Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
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A52465
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Meditations and prayers to be used before, at, and after the receiving of the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
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Northumberland, Elizabeth Percy, Countess of, 1623-1690.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing N1308; ESTC R41497
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21,799
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101
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behold how thou hast incensed the Majesty of Heaven see how he gives up the most Innocent and most Holy Jesus thy best thy only Friend and his own Dear Son to be trampled and tormented for thy Sins Oh! how cruelly was he scourged with Whips wounded with Thorns loaden with the Cross torn with Nails pierced with a Spear and racked on the most painful Instrument of Death his lovely Face defiled with Blood and Spittle his Ears filled with Taunts and Curses his Eyes drench'd in Tears for the ruine of his Enemies and his Soul amaz'd at the terrors of the Divine Wrath till at length all wounded broken and bloody with many groans yet with admirable patience he breaths out his Holy Soul and yet what ever he suffered was my Portion my pleasure hath been his pain my wicked Life hath caused his bitter Death wretch that I am to live in such a manner that nothing else could satisfie or make my peace But here I come this day to call my Sins to remembrance I will look on thee whom I have pierced with a most tender and sympathizing affection and reflect that as I break this Holy Bread with my Teeth so wast thou bruised for our Iniquities and our Offences did grind thee with grief and pain Holy Saviour I am angry at my self and full of anguish to see what I have brought upon thee I am sorry with all my Heart that I have given harbour to thy Murtherers but I hope this most dismal Spectacle shall mortify in me all desires after evil and make me â—â—hor all those desperate pleasures which must so much Offend thee which must be Cleansed by thy most precious Blood or else stand charged upon mâ— account for ever No no I will never crucify thee again by renewing my disobedience for I have done too much already Before the CVP. O Blessed Lord who hast given the Blood of thine only Son to be shed for our Sins and to Refresh and Restore our weary gasping Souls Cleanse and Sanctify me O Lord that I may receive this Cup with a pure Heart and not with polluted Lips to the Eternal Comfort and Refreshment of my Soul Amen Methinks O my Redeemer while thou art pouring forth thy most precious Blood thou mayest Look upon me with a Countenance mixed with pity and Upbraiding that I should take so little care to save this Soul which thou hast bought at such a rate Is not here represented those drops and streams of blood that have sealed the Covenant of peace and confirmed all the promises of the Gospel why then am I not swallowed up with admiration why do I not breath and pant after it I am not come to quench my bodily thirst but to wash my Soul in this Salutory fountain O how freely it flows how perfectly it cures Lord let me tast thereof make it unto me the Blood of Jesus for it is that my Soul Thirsteth after and now that powerful word hath hallowed it Let me not by evil thoughts or unbelief Malice or Impenitence make it to my self an unhallowed thing but as thou hast fitted it for the Mistery O fit me also to receive it I cannot now have any low or Common thoughts about it I will by faith esteem it as my Saviours Blood and though I am unworthy of so Divine a Cordial yet my Soul gaspeth for it and without it I must dye and Perish At the Receiving of the C V P. O Let this blood of thine Purge my Conscience from dead works to serve the Living God Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou Clean. After the C V P. Blessed be thy Holy Name O Lord my God who hast Vouchsafed me to drink of this fountain of Living water the precious Blood of thy dear Son Grant that this holy Cup may be an Antidote and preservative against all sin and evil and may keep my Soul in health and strength to the end of my days LORD what is Man that thou art thus mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou thus Visitest him what is thy servant that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dogg as I am the doggs eat of the Crumbs which fall from their Masters Table but thou hast fed me with the bread of thine own Children and given me to drink of thine own Cup Thou hast fed me in a green pasture and Ledst me forth beside the waters of Comfort O tast and see how gracious the Lord is Blessed is the man that trusteth in him what reward shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me Lord I offer up to thee my self my Soul and Body all that I am have humbly beseeching thee Graciously to receive me for thy Servant to dwell in thy House and to Praise thy Name for evermore Thou art worthy O Lord to receive Honour and Glory and Power for thou hast Created all things and for thy Pleasure they are and were created thou art worthy to take the book and open the Seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast Redeemed us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall Reign with thee for ever Salvation to our God which fitteth on the Throne and to the Lamb. Amen Blessing and Glory and Wisdom and Thanksgiving and Honour and Power and Might be unto God for ever and ever Amen A Thanksgiving after Receiving O Thou Fountain of all Goodness from whom every good and perfect guift cometh and to whom all Honour and Glory should be returned I desire with all the most fervent and inflamed affections of a grateful heart to bless and praise thee for those inestimable Mercies thou hast vouchsafed unto me Lord what is man that thou shouldst so regard him as to send thy beloved Son to suffer such bitter things for him But Lord what am I thy most sinful Creature that I should have any part in this attonement who have so often been wretchedly ungrateful for his sufferings O the heighth and depth of this Mercy of thine that art pleased to admit me to the Renewing of that Covenant with thee which I have so often so perversly broken that I am not worthy of that daily bread which sustains the body should be made partaker of this Bread of Life which nourisheth the Soul and that the God of all purity should vouchsafe to unite himself to so polluted a wretch O my God suffer me no more I beseech thee to turn thy Grace into wantonness to make thy Mercy an Occasion of security but let this unspeakable Love of thine constrain me to Obedience that since my blessed Lord hath dyed for me I may no longer live unto my self but to him O Lord I know there is no concord between Christ and Belial therefore since he hath now been pleased to enter my heart O let me never permit any Lust to chace him thence but let him that hath so dearly bought me still keep possession
Blessed Saviour and all the benefits of his Passion and to that end give me such a preparation of Soul as may qualify me for it Give me a deep sence of my sins and unworthiness that being weary and heavy laden I may be capable of his Refreshings and by being Supled in my own tears I may be the fitter to be washed in his Blood Raise up my dull and Earthly mind from groveling here below and inspire it with a Holy Zeal that I may with Spiritual affection approach this Spiritual Feast and let O Lord that infinite Love of Christ in Dy-Dying for so wretched a Sinner Inflame my frozen benumb'd Soul and kindle in me that Sacred Fire of Love to him and that so vehement that no waters may quench no floods drown it such as may burn up all my dross and not leave one unmortified Lust in my Soul and such as may also extend it self to all whom thou hast given me command and Example to love even Enemies as well as Friends Finally O Lord I beseech thee to cloath me in the wedding Garment and make me tho' of my self a most unworthy yet by thy Mercy an acceptable Guest at this Holy Table that I may not eat nor drink my own condemnation but may have my Pardon sealed my weakness repaired my corruptions subdued and my Soul inseperably united to thee That no Temptations may ever be able to dissolve the Union but that being begun here in Grace it may be consummated in Glory Grant this O Lord for thy Dear Son's sake Jesus Christ Amen Another O Blessed Jesus who once offeredst thy self for me upon the Cross and now offerest thy self to me in the Sacrament Let not I beseech thee my impenitence and unworthiness frustrate these so inestimable Mercies to me but qualify me by thy Grace to receive the full benefit of them O Lord I have abundant need of thee but am so clogged with guilt so holden with the cords of my Sins that I am notable to move towards thee O loose me from this Bond wherewith Satan and my own Lusts have bound me and draw me that I may run after thee Lord thou seest daily how eagerly I pursue the paths that lead to Death but when thou invitest me to Life and Glory I turn my back and forsake my own Mercy How often hath this Feast been prepared and I have with frivolous excuses absented my self or if I have come it bath been rather to defie than adore thee I have brought such troops of thy profest enemies unrepented Sins along with me as if I came not to commemorate but to renew thy Passion Crucifying thee afresh and putting thee to open shame and now of what punishment shall I be thought worthy who have thus trampled under foot the Son of God and counted the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing Yet O Merciful Jesus this Blood is my only refuge O let this make mine attonement or I perish Eternally Wherefore didst thou shed it but to save Sinners neither can the merit of it be overwhelmed either by the greatness or number of my Sins I am a Sinner a great one O let me find its saving efficacy be merciful to me O God be merciful to me for my Soul trusteth in thee and in the clefts of thy Wounds shall be my refuge until thy Fathers indignation be overpast O thou who hast as my High Priest sacrificed for me intercede for me also and plead thy meritorious sufferings on my behalf and suffer not O my Redeemer the price of thy Blood to be utterly lost and grant O Lord that as the Sins I have to be forgiven are many so I may love thee much Lord thou seest what faint what cold affections I have towards thee O warm and enliven them and as in this Sacrament that Transcendent Love of thine in dying for me is shed forth so I beseech thee let it convey such Grace into me as may enable me to make some returns of Love O let this Divine fire descend from Heaven into my Soul and let my Sins be the Burnt-offering for It to consume that there may not any corrupt affection any cursed thing be sheltered in my heart that I may never again defile that place thou hast chosen for thy Temple thou dyedst O Holy Jesus to redeem me from all Iniquity O let me not again sell my self to work Wickedness but grant that I may at this time approach thee with most sincere and fixed Resolutions of an Intire Reformation and let me Receive such Grace and strength from thee as may enable me faithfully to perform them Lord there are many Old habituted Diseases my Soulgroans under Here mention thy prevailing Corruptions and though I lye never so long at the pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy Holy Table yet unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing Virtue they will still remain uncured O thou blessed Physitian of Souls heal me and grant that I may now so touch thee that every one of those loathsom Issues may immediately stench that these sicknesses may not be unto Death but unto the Glory of thy Mercy in pardoning and to the Glory of thy Grace in purifying so polluted a wretch O Christ hear me and grant I may now approach thee with such Humility and Contrition Love Faith and Devotion that thou mayest Vouchsafe to come to me and abide with me Communicating to me thy self and all the merits of thy Passion and then O Lord. let no accusations of Satan or my own Conscience amaze or distract me but but having peace with thee let me also have peace in my self that this Wine may make glad this Bread of Life may strengthen my heart and enable me chearfully to run the way of thy Commandments Grant this Merciful Saviour for thine own Bowels and Compassions sake Amen Before the Bread O Blessed Lord God who hast given us thine only Son to lay down his Life for our Sins and his Flesh for the food and nourishment of our Souls purge and purifie my vile and sinful Soul that it may be a fit habitation for his pure unspotted and precious Body and that no unclean thing may presume to enter where his Holy Feet have trod from henceforth for Ever Amen Thou hast said that he that Eareth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood hath Eternal Life Behold the Servant of the Lord be it unto me according to thy Word At the Receiving of the Bread By thy Crucified body deliver me from this body of Death After the Bread BLessed be thy Holy Name O Lord my God who hast vouchsafed to feed me with that Holy-Bread from Heaven the Flesh of thy dear Son grant that in the strength of this Food I may walk before thee in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of my Life till I come to the Mount of God the Holy Hill where thine Honour and our Rest dwelleth Amen If you have time use this Meditation O My Soul