and my death happy be merciful to me thy frail and sinful Creature who have daily been so far from abstaining from the least appearance of it that I have daily ran with greediness into it and hourly studied vain Excuses for it V. Grant dear Lord for thy mercy sake that these my daily diminutions of Sin may now daily increase in me the Augmentations of sorrow that so I may truly and heartily bewail mine offences thou may st graciously forgive them and by thy grace assisting I may perfectly abhor them grant this dear Father for thy mercy sake in ham who dyed for Sin and had no Sin in him Amen Meditations for Fryday Morning on the Holy Sacrament HIs Guards are strong his Fence is sure whose Salvation is Christ which Salvation is Communicated to us in the promises of grace exhibited in the Ministry of the word and more plentifully conveyed yea more effectually confirmed in the Ministration of the Sacraments Now to spoil us of the treasure to rob us of the comfort of this Salvation is Satan's grand design in his temptations unto sin and his suggestions of distrust for by these he labours to withdraw us from our God and deprive us of Communion with Christ who is our love and our life II. But when the bird is mounted on the wing it is safe from the Fowlers net and the soul raised in Communion with Christ is preserv'd from Satan's snare and if through infirmity the soul flag and fall to the Earth and so become intangled in carnal and worldly affections yet keeping the eye fixt upon Christ looking to him in his ordinances to receive the quickning power of his grace though corrupt affections may intangle yet shall they not inthral the soul which becomes restored by the Power of Christs Spirit a Spirit of life and liberty a Spirit of grace and holiness delivering from the Power of Satan and from the Dominion of sin III. Who art thou then O thou afflicted soul who in thy spiritual desertions walkest in darkness clouded with sorrows oh in the greatest dejections lift up thine eyes unto the Lord that when the rising Sun appears thou mayest see his refreshing light and how ever now by reason of thy present anguish thou canst not serve God in alacrity of performance yet do it in sincerity of obedience and this this will be a cranny to convey some beams of light even in the lowest dungeon of thy spiritual distress IV. Psal 27. 14. Wait upon the Lord having the eye of faith still towards him and so shall comforts be redoubled in a life recovered and thy difficulties of obtaining shall the more sweeten thy delights of injoying even of injoying God and Christ in the refreshing comforts of the Spirit conveyed and Confirmed in his Blessed Sacrament in which Blessed Sacrament especially let thine eyes be still towards the Lord in his merits in his grace in his benefits in his love let him have thy fixed heart and thine intent eye yea let him have thy whole man for to this end it is that he here gives thee his whole self A Prayer for Fryday Morning of consession of sins to God before the Holy Sacrament O Most holy Lord God I thy unworthy servant do here prostrate my self before thee in all humility acknowledging and confessing my manifold sins and wickedness my whole life has abounded with actual transgressions against every one of thy Commandments I have O Lord lived in contempt of thy providence committing Idolatry with thy Creatures taking thy glorious name in vain prophaning thy most holy Sabbath I have not regarded my superiors as I ought to do I have envied my brethren defiled my soul with unchast desires laboured to be rich by unlawful means I have slandered my Neighbour and have coveted after his wealth I have heard thy word O Lord but have not believed it I have known thy word but have not practised it I have come into thy house without reverence and approached to thy holy Table without repentance I have practised many sins without remorse and when I read thy sacred Scriptures it is not sweet to me as the Honey Combe but my delight is more in ungodliness prophaneness and atheism II. I have by gluttony and drunkenness pampered my body I am guilty of pride in my apparel I am negligent in my calling by mispending my time I have used vain discourses at my Table and have sinned out of measure against all those means of grace which thou hast been pleased to afford me from time to time I have wandering eyes wanton lusts and ambitious mind and covetous desires which have no bounds nor limits I have lascivious ears unsavory speeches and censorious reproaches Here name thy particular sins I am still adding sin unto sin and transgression unto transgression * and am altogether unfaithful in my life and forgetful of my death and of the day of Judgment III. My abusing of thy mercies and despising of thy judgments is testified against me yet O Lord I am not ashamed nor confess my self guilty but still run on in a course of sinning against the motions of thy holy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience and have refused thy calls and my own purposes and vows of amendment O what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth O thou that art the preserver of all men I know that the wages of sin is death but thy gift O God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord O enter not into judgment with thy servant O Lord for in thy sight is no flesh righteous Be merciful O Lord be merciful unto my sins for they are great out of thy abundant mercy forgive me all that is past and be gracious unto me in preventing sins to come IV. Correct me O Lord but with mercy not in thy Judgment for then shall I be consumed and brought to nothing destroy in me O Lord the cursed works of the Devil increase in me dayly the gifts of thy Spirit fit me for that calling in which thou hast or wilt place me and make me to refer the strength of my body the gifts of my mind and whatsoever grace thou hast already or wilt hereafter bestow upon me to the glory of thy holy name and the eternal salvation of my own Soul and Lord grant that the remainder of the time which I shall live in this present evil World that my conversation may be in Heaven and that whether I eat or drink or whatsoever I do else I may hear always this voice sounding in my ears arise you dead and come to judgment many other things O Lord I have to beg that my ignorance knoweth not how to ask or my forgetfulness does not remember but accept O Lord this my humble confession unto thee at this time and whatever else thou knowest needful for me supply it with the merits of thy dear Son my only Lord and Saviour Amen Our Father c. A Prayer after
THE Whole Duty OF A Communicant BEING Rules and Directions for a worthy receiving the most Holy SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S Supper By the Right Reverend Father in GOD JOHN GAVDEN Late Lord BISHOP OF EXETER He being dead yet speaketh The second Edition with Additions out of the Reverend Prelates original Copies LONDON Printed by E. R. for L. C. and Hen. Rodes next door to the Bare Tavern near Bride-lane in Fleet-street 1685. THE ANGELLS ADMIRE THE DIVINE GOODNES TO THE Truly Honourable THE LADY RICH. Most honoured Lady THE Confidence of your Nobleness and Piety makes the least intimation of your Desires to have upon me the force of Commands being assured that your Piety and Judgment directs you to what is good and your Nobleness and Ingenuity will favourably interpret what a mind truly honouring you doth intend to answer your desires Such is this small Tract occasioned by a motion your Ladyship once made of having some Preparatory Form written with such brevity yet fulness and perspicuity three rare qualities in one Subject as might neither dull nor confound nor yet leave unsatisfied à Mind studious to inform its Judgment and devoutly to prepare its Affections so oft as it receives the Holy Sacrament and great Mystery of the Lords Suppee These Notions do not presume nor pretend to have attained such a Compleatness as may either satisfie your Ladyship's desires or add any thing to your Knowledg which is fitter to judge of the consent of these with your own than needs any information by them such they are and their Author seeks to appear as may rather deserve the censure of Devout than Curious in an Argument of so mysterious a Depth good Affections are rather to be raised and inflamed than Subtilties searched and disputed what I come short in Depth of Knowledge I endeavour to supply in belief of the Truth in love to the Goodness in thanks for the Benefit in admiration of the Mercy and Dignation the less I reach to its height the more I retire to my own Heart which I can sufficiently prepare by Humility for the receiving of that whose divine Excellency though I cannot comprehend yet the Benefit and Happiness by it I may obtain It will be easie for your Ladyship at your leisure to add or amend what my defects or haste have failed in or omitted Nor do I present this as a Copy to be imitated so much as inlarged and corrected by you it is enough for my design if either I do or receive good the one may shew how willing I am the other may make me abler than I am to express that willingness and pious Ambition I have to appear worthy the honour and esteem of Madam Your Ladyship 's humble Servant J. Gauden THE WHOLE DUTY OF A Communicant OF THE SACRAMENT IN GENERAL THE ever Blessed Testator as the Author to the Hebrews doth fitly call him Heb. 9. 16. hath left us two Sacraments only as generally and necessary to Salvation Baptism the Sacrament of Initiation and the Lords Super the Sacrament of Confirmation the first admitteth us into Christs visible Body the Church the second feedeth and strengthneth in the same and this happy opportunity being offered me of coming to the most holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper I will joyn with the Church in the celebration of this great Mystery and endeavour to put in practice that duty which the Command of God and just reason requires in preparing my self for that great Solemnity and Angelical Feast I. Which is by setting apart some hours three or four several daies before Receiving withdrawing my thoughts from worldly and temporary business and placing them upon serious and devout Meditations of my souls good and eternal happiness being fully perswaded of its Immortal Estate after this short life and the happiness of that state only to consist in the vision and fruition of God the chiefest good and only satisfactory to an Intellectual and Eternal Being among all other means appointed to men by the wisdom and goodness of God for the attaining that happy state this of the blessed Sacrament is one of the most eminent for Comfort and Efficacy II. A Sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible Grace a holy Seal ordained of God to strengthen our Faith in his promises in Jesus Christ for the free remission of our sins which God therefore annexed to his word to confirm us by representing the sufferings of Chirst to our sight and tasting as the Gospel preacheth it to our ears and it is called the Lords Supper because Christ ordained it at his last Supper Math. 26. 26. Wherein to fulfil the Law he eat the Paschal Lamb and to shew the determination and change of the Levitical Law and Priesthood he ordained for this new Covenant of Grace a new Sacrament and seal thereof that it succeeding the Passover might declare him to be the Lamb of Go◠which taketh away the sins of the world John 1. 19. to shew and represent his death until his coming again to leave his Church a Badg of distinction from Infidels and a parting token and pledge of his great love assuring the faithful of his continual care of them III. The visible signs are bread and wine the thing signified is the participation of the Body and Blood of Christ the benefits of whose Death and Passion being apprehended by Faith accrew to us as our mystical Union with Christ our Incorporation into him our reconciliation with God and the nourishment of our most precious souls to eternal life John 6. 54. Who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at tht last day and this Sacrament if we do receive truly and faithfully God hath promised to accept us and to give us all those benefits in this which he was ready to bestow in the Sacrament of our Baptism had we not forfeited them by our transgressions and the renewing of our Covenant at this time is very necessary That we may rightly understand the mercies promised on God's part and the Duty on our own seeing this is a matter of so high Concernment it importeth every Christian First To Consider the End for which it was Instituted Secondly The Author by whom it was Instituted Thirdly The outward Means suitable to that end Fourthly The mystical Vnion by which they effectually attain and convey to us that end and benefit which is propounded Fifthly How we ought to Prepare our selves Sixthly How to Receive it worthily And Lastly How to Live well a righteous godly and sober Life after Receiving this most holy Sacrament First The End for which it was Instituted I. For its End which in every action is the first in the intention of the agent and that hath proportion and influence into all the means used for attaining it this I conceive to be a Divine spiritual and supernatural end even the highest God hath or man can propound to himself namely the glory of
Confession O Almighty God whose nature and property is always to have mercy and to forgive receive these my humble petitions made unto thee at this time and though I be tyed and bound by the chains of my sins yet let the pittifulness of thy great mercy loose them through Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer for Faith O Almighty God whose nature is above our reach and whose secret operations no humane reason can conceive give me that faith without which no man can know thee and without which no soul can please thee Lord I believe but to believe unto righteousness O God increase my Faith Concerning the great Sacrament of thy precious body and blood I believe that in the same night that thou O Lord Jesus wast betrayed thou didst give to thy Disciples Bread and Wine which thou didst call thy Body and Blood with a charge to eat and drink and do the same in remembrance of thee for as thou wast upon thy departure thou wouldest leave them and me a sign of thy Body a figure of thy Blood and a memorial oâ— thy bitter Death and bloody Passion lest I should forget thee who wast ready to lay down thy life for me who am the worst and vilest of sinners II. Therefore I take these Elements of Bread and Wine for holy signs of thy Body and Blood believing that though they remain after the Consecration in their substance both Bread and Wine yet they are more than common Bread and Wine being made by prayer and thy holy word the figures of thy Flesh and Blood which in the action and use of the Sacrament are really and effectually taken by the faithful So though I feel and tast Bread and Wine yet by the eye of Faith I eat thy Body and Drink thy Blood in remembrance that thou didst die for me and for all mankind III. O then let the operation of thy blessed Spirit apply to my Soul the merits of thy Death and Passion and O Lord I beseech thee let me love and die in this faith and never be ashamed to confess thy holy name who hath suffered such an ignominious Death for my redemption O let my Soul live and it shall praise thee and magnifie thy all glorious name thou hast said that he that eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood hath eternal life and thou wilt raise him up at the last day O Lord I beseech thee confirm my faith and grant that it fail not either concerning this or any other point of holy mysteries for thine alone sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen Our Father c. Meditations for Fryday Evening on the Holy Sacrament GOD alone who is the author of our life is likewise the object of our trust as being the Fountain and fulness of all our comfort and strength all our grace and holiness all our glory and happiness Wherefore O my God I trust in thee as a Creator to sustain me as a Lord to govern me as a guide to direct me as a rock to defend me and as a Father to succour me all which relations thou hast taken upon thee in a merciful regard to my weakness and wants that thou mightest the more manifestly declare thy goodness and love which goodness and love now seal unto my Soul by a Communion with thee in the Lord Jesus II. And the best way to strengthen our trust in God is by renewing our resignation and when can we more seasonably do it than at our receiving the Blessed Sacrament in which we have exhibited the fulness of Christs merits as the propitiatory Sacrament and atonement for our Souls by whom we have access unto the Father to receive a blessing of pardon and peace of life and salvation from him do we then with all humble devotion make this sincere resignation at the Table of the Lord even offer and present unto God from our hearts as we profess with our tongues offer and present our selves our Souls and Bodies as a reasonable Holy and lively sacrifice unto him casting our selves upon him in the mercy and truth of his promise in the wisdom and power of his providence III. And upon this total resignation he seals us this assurance that he will exercise those his properties imploy those his attributes for our comfort and protection for our support and salvation and this beyond what our wits can design our wishes can desire or our thoughts can conceive and let not any penitent though a languishing Soul be discouraged from this Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there to renew his resignation and strengthen his trust IV. And here this treasury is open in this Blessed Sacrament come and receive of this mercy of thy God dispensed by the bountiful hand of thy Jesus who with that mercy gives his merits his benefits his spirit his whole fulness even himself wherefore rouse up thy Soul to receive the bounty of thy God and of thy Saviour with an humble a thankful and a devout heart not forgetting the price Christ gave for thee to redeem thee from the slavery of Sin and Satan A Prayer for Fryday Evening on the most Holy Sacrament BLessed for ever be thy holy Name O thou God of Infinite Compassions who art both truth and holiness it self in thine Essence and therefore strictly requirest truth and sincerely in the hearts of thy Children and holiness and righteousness in their lives and Conversation look not upon those sinful failings of my Corrupt heart but graciouâ—ly behold me in the righteousness of Christ forgive me my many sinful Complâ—ances with nature abberations from grace and deviations from goodness which have caused these my sinful Errors which might thereby deprive me of present grace and hopes of future Blessedness II. Lord suffer me not any longer thus wretchedly to delude mine own Soul but make me truly such as thou would'st have me to be a zealous and sincere Christian that so my Spirit which for those my Sins thou hast much broken by afflictions may much more abundantly rejoyce in thee by heavenly Consolations Lord accept of these my sinful desires and let my loss of tears repair my loss of truth and loss of time in thy service assist my weakness accept my willingness forgive my sinfulness cherish the blessed motions of thy holy Spirit daily in me and for thy mercy sake remove the danger of my own Corruption from me III. O Lord to thy glory and my own deserved shame I willingly confess that I am most impure and sinful even in the very best of all my holy performances I therefore humbly beg of thee that as thou hast graciously afforded me the light of thy sacred word to discover me unto my self so thou wilt also give unto me the Sword of thy holy Spirit to deliver me from my self deliver me from the evil man O Lord even from the close Corruptions and secret Abominations of mine own evil and Corrupt heart Lord pardon and pass by the many
God in the eternal life and happiness of my body and soul which consists in my union with and fruition of God in heaven for ever which is effected by the Spirit and grace of God through the merits of Jesus Christ drawing my soul through faith in the Son of God made Man to himself who by the evil of sin both original depravation and actual Commissions am removed at an infinite distance from the love of God the fountain of happiness and placed in a state of Guilt liable to the justice and wrath of God and by consequence to eternal misery and Damnation II. A State not more miserable in it self than unavoidable by me unless the free grace immense goodness of the Almighty which brings sinners to repentance had prevented both my desert and desire by an eternal purpose of offering pardon life and salvation to sinful mankind which good pleasure and purpose in himself God hath clearly revealed according to the divers dispensations of his wisdom and providence even from the first promise of Christ made to the first sinners to the personal coming of the Son of God into the World to bear the Name and Office of the Saviour of Sinners and hath fully accomplisht and clearly reveal'd unto Mankind this undeniable truth of the eternal purpose of God to give pardon life and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ his only Son who became Man and died for the sins of the World and so satisfied the Justice of God for them that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life III. That great saying and most comfortable Truth Preached by Christ witnessed by the Apostles Dictated by the Spirit of God written by the Evangelists Confirmed by many Miracles delivered by the Church by constant Tradition and believed on in all ages this God requires me to believe as a certain and infallible truth in it self and by faith it becomes to me saving and comfortable It brings my soul to see by the law it s own sinful and desperate estate it calls me off from my self and all Creatures and assures me of immortal happiness for ever by adhering and relying upon Christ and that free grace of God in him and through him bestowed upon my soul IV. This faith and trust in the free Grace through Jesus Christ as it is first wrought by the word of God and his holy Spirit in my soul which is the beginning of this spiritual and eternal life so that it may be further nourished and strengthened to a farther degree of comfort and assurance God hath out of a wonderful Indulgence to our weakness and difficulty of believing annexed to his word these holy Sacraments as visible and most manifest Seals of this Covenant of Grace and Mercy that the soul might in no sort doubt of it nor be discouraged at the sight of it 's own sin and unworthiness when it sees the love of God and its pardon confirmed and assured to it by all its senses and his Saviour the great worker and teacher of this salvation by these sensible means lively set forth in his death and sufferings and himself with all his merits personally offered and conveighed to its self in particulars V. This then is the End to which this holy Sacrament as other means of grace is especially directed that it may be to the souls spiritual life of such efficacy as Food is to the Temporal life of our Bodies a means to maintain life to encrease strength and inward comfort to enable holy actions and cheerful obedience to assure our hopes and affiance in the great truth of God for the pardon of sins and bestowing the Son of God Jesus Christ our great Redeemer who is the Fountain and conveigher of life through these Conduits of the outward means to the penitent and believing soul Secondly The Author by whom it was Instituted I. Was the Lord Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World who being the Lord of power and the Jesus of Mercy is both able and wiling to make this holy Ordinance the means of that Mercy and Grace which he promiseth to us which means are effectual to this supernatural end not by any proportion of innate vertue or Physical efficacy of themselves as food hath to our temporal life by the common rule and ordination of Providence but by a Spiritual Divine and most Mysterious appointment Instituted by our God and Saviour himself whose Authority only could Institute and whose power only can make effectual his Institution by uniting earthly sensible so small and unproportionable means to so heavenly spiritual and excellent an End II. So that in this great mystery though reason assures us in the general assent that the Omnipotency of God can make effectual whatever means he pleaseth in his wisdom to ordain to an end though never so unproportionable yet for the particular demonstrating of the matter of efficiency whereby such means do certainly convey to us so great an end and benefit Reason is quite dazl'd and blind having no ground to fasten upon but devolving all the work of this holy mystery to faith which relies upon the truth power and love of the Institutor Jesus Christ who while he was yet on Earth by a Corporal and Natural presence conversing with men but chiefly with his choice and Domestick Company the Twelve Apostles a little before his death Instituted this Sacred Mystery after his last Supper which he made with them III. By the evidence of this Sacrament exhibiting himself to them and all beliving souls in such an extraordinary and eminent degree of comfort and personal assurance as might greatly establish their faith and hearts in the near and dismal Times of his sufferings shortly ensuing and after his Ascention might be a continual memorial and Seal of the Covenant of Grace established in the death of Christ a support of the faith of Belivers a lively token pledge of his spiritual presence with his Church during his bodily absence till his second coming as also a badge of the profession of the Christian Religion and that mutual love and charity of Believers who are all united by faith to one and the same Saviour of whom they are all partakers in this one Sacrament as well of the invisible Grace as the outward and visible signs the bread and wine Thirdly The outward Means suitable to this end I. The choice of which familiar signs made by our Saviour for the outward means discovered a wonderful wisdom and no less love and condescention to his Church while he made choice of such things for the Representation of his greatest Grace and our comfort as best sitting this staâ—e of Senses and Infirmity such as for the Community may be had of all Nations and in all Countries either by native Commodities as in most or by cheap and easy Commerce with others whose abundance may spare though where the proper species of bread and wine cannot be had those means of nourishment
which are proportionable may be used so that no Nation or man may think himself excluded from the use and comfort of this Sacrament of the Lords Super. II. For their necessity such as no man in an ordinary way of living can dispence with the want of them and live long healthfully implying that Food is not more necessary for sustaining this present life and strength of the body than the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is for the supporting the life and well-being of the soul to all eternity III. For their plainness and simplicity it is such as may take off Christians minds from placing Piety and the Mysteries of Grace and Religion in any external pomp and vanity which doth but dazle the eyes and amaze the senses and detain vulgar and common minds by the outward glory of the senses Objects from that inward retiring of the Spirit and Soul to its proper and comfortable Objects which are Spiritual Invisible and Intellectual and far remote from the Senses and abstracted from them So that Christians cannot easily be so grossly and stupidly sensual as to imagine any efficacy in these small and simple elements of themselves no more than in Wax or Parchment which not of their proper virtue but only of the will of the conveigher have power to convey an estate to the Receiver of them IV. For their proportionable suitableness and familiar correspondency of Virtues and Efficiency first the bread and wine being apt to nourish the body by common ordination of Providence the body and blood of Christ fit to nourish the soul by special ordination of Grace Secondly the bread and wine at a distance will not feed us but must be personally applyed by taking eating drinking and digesting The body and blood of Christ looked on only by knowledg and Historical speculation will not profit the soul except by a lively Faith which is the hand mouth and stomach of the soul it accepts and takes hold on Christ and applies his merits to it self for Salvation V. The Bread after it passeth much violence of the Mill hand and fire is made wholesome for Food and the Wine after it hath endured the torture of the Press is prepared for drink the body and blood of Christ not whole entire and unsufferable but Crucified and Broken in his Passion when he did undergo the burthen of the sins of the world and was under the pressure of the Justice of God and Sacrificed for the redemption of mankind under this consideration is received by the believing Soul for its life and comfort looking on all these sufferings of Christ not as his own demerits whose innocency was without spot or blemish but as the satisfaction of the Justice and appeasing the wrath of God for the sins of them that shall believe in his name which work of reconciling Heaven and Earth God and Man as Christ willingly undertook so he fully performed and is fully performed and is by God accepted in full discharge whose mercy to man designed his only Son for this great End VI. For the facility of the performance both in respect of cost and labour the Indulgence of Christ seeking to render Christian services to God and the Offices of the Gospel as easy and as cheap as might be that neither the cost nor the pains might deter any from the frequent partaking of these Mysteries the comforts of which are the free gift of God and cost us nothing but acceptance for the evidence and perceptibleness of them falling under the perception of four several fenses by whose joyâ—t testimony of their proper Objects our minds and reason naturally gains the certainty and infallibility of natural truths whose Testimonies now by Christs institution are raised higher to give evidence and witness to Faith of the truth and certainty of its Objects VII The Body and Blood of Christ broken and shed in his death and sufferings which by these sensible signs are clearly represented and the merits and efficacy of his death as truly perceived and as really conveighed by faith to the soul and person of a Believer for life and happiness as the nutritive power and virtue of the Bread and Wine is perceived approved and applyed by the Senses to the Body that as by one sense of Hearing faith is begun so by the other four Senses in this Sacrament it might daily be encreased and strengthned there being not a greater Physical certainty given into our common Sense and Reason by our senses of the Truth of the bread and wine which the body receives then there is a Theological and Sacramental certainty given into Faith depending upon the Authority truth and power of the Institutor of a real and most effectual perception of the body and blood of Christ for the nourishment of our souls and bodies to eternal life that as our souls are here helped by the senses of the Body and its food in the way of a natural and momentary life so the body may at last be saved by the souls perception of its Spiritual Food to Glory and Immortal life Fourthly The Mystical Vnion by which they effectually attain and convey to us that end and benefit which is propounded I. For the Sacramental Union of the outward signs which are the proper Objects of our senses to the body and blood of Christ which are the proper Objects of our Faith this I conceive to be not by any Physical or natural Union as the Fruit to the Tree or the effect to its proportionate Cause nor yet by any Miraculous working of Omnipotency in changing the substance of these Elements into the substance of Christ's Body and Blood which makes the Judgment of Faith contradict the Judgment of the Senses which the will of God hath appointed by the Law of Nature to give a true Testimony of their proper Objects rightly dispos'd and withal do witness these to be indeed true bread and wine and the same for Substance after Consecration as they were before though wonderfully different from their use neither is faith ever commanded by any Divine will to deny or contradict the truth of Senses for the substance and nature of things Though it raiseth us far above them and bids us look infinite beyond them in a Divine and Supernatural relation and use annexed to them II. Nor may Omnipotency the common retreat and subterfuge be so far extended by Human fancy and imagination to maintain them as to imply a necessary contradiction in the Will of God about one and the same subject which Will is but one and regular setting bounds to Omnipotency agreeable to it self which cannot be avoided here if we say that God's Will is in the way of nature that the Senses judge truly of their Objects which They do here and tell us jointly that they are bread and wine and yet his Will is at the same and about the same thing that Faith should contradict the Senses Testimonny and believe truly that they are not bread and
your knees God speak those words and said I am the Lord thy God thou shalt have none other Gods but me Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Self examination by the first Commandment If I have not absolutely denied Gods being or in a gross manner renounced him by Apostacy yet Have I not been angry with the Almighty murmuring and complaining against him in an adversity or trouble which he hath been pleased to lay upon me as though he were not both just and merciful Have I had such a confidence and trust in God as I ought to have had together with such a strength and consolation as ordinarily a lively confidence brings with it Have I not put all my confidence in the world and on the things which belong to it fearing man who can only kill the body more than God who can cast both Soul and Body into everlasting torments Have I not denyed my Maker by refusing to wait on him in his holy ordinances or if I have been there have I not been guilty of irreverence and cold devotion Lord have mercy upon me and pardon the breach of this Commandment II. Commandment Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image nor the likeness of any thing which is in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath or in the water under the Earth thou shalt not bow down to them nor worship them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God and visit the sins of the Fathers upon the Children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me and shew mercy unto thousands in them that love me and keep my Commandments Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Self examination by the II. Commandment Though I have not set up a graven Image nor fallen down to worship any yet Have I not been troubled with the Fool in my heart in laying up treasures which a 〈…〉 liable to Corruption and idolizing the vain pomps and vanities of this wicked world by covetousness which is I do latry If I have abhorred Idols have I not been guilty of Sacrilege robbing of God in his Tithes and Offerings not extending my charity to the poor as I ought to do but fixing my mind more on the Creature then on the Creator Have I not made a God of my belly by luxuriousness indulging my self with carnal delights and sensual appetites and have been hurried away by every wind of Doctrin Lord have mercy upon me and pardon the breach of this Commandment Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Self examination by the III. Commandment If I have not blasphemously profaned Gods nâ—mâ— yet Have I not taken his holy name in my mouth with much irreverence and jestingly and scoffingly abused his holy ordinances Have I not taken many false Oaths and Protestations and have been guilty of too frequent and customary swearing cursing by the dreadful name of God which is only to be mentioned for blessing and adoration Have I been careful to keep those lawful Oaths I have taken as my Baptismal vow or any other Oath which was administred lawfully to me without being guilty of the breach of them Have I not neglected to call upon that name whereby alone I must receive salvation and have turned the grace of God into wantonness to the destruction of my own Soul Lord have mercy upon me and pardon the breach of this commandment IV. Commandment Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day six days shalt thou labour and do all that thou hast to do but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt do no manner of work thou and thy Son and thy Daughter thy Man servant and thy Maid-servant thy Cattle and the Stranger that is within thy Gates For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Self examination by the IV. Commandment If I have not actually ossiciated on that day my worldly calling or employment yet Did I spend my time in the House of God as I ought to do to praise him for all his mercies bestowed upon me Have not I omitted Prayers and Sermons and followed my own idle imaginations not caring at all for the Church but being weary of the Lords day like those in Amos 8. 5. who ask when will the Sabbath be gone that we may set forth Wheat Have I not invented ways to draw others from the service and worship of God by vain sports and idle discourses not remembring to praise God on this day for the Creation and joyful Resurrection Have I at home instructed my Family as I ought to do but on the contrary have neglected those duties of prayers reading and meditation Lord have mercy upon me and pardon the breach of this Commandment V. Commandment Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Self examination by the V. Commandment If I have not grosly abused my parents by cursing or swearing at them yet Have I not spoken meanly and lightly of my superiors and instead of obeying them have made it my study to oppose and contradict them Have I not been undutiful to them in several respects as not hearkning to their Counsel not taking their reprooss with meekness and humility but have despised and mocked them refusing to practice their exhortations not remembring the words of the wise Man Pro. 30. 17. The eye that mockeâ—h his Father and despiseth to obey his Mother the Reavens of the valleys shall pick it out and the young Eagles shall eat it Have not I wisht my Parents death out of greediness of gaining their possessions when rich and have I not when they were poor been so unnatural as to turn my back upon their necessities Lord have mercy upon me and pardon the breach of this Commandment VI. Commandment Thou shalt do no Murther Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Self examination by the VI. Commandment If I have not actually committed Murther yet Have I not drawn many to intemperance and other vices which cause diseases or bring death or have I not made strife among men by which means they have engaged themselves in quarrelling and in the encounter come off maimed or killed Have I not out of malice and revenge strove to shorten many ones life or have I not taken a delight to grind the face of the poor making them work of necessity for that which can never maintain their
death and pasion as a true token and pledge that he suffered for my sins and rose again from thâ— dâ—ad for my justification and now sitteth at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for me to whom be all honour power and glory adoration and subjection from this time forth and for ever more Amen Our Father c. Meditations for Monday Evening on the Holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper Shewing the necessity of receiving of it I. OUR Blessed Saviour the wise Physitian having felt the Pulses of our weaknesses ordain'd this must Holy and Divine Sacrament and for this purpose hath he instituted the same in form of food that the very form wherein he did institute it might declare unto us the effect it worketh and withall the great necessity our Souls have of it II. O most wonderful Sacrament what shall I say of thee thou art the life of my Soul and a Medicine to heal all my Wounds What Tongue is able to express the Excellency of this most blessed Sacrament which thou O Lord invitest me to who am a vile and miserable Sinner when I consider who thou art and what I am how rich and excellent the benefits are which thou preparest for me and how little I am dispos'd to receive them my Soul is in trouble and I tremble to draw near to thy glorious Majesty III. Thou art O Lord without quantity great without quality good without measure wise and without time Everlasting the Stars are dimn'd in thy presence the Pillars of Heaven quake before thee the highest of the Seraphins do gather in their Wings and account themselves as it were little Flyes when thou art present How then dare so vile a Creature as I am approach unto thy holy Table if St. John Baptist whom thou filledst with the Holy Ghost from his Mothers womb thought himself not worthy to stoop down and unloose the Lachet of thy Shoos Shall I who am loaden with Sins dare to present my self to that holy Banquet where Angels wait as Ministring Spirits sent out for the good of those who are to receive the earnest of Salvation Shall I with lascivious Eyes full of wanton looks behold that Lamb without spot or blemish with my polluted looks and lying Tongue shall I touch the bread of Angels or shall I lodge the King of Kings in a heart filled with foul concupiscence IV. I am in a strait O Lord on both sides for if I absent my self from this Holy Table I am disobedient to my Saviour who commands me to set forth his death till he shall come again I keep at a distance from the Fountain of Life I renounce the seals of the Covenant and the pledges of thy love and if I come to it unworthily I am affraid I may Eat and Drink my own Damnation and draw upon my self thy heavy Judgments if thou Lord shouldst mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared mercies and forgiveness are from the Lord our God for we have rebelled against him But where sin hath abounded thy grace hath much more abounded O Lord my whole trust is in thee as by thy goodness thou givest me thy blessing so by thy wisdom thou wilt instruct me how to receive them to Salvation A Prayer for Monday Evening on the Holy Sacrament O Lord I take the boldness to approach unto thee O receive me according to thy tender mercy Banish from my mind all those Earthly and Carnal thoughts which disturb my Devotion affect my Senses with a Pious veneration Give unto me such Humility and Repentance such fear and reverence as so high a Mystery does require I come not O Lord to excuse but accuse my self I trust not O Lord in my own Righteousness neither have I any merits to be puft up with nor do I extol my self with the proud Pharisec II. But O Lord I come to thee as the poor Publican with Eyes cast down as being ashamed of my own unworthiness and laying my hand on my breast saying Lord be merciful to me a Sinner I come to thee with poor Bartemeus that I may receive my sight who am blind and lame I come as naked to thee the Father of Compassion as hungring and thirsting after Righteousness to thee O Lord who art the bread of Life and the fountain of living VVater springing up from the Wells of eternal Salvation III. Thou didst O Lord accept of Mary Magdalens tears the faith of the Thief on the Cross the Repentance of St. Peter and the Prayers of the poor Publican accept now of this my humiliation confirm my pardon seal my Redemption cleanse me from all my pollutions support my weakness and cover my nakedness O send me not away empty lest I faint by the way but satisfie my Soul with the food of thy heavenly banquet that thereby it may receive nourishment unto eternal life IV. Grant O Lord that I may receive thee with pure lips and a penitent heart that thou dwelling in my heart by Faith I may find my self strenghned comforted and my heart inflam'd with the love of thee then shall I prostrate my self before thee and acknowledge in the Assembly of thy Saints that it is thou alone who hast comforted me and that there is no Salvation in any besides thee V. As thou preparest a Table in the midst of mine Enemies and fillest up my Cup and dost anoint and wash thy poor Guests pour upon me I beseech thee thy most fragrant oyl wash not only my feet but also my hands and my head that I may have part with thee make me not only partaker of the Seals of thy Covenant and of the pledges of thy love but also that I may receive thy self with all the benefits of thy death and passion let my preparation which I now make be sincere and without lukewarmness that I may become a worthy receiver at thy holy Table Our Father c. Meditations for Tuesday Morning on the Holy Sacrament THe true knowledge of the will of God is the gracious manifestation of his goodness He is good in the Graciousness of his Promises and upright in the truth of his performances and this Grace and Truth which is the Habitation of his Throne is the Refuge of the Sinner and the Sanctuary of the Penitent II. And where O my Soul canst thou better taste the goodness of the Lord then in this blessed Eucharist the sacred Feast of the Lords Goodness And as his Goodness does invite thee so let his uprightness encourage thee for that faithful is he who hath promised faithful to give according to his promise healing for thy wounds strengthening for thy weakness comfort for thy sorrow and will give that which is the Compendium of all Spiritual good things peace of Conscience and joy in the holy Ghost III. Why art thou so heavy O my Soul And why art thou so cast down within me Is it because thou hast
confirmed and exercised there repentance is employed and quickned faith is actuated and strengthned devotion and charity enflamed and kindled peace and concord is established there is the universal medicine for all our diseases and an ark of safety against all dangers there O my Soul thou mayest by the eye of faith behold thy crucified Lord and Saviour shedding his most precious Blood upon the Cross for thy sins and burning with an unspeakable desire of thy salvation There thou mayest look upon him whom thy sins have pierced and on him whom thou dost still crucifie afresh by thy sins dayly and hourly In the sufferings of thy Saviour O my soul thou mayest see as in a glass thy own vileness and deformities thy Saviours being mocked scorned and contemned discovers thy evil speaking lying and slandering his blessed Face being besmeared with spittle remembers thee of all thy unclean lusts and filthy communications that blessed Mouth which was guilty of no deceit was embittered with gall and vinegar which should mind thee of thy luxury and drunkennes his being scourged of thy stubbornness and disobedience III. O my soul dost thou not wonder that the King of glory should wear a Crown of thorns and for his Majestical Robes a little linnen for to cover his nakedness and thou to be guilty of pride and vain glory and affected with the pomps and vanities of this wicked World The Crown of Thorns which was platred on his Head with that rage and indignation should put thee in mind of the immoderate cares of the World with the sharp and piercing vexations issuing thence which eat up the consolation of the heart and all true sincere devotion of the spirit O let scorns 〈…〉 r thy sake be my glory and injuries and affronts my Crown lift up I pray thee upon thy Cross my miserable Soul which lies groveling on the ground out of this vale of misery O that thou would'st purge and thoroughly heal me with thy most precious Blood let thy wounds be a salve for my sinful soul and by thy stripes let her be healed of all her distempers let all thy pains grief and sorrows captivity humiliation and cross deliver me from Hell and purchase for me those joys and pleasures at thy right hand for ever and thy Death my life for evermore Amen A Prayer for Charity O Eternal God thou hast said that without charity we are nothing give me O Lord I beseech thee that Christian love and perfect charity that I may love thee O Lord my God with all my heart with all my mind with all my soul and with all my strength doing always in sincerity that which is pleasing in thy sight not returning evil for evil or raâ—ling for railing but loving my Neighbour as my self and being ready at all times to assist him in time of need administring to him according to his several necessities that at the last and great day I may give an account of my Steward ship with joy and not with grief grant this O Lord for thy Son Jesus Christ his sake Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Saturday Evening on the most Holy Sacrament O Almighty God I beseech thee to seal unto me the pardon of all my sins and to grant all those petitions which I have asked in thy Sons name and let me now consider how transitory are all things how wicked is the World how impure is the flesh and how my self am deceitful grant that so I loose my affections from all such unworthy objects here below and then let me know how Eternal is thy nature how permanent is thy glory and how infinite is thy love bring me O bring me to morrow to thy royal feast with the badge of love and with the wedding garment so shall I be a welcome guest unto thee that eating thy flesh and drinking thy Blood I shall for ever dwell in thee my glorious Creator and thou in me thy blessed Creature Our Father c. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father with the sweet and comfortable fellowship of God's Holy and Blessed Spirit bless preserve conserve and keep me this night and all the days of my life at the hour of death and in the day of Judgment Amen Sixthly how to receive it worthily The Morning thou art to receive after thy usual devotions breath forth this Meditation Sundays Meditation WIsdom hath killed her beasts mingled her wine and furnisht her table Man's folly wrought his fall by a bit and wisdom repairs it by a feast a fruit did corrupt us and flesh and blood do preserve us a Lamb is slain for the Goat the just for the unjust the Son of God for the Children of Men and is this day offered as meat for the life of many I will go to that feast to eat of that bread and drink of that wine which is mingled for me the fruit of the vine with the blood of Gods Lamb O then good Lord let me be found in that purity thou desirest in them that approach thine Altar wash thou my feet and cleanse my heart that I may be clean and have part with thee for ever Amen A Prayer for Sunday Morning before thou goest to Church O Lord prepare my heart to Prayer O Most glorious Lord God behold a miserable and wretched sinner is now approaching to thy most holy Table to feast my soul upon thy precious Body and Blood at the primitive eating thou said the day that thou eat est thou shalt surely dye but here in the day which I eat I shall surely live Joh. 6. O Lord I esteem my self unworthy of the least crum that falls from thy Table must the Childrens bread be given unto dogs must such a vile wretch as I sit at thy Holy Table who am laden with sin and over pressed with iniquity But I come O Lord to ease my self of sin and to cast off the burden of iniquity and to bury them all at the foot of thy Cross I come O Lord to be purged throughly from my iniquity and to be sorry for my sins which are without number but not more than my dear Saviours blood can expiate II. O thou brightest Morning Star arise now with healing in thy wings and say unto my soul I am thy salvation O do thou now arise and let thy Enemies be scattered which are my lusts and vile affections and let them that hate thee flee before thee which is the Devil envy hatred malice and all uncharitableness make clean my heart O my Redeemer and pull down every strong hold and bulwark which opposes thy heavenly will and make me a fit guest at thy Holy Table to receive thee with a pure heart and strengthen me that I may have such a lively faith to pass through the vale and confidently look into the holy of holies this I beg for thy alone sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen When thou art at Church before divine
hast heaped upon me from time to time thy unspeakable favours and loving kindnesses in feeding me at this time with the spiritual food of the Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen III. O Eternal God who vouchsafest to send thine only begotten Son into the World for my redemption and to deliver him up even unto death in remembrance whereof until his second coming he hath commanded me to eat his Body and drink his Blood to the end by Faith I should be united and knit unto his Body and being washed from all my sins lead a new life vouchsafe I humbly beseech thee for his sake to indue me with thy Holy Spirit unto my lives end Amen IV. O Almighty God grant I may cast away all the works of darkness and walk in the true light of thy Holy Gospel Vouchsafe me O Lord an unfeigned desire in being a partaker of this thy Holy institution and that I may lead my life according to thy Heavenly will in all things keeping my body undefiled as a fit receptacle for so Heavenly Food that my soul may enjoy the benefit of the Mystery thereof by Faith according to thy Heavenly providence through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer for all the Communicants that are present O Let us now all magnifie the name of the Lord from the rising of the Sun to the setting of the same Blessed are they who dwell in thy house O Lord and are fed though it be but with the Crums that fall from thy Table We have all now tasted and seen how gracious the Lord is for he hath heard our Prayers and granâ—ed our requests and redeemed us from the slavery of sin and death O that we might never depart from thee but be unwearied in thy service let not our stedfastness which is now fixed pass away as the Morning Cloud or our Devotions fly away as a shadow which hath no continuance but arm us O good Lord against all manner of sin that we may all say with the Kingly Prophet I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous Judgments Direct and guide us O Lord with thy Holy Spirit thy All seeing eye and thy Heavenly hand that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we may fear no evil for thou art with us Amen Meditations out of the Psalms O praise the Lord with me and let us Magnifie his name together I sought the Lord and he heard me yea he delivered me out of all my fears O fear the Lord ye that be his Saints for they that fear him do lack nothing The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles The Lord is nigh unto all them that are of a contrite heart and will save such as be of an humble Spirit Great are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of all He hath not dealt with us after our sin nor rewarded us according to our iniquities For he knoweth whereof we are made he remembreth we are but dust The Lord delivereth the souls of his servants and all they that put their trust in him shall not be destitute Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. A Concluding Prayer I Thank thee O thou great Creator that thou hast at this time given me such a supply of thy Grace whereby I may come to thy Eternal Glory thou hast now entertained me at thy Holy Table and received me with that fatherly affection by speaking peace unto my conscience and saying to my soul thou art my salvation O what reward can I return for these unspeakable mercies I will rejoyce and be exceeding glad admire and celebrate the love of my Saviour O ye Almighty powers it is my duty to extol him to whom you pay all these praises let me for ever Magnifie thy Holy Name O Lord and thy praises for ever shall be in my Mouth for thou only art Holy and it is thy peace alone which passeth all understanding O let it keep my heart and mind in the knowledge and love of thee and of thy Son Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour and let thy favour and blessing O merciful Father with thy Son my only Saviour and the Holy Ghost my only sanctifier remain with we alwaies Amen A Prayer at home the same day O Thou Fountain of everlasting happiness strike my soul with an Holy admiration of thy Divine goodness thou hast of thine infinite Pitty and Compassion to me a poor wretched Sinner received me into the bosom of thy Mercy and art reconciled unto me by the Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ thou hast issued forth a free and full pardon unto me of all my sins and transgressions from that great office of Mercy thou hast opened to thy Church and People and I have now again renewed my Covenant of Love and Allegiance unto thee my God and anâ— again consecrated unto thee in the Holy Blood of the Lord Jesus O let the Holy sense of this thy great goodness and loving kindness rest for ever upon my Soul and oblige my heart for ever unto thee and I beseech thee that thou wâ—lt never leave me nor forsake me but let me walk in the light of thy countenance to my lives end Amen Lastly how to live well a righteous godly and sober life after receiving this most Holy Sacrament Psal 50. 23. Whoso offereth me thanks and praise he honoureth me and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the Salvation of God I. And the better to attain these directions let us follow what the Kingly Prophet layeth down to eschew evil and do good seek peace and ensue it which is the banishing from the Soul all kind of Vices and adorning it with Virtues and this is by becoming a new creature destroying of the image of old earthly Adam and reforming it with the Image of the new Adam our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ II. By this means we attain to that supernatural end for which we were created which is to see Almighty God in his own glory and excellency which that we may all do let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God As soon as you awake in the Morning give the first fruits of thy reason to the Divine Majesty let your memory understanding will and heart discharge their duties let your tongue and mouth hands and arms contribute in offering up this Morning Sacrifice to thy great Creator Which thou mayest do in this manner A Prayer for the Morning O Most Powerful Lord God which sittest upon the Cherubims and stretchest out the Heavens like a Curtain I adore thee my God from the centre of my Nothing with all the Creatures of the Vniverse and come unto thee upon the bended knees of my heart humbly beseeching thee in thy mercy to look upon me and fully to remit unto me all my sins and transgressions whatsoever and give me unfeigned repentance and newness of life for the time to come as thou hast now awakened my body from sleep so I beseech thee awake my soul from sin and carnal security as thou hast caused the light of the day to shine upon my bodily eyes so good Lord cause the light of thy Word and Holy Spirit to illuminate my heart and give me grace to walk in all holy obedience before thy face this day teach me to fear thee continually wheresoever I am to neglect all things in regard of thee to love thee and my Brethren for thy s 〈…〉 ke let whatsoever I do this day be pleasing in thy sight who art my alone Creator let not any temptations this day delude me but O Lord my God be thou ever near me with me and about me to protect preserve and defend me from this time forth and all the days of my life now and for evermore Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Noon O Eternal God every hour of the day will I lift up my heart unto thee stop not thine ear O Lord but hear me and that right soon let me not nourish the disease of sloth in my blood but spend my life as the clouds execute their offices to be still in motion quench and kill O Lord in me the weed of Covetousness and let me not be over careful for my self but pittiful and merciful to those that want Keep my hands clean from touching riches unlawful last with Ahab and Jezabel I commit Murder and shed Naboth's blood to wring from him his Vineyard or with Achan be stoned to death for taking goods that are to me forbidden give me grace to be content with what portion thou hast allowed me and to remember that this is no continuing City but I must seek one to come in which Heavenly Kingdom of thine thou art my portion for ever which God grant me for his Mercy sake Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening O Almighty God the only keeper of Israel who neither slumbrest nor sleepest behold me thy servant who by reason of my sin and the corruption of my nature am wholly subject to sloth and am now even ready to ease and rest my self upon my Bed I know not whether thou wilt this very night make my Bed in the dark and the hour of my visitation be this present Evening my years are but a span long my age is nothing unto thee my days pass like a Weavers shuttle and my life is brought to an end as it were a tale that is told this hour may be my last hour and my next sleep my last and long sleep therefore I beseech thee let me every Evening seriously ponder and meditate and though my eyes sleep yet let my soul continually watch to attend thy coming keep me this night both in body and soul from all mine enemies both visible and invisible now and for evermore Amen Our Father c. FINIS