for what thou did'st and what thou suffered'st O my dearest Saviour O my best of Masters was done and suffered in my stead and for my benefit Amen Id. LET the Soul of Christ sanctify me the Body of Christ strengthen me the Blood of Christ redeem me the Water that came out of his side cleanse me the Stripes of Christ heal me the Sweat of Christ refresh me the Wounds of Christ save me the Poverty of Christ enrich me and the Sufferings of Christ preserve me from eternal damnation Amen Bp. Taylor GIve me the beauties of Wisdom the brightness of Chastity the health of Temperance the peace of Meek persons and the reputation and joy of the Charitable Amen A Collect for the Assistance of the Holy Spirit O God who knowest that we are set in the midst of so many and great dangers that the Temptations of Satan are very prevalent the vanities of the World very deceitful and our own corruptions very strong help and assist me and all thy servants with the succours of thy holy spirit Give me the spirit of Truth of Wisdome and Understanding to keep me from all error and infidelity the spirit of Counsel to guide me in all difficulties the spirit of Might and Power to preserve me from all Apostacy the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord to keep me from all sin and wickedness Let the Holy-Ghost be my comforter in my distresses the assistant of my devotion the quieter of my conscience and let it bear witness with my spirit that I am one of the Sons of God that neither the wiles nor frowns of the Devil the fears of suffering or the hopes of wealth and honour may sway me to neglect my duty but that I may continue thine for ever and that thou mayst be my protector and guide my friend and advocate now and in the agonies of death and at the day of judgement Amen OUR Father which art in Heaven c. MAY the Power of God the Father protect me the Wisdom of God the Son inlighten me the operations and assistances of the holy Spirit quicken me and may the holy Trinity keep me under the shadow of their wings till I come to the palace of Glory Amen Amen The Epistle Heb. 12.1 WHerefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds The Gospel Luke 22.41 AND being withdrawn from them about a stones cast he kneeled down and prayed saying Father if thou be willing remove this cup from me nevertheless not my will but thine be dene And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground The MEDITATION THO every thing that is good and virtuous hath its attractives yet when virtue is attended with power it is in its exaltation and makes as many Votaries as it hath spectators and every one looks on it with admiration and surprize and addresses to it with resolutions either to become good or to beg its protection from evil because Piety so assisted proves a great exemplar and a puissant shelter And such was the holy Jesus who was wonderful in all his atchievements for nothing less than unspotted Innocence and Omnipotence conjoin'd could furnish the World with a Saviour The whole Life of Jesus was a miracle of Love and Compassion and the attempts of the Patriarchs appear mean and inconsiderable when compared with the transcendent performances of the Son of God for if to consult the wants of mankind and to relieve them if curing their Bodies and instructing their Souls if feeding them with temporal food and giving them the Bread of Heaven be demonstrations of a large and a divine Soul then that title is peculiarly to be ascribed to the Redeemer of the world whose actions were one continued series of benefits and mercies I will therefore love the examples of good men but I will admire and adore Jesus I will make reflections on their excellent lives but I must fix my thoughts on the conversation of my Saviour who when he requires my adverting to his Pattern and his Laws enjoins me to look off from all other objects and to settle my eyes on him who loved me and bought me with his own most precious blood for they are but a cloud of witnesses but Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness and as when the Sun arises the little handful of Clouds and dusky vapours dwindle and vanish so when the glorious God appears in competition he eclipses all humane perfections For that which sustained the great Apostle when he was ready to be poured out as a drink-offering for the truth of the Gospel 2 Tim. 4.6 and what excited
thy sight for all mankind especially for the houshold of faith through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen May the Blessing of God Almighty the Father Son and Holy Ghost be with me and remain with me now and for evermore Amen § 28. And because the blessings of an Easter are very valuable and deserve extraordinary returns the good Christian thinks fit after the Evening Service at Church is over to return again to his Closet to converse with his holy Saviour and to exercise those acts of Love of Faith of Contrition and Hope and other Graces which for want of leisure or other conveniences could not so well be performed in the House of God to which he subjoins this or the like Meditation The MEDITATION § 30. I Am now return'd from that happy place that is preferable to Paradise where I have been treated with a Feast of fat Things and Wine well refined and what does my Lord require of me in point of Gratitude for these his inestimable benefits but to do Justice to love Mercy and to walk humbly with my God For every thing in this Sacrament obliges me to holiness of Life the Institutor of it was the undefiled High Priest of our Profession who did bear all sins but committed none the end of its Celebration is to show forth his Death which when we receive unworthily we act over again we new crucifie the Lord of Life who hath bought us and bring on our selves the most horrid and affrighting guilt that we can incur the preparation is nothing less than a strict examination of our Consciences than strong Prayers and Cries ardent resolutions of being better and a constant course of pious and charitable Actions This Sacrament actually enters us into Covenant with God and what agreement can there be between Light and Darkness It is an Emblem of our holy Profession which calls us to an exemplary Conversation it is a bond of Christian Communion and obliges to Charity 't is a representation of our Saviour's Crucifixion and so calls to the practice of Patience Forgiveness and Holy Resolution and it is a solemn Sacrifice of Praise and so obliges to practical Gratitude How wide are thy Wounds O my dying Saviour and how sorrowful thy Countenance Oh thy bitter Agony Oh thy shameful Cross And all occasioned by my sins and shall I continue in the same Transgressions out of despite to my Saviour Lord let me never be in any capacity to do so any more for how shall I dare to eat with thee and to lift up my heel against thee In this Sacrament I renew the Vow which I made in my Baptism and have so often shamefully broken and thereby forfeited the blessings which were promis'd me upon the performance of my duty Now this Covenant as on Gods part it entitles me to his Protection and his love to the Merits of his Son and the indwelling of his Holy Spirit so on my part it engages me to accept of that Son of his in all his Offices obliging me to receive him as my Sovereign and to obey his Commands and to depend upon him to receive him as my High Priest and to believe that his Sacrifice of himself if I repent and amend shall cleanse me from all sin but if I continue in my disobedience shall avail me nothing and to give my self up to his Instruction as a Prophet learning from him all the particulars of the Divine Will that are necessary to make me wise to Salvation and perfect unto every good Work But how often have I broken that Covenant rebell'd against this my Sovereign made my self unworthy of the blessing of this my High Priest and cast all his Laws behind my back Before my Repentance my bosom was a Den of Thieves and a Cage of unclean Birds but now it is cleansed and I am become a new Creature now know I that I am the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in me but if any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is holy which Temple I am There is a particular Veneration paid to the places where Princes usually entertain themselves and every House where any of the Blood-Royal of Persia is born is afterward converted to a Sanctuary and whereever any of their Princes lodges in a Journey the place is reputed for the future sacred and ought not the place where my God takes up his Habitation to be for the same reason separate from profane and common uses And if some of the School-Doctors who assert Transubstantiation tell us that as soon as the consecrated Host grows mouldy the Body of God retires from it and it is again changed into its old substance of bread can I think that God will pitch his Tents in a polluted Soul infected with the Leprosie of Vice I do therefore resolve and it shall from henceforward be the employment of my time and my strength so to live in thy fear and to thy service that I may dye in thy favour and rest in thy Peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. § 31. At the end of this Meditation this Collect is fitly subjoined BLessed and most bountiful Saviour as thou hast honoured me and made me happy this day so vouchsafe me the same measures of Grace the same ardors of Mind and the same holy opportunities all the days of my Life fix my thoughts upon the things of Heaven strengthen and inflame my love to my dying Saviour increase and support my Faith confirm and secure my Hopes and give me frequent occasions to exercise all the other Virtues of my Christian Calling and as thou hast filled my soul with the most ravishing and transporting pleasures so make me for ever careful that I neither quench thy Blessed Spirit nor stifle its Motions but that I may improve all the seasons of Mercy and all the tendries of Grace to the best ends and purposes to the advancement of thy Glory and my own Salvation through thy Merits and Mediation who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest ever one God world without end Amen § 32. After this the devout man is all Rapture and all Joy and cannot forbear praising God afresh for all his spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places in this or the like Hymn O God my heart is ready my heart is ready I will sing and give praise with the best Member that I have I will give thanks unto thee O Lord among the people and I will sing praises unto thee among the Nations For thy mercy is greater than the Heavens and thy truth reacheth unto the Clouds Through God shall we do great acts and it is he that shall tread down our enemies Truly God is loving unto Israel even unto such as are of a clean heart Oh how amiable are thy dwellings thou Lord of Hosts my soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh rejoice in