solemnly to search purifie cleanse and cast out all the leaven to pray with greater appetite praise his Name with a more delightful relish To distaste all oher things to disburthen my self to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets me to get as near Heaven as possible to render my mind more sensible of God and more fit to receive a deeper impression from his hand To excite the strongest acts of Faith the vehementest flames of love and longings after Christ and his blessings which prepares for the enjoyment Holy desires joy and thankfulness at the approach of so blessed an opportunitie To renew my resolutions and vows of holy obedience to mortifie my lesser irregularities and to bind the obligations faster that are upon my Soul To have a lively sense of the ends for which I go in what estate my Graces stand what I am to ask and for what I ought to plead the Blood of Christ voluntarily to offer more of my time and thoughts to Religious Exercises and to do that over again with a greater fervour which I have been doing since the last Communion To recover my self to the same or rather higher degrees of Zeal fervour and sublime admirations to apparel trim and dress up my mind with braver notions and brighter ornaments To get my manners carriage and behaviour rightly formed and handsomely composed for this Feast with die great King He that understands the excellencie and holiness of the mystery the glorie of the Guest the infinite benefit then designed and the increase of degrees by the exercise of those previous acts of Holiness the manner so contrarie as worthy and unworthy the effect of the Ordinance so much depending on the manner of receiving the advantage so great of Communion with Christs Bodie the danger no less then Damnation that it will set one forward and contribute very much to an happie or an unhappie eternitie a man cannot at all be supposed in any state wherein this thing will be indifferent to him will not be inquisitive into the just measure but do it heartilie devoutlie reverentlie and as much as he can put himself in to a meet disposition tobe so familiar with God Solemn Sequestration A Journey an unfixed Heart undischarg'd of earthly thoughts travelling up and down afar off unfits as well as a dead body or gross sins Earthly thoughts in the Temple if not driven away before will be buzzing pestring vexing me and corrupt the Sacrifice If I go with a loose ungirt spirit I cannot instantly entertain my Lord his work must stay untill I be ready I must be girding when I should be working or do it fumblingly and awakedly not with dexterity and activity Let your loins therefore be girt and you your selves like men that wait for their Lord that when he comes and knocks you may open to him immediately It concerns me now to put my self into that order and state of good things as if to morrow I were to dye to suppose my self seated before Gods Tribunal and to see whether I can reasonably hope my state is changed my sins pardoned and mortified to consider that unless I dare dye that day if God should call me there 's little reason I should dare to receive the Sacrament of â—ife or Minister of death If I be mistaken about the truth of Grace now I am undone for ever without true Repentance by my unworthy going I bind the guilt of all my other sins upon my Soul and add this to all the rest guiltiness of the blood of Christ He that communicates worthily is justified from his sins and to him death can have no sting to whom the Sacrament brings life and health And if I judge Righteous Judgement I shall soon find what pinches most what makes me most afraid what most criminal and least mortified so shall learn to make provision accordingly Enter then my Soul into thy chamber solemnly sequester thy self from all other Avocations that we may tend upon the Lord without distraction Shut up set a watch at the gates of thy heart let it not be open till that solemn day be over If other thoughts be hankering and hanging about for entrance testifie against them rebuke and threaten them let thy spirit in a holy indignation rise up against them the only means that from that time forth they come no more in such a season Farewell my Wife and Children Friends and secular concerns abide you here at the foot of the Mount be husht and laid deadned and mortified all irregular earthly passions and affections I have something else to do you are a clog unto my soul tread not nor whisper in this solemn place where is no room but for God alone trouble me not the door is now shut I am about a great work I will not cannot open to you And Oh thou that lookest from Heaven that fashionest the hearts of men and considerest all their works enlighten enliven and convince me affect assist and prosper me own accept and bless me call in and restrain the loosness and wandrings of my thoughts Fix unite and fill my heart with an awe a dread and reverence of thee with suitable thoughts apprehensions and meditations to the present occasion and let my meditations be attended with sutable affections Let all flesh be silent before thee let thy spirit rest upon me let this season be improved not carelesly sloathfully or negligently but sincerely uprightly with my whole soul heart and strength to thy praise and my great advantage at thy Table and in the day when thou shalt judge the secrets of mens hearts by Jesus Christ Strict examination I Am about to sit at the Lords Table among his own Children I know before-hand the King attended with his glorious Angels will come in to see his guests Christ's garment covers only Christ's members he is too just to be bribed too great to be slighted too wise to be deceived too jealous to be provoked too good to be forfeited Oh what solemn provision shall I make for so sacred a presence but a serious diligent deep enquiry into with a full and awfull discussion of the particular present estate of my Soul whether I be such as may be assured he will bid me welcome being reconciled to him and endued with those vital qualifications which pre-dispose me for an Ordinance that supposes me within the Covenant it seals and to have spiritual life it sustains and nourishes by conveying that true food of life Christ Crucified I must be born before I can eat Vncircumcised persons were not to eat the Passeover The inward of Ordinances are only enjoyed by them that are inwardly Christians Those only that bring true Graces receive real Comforts we take Christ and then eat him none find any nourishment relish or sweetness in his blood but those who have receiv'd him and so have a propriety in a little to him and the nearer the Interest the greater sweetness He must be
may therefore have grace whereby I may serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear and be cloathed not only with the Righteousness but Humility of Christ be low and mean base and vile in my own eyes I am not worthy to be called thy Son make me as thy meanest servants the lowest room at thy Table give my sins thy pardon my soul thy grace my person and service thy acceptance in thy beloved and what thou dost convey seal to me by what I am to receive Without Knowledge the Heart Saving Knowledge the duty cannot be good but the Covenant thou hast made with thy people is they shall all know thee from the least to the greatest Oh let me come with knowledge of the nature necessity use and ends of the Ordinance Direct me how to behave my self at and meditate upon those Divine Mysteries that I may not be a blind offerer nor bring a blind offering but offer unto thee a living sacrifice holy acceptable reasonable service that I may receive with understanding discern the Lords Body look into the Mysteries of the Sacrament lest not knowing the meaning Ifeel not the comfort of it but be alienated estranged from thee through the ignorance that is in me That I may eat the Passeover with bitter herbs Godly Sorrow give me a deep sense of my own vileness and unworthiness take away this heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh that I may loath my self in my own sight for mine iniquities and for mine abominations be filled with shame and sorrow hatred and indignation against my self for my offending so good and gracious so loving and bountiful a Father Redeemer and Sanctifier That I may look upon him whom I have pierced and mourn for him with detestation and holy revenge against those my sins that cost him so dear were the cause as well as any other mens of his death and would have cost me damnation abominating them as the scourges and thorns nails and spear thar Afflicted Crucified my dearest Saviour the Lord of Glory The day of mourning for him is at hand oh that I may then slay my most beloved lusts be revenged on them for it and for their endeavouring to rob me of my spiritual Birth-right my eternal Blessedness Let me call to mind and be truly sensible of every sin and of the evil of it and of thine and my Saviour's love manifested to me in his sufferings There where he appears most Bloody let Sin oppear most deadly that I may receive abroken bleeding Christ with a broken contrite Heart a Sacrifice thou wilt not â—espise O God prepare in me that being weary and heavy laden I may be capable of his refreshment being supled in my own tears I may be fitter to be washt in his blood And seeing thou givest thy self only to thy Disciples and Friends New Obedience work in me fresh purposes of amendment that being willing and obedient I may eat the good of the Ordinance Let there be conformity that there may be Communion let me not put that new wine into an old impure but new Heart I cannot Eat the Passeover and stay in Egypt still let me do it with my loyns girt ready to march toward the Promised Land Thou confirmest thy Covenant and expectest I restipulate with thee that I cast out and execrate the old leaven Seeing the Covenant of Grace sealed let me seal a Covenant of Obedience seeing by the merit of Christs death I am purchas'd to be thine by the power of it let me be dead to sin and both receive life and change my life let me bring a wounded heart to and carry wounded sins from thy Table dye to sin seeing Christ dyed for sin let me take him by way of surety and give up my self to him by way of surrender receive him as a Saviour and submit to him as a Prince set my self apart for thee on that Feast of Dedication Let me approach with the most sincere fixed resolutions of an intire resignation and receive such grace and strength from thee as may inable me faithfully to perform them that I may find my self in the number of those to whom my Saviour allows such special manifestations of himself by lifting up the light of his countenance upon them by intimating his good will and love unto them his fulness and righteousness for them as Shows his constant abode with them Let no prophane or unseasonable Thoughts enter into my mind while I am about that Holy Solemnity Purity let me lay aside leave behind me and be kept from all carnal earthly vain Imaginations drive away all drowsiness carelesness slothfulness idle apprehensions that I may wholly contemplate upon and give up my self unto him who sacrific'd his Soul and Body for me and come before thee with such Reverential Hungering Holy Affections as is due to the hand that reacheth to the seal that secureth to the food that strengthneth that spiritual life in us without which we can never be happy O thou that callest me unto thee let thy compassion pitty my vileness let thy mercy pardon my sinfulness let thy grace cleanse my filthiness let thy wisdom enlighten my darkness let thy strength support my weakness adorn me with the wedding garment the righteousness of thy Son and holiness of thy Spirit that all my nakedness may be covered and my great deformities hid from thine eyes pardon me by thy mercy that I may receive thy grace and fit me by thy grace that I may receive thy mercy help me so to accuse my self that thou may'st acquit me so to judge and condemn my self that thou may'st absolve me so to exercise a holy revenge upon my self that thou may'st spare me Let thy Spirit be thy Harbinger to provide entertainment for thy Son in my Soul that he may find â—t swept of sin and garnisht with grace make it day in my Soul by hopes and desires before I there receive the Sun of Righteousness Faith is thy own gift as well as Christ Faith I believe Lord help my unbelief that I may besprinkle my soul and Conscience with his blood not only look upon and remember but close in with and receive him there tendred Eat his flesh and drink his blood apply him as taking on him our nature and giving it as a ransom for sin That I may not stagger at the promise through unbelief but be strong in faith giving Glory to God being fully perswaded that what thou hast promised thou wilt perform When I see Bread and Wine upon the Table let me see Christ there as a feast in token of my reconciliation with thee and on the Cross as a Sacrifice offering up his Body and blood to thee observing the Bread broken let me see Chrirst crucified for and offering himself unto me upon the Wine pouring out let me behold how his blood was poured forth for my sins As I receive Bread and Wine for bodily sustenance
Spiritual life from him that I have of Temporal life from my â—ood and so eat his Body and drink his Blood receive digest and improve â—eed upon and Spiritually apply Christ â—s incarnate and in his sufferings that 〈◊〉 may find refreshment and sweetness â—uickening strength and life from him and may live by him and in him and he in me Oh that by the power of thy spirit accompanying the Ordinance I may partake yet more and more of a new and divine nature that I may find strength and vigour diffused through my whole man and receive some communication of that light and life which Christ came into the world that his People might have and that they might have it more abundantly Oh that his Death and Resurrection may have their power and efficacie upon me crucifying my lusts and passions and raising me up to all the acts of the Spiritual life Oh that something may be done this day against my pride and passion worldliness and carnalitie hipocrisie and uncharitableness doubtings and unbelief distrustful fears and discontents backwardness and indisposition to listlesness dulness and distraction in Dutie Oh that I may find my heart thereby drawn nearer to and carried out with more unweariedness and chearfulness in thy Service Let me come from thence with my pardon sealed my corruptions subdued my graces quickened strengthened and confirmed my heart enlarged my soul refreshed and encouraged to run the waies of thy Commandments and so inseparablie united to thee that no Temptation may be ever able to dissolve the â—union but that being begun here in grace â—it may be perfected in glorie How painful and intoâ—â—erable is the obscuring and interrupting of our Vnion and Communion with Christ our Heaven upon Earth To maintain and increase evidence and enjoy Union and Communion with Christ and him crucified Therein we enjoy his person and all sweet Relations to it his death and all the saving fruits priviledges and influences of it To maintain and encrease evidence and enjoy it I receive the Cup of Blessing which we bless the Communion of the Blood of Christ and the Bread which we break the Communion of the Bodie of Christ to my soul my Faith yea even to my outward Senses signifies seals and instrumentally exhibits my Spiritual Communion with Christ and his Death Thereby I partake of and am strengthned in this Fellowship with him as really as I partake of that Bread and Cup. Oh that he being united to me in these holy Mysteries may comfort rule and direct me in all my ways and his Spirit turn me into the same quality and likeliness Oh that I may there find him whom my soul loveth There are the signs but where the body and blood of my Saviour the Lamb for a sacrifice I go not for the bread and wine but to see Jesus What are the Elements without thy presence Oh what wilt thoâ— give me if I go from thy Table Christless Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth afford expressions of his tender affection and reconciliation to my soul for thy love is better then wine If we forsake Communion with our Fellow-members To maintain and increase Spiritual Union and Communion with Christs Members how can we maintain it with ouâ— Head What need theâ— have I especially noâ— when so many divisions and disagreements of and to that end I come to the Ordinance which tends so much to uniâ—â— and knit together the disjoynted Members of Christ for we being many aâ—â— one Bread and one Body for we aâ—â— partakers of that one Bread and hereby profess to be one and to walk as Fellow-members in Christ with all christian love and tenderness towards one another Oh let my heart be enlarged towards them my delight in them for their relation to thee and thy Image upon them sympathize with have a fellow-feeling of interest my self in their several states and occasions rejoycing with those that rejoyce and weeping with those that weep Seeing thou hast so loved us let me be perfectly reconciled to every man and every spark of anger envy and malice be utterly extinguished remembering he that comes in hatred is a Judas to Christ and a Cain to his Brother Through the death of Christ my sins are pardoned To Commemorate Christs death my reconciliation with God obtained his curse removed the Enemies of my Salvation subdued my eternal Salvation and Inheritance my deliverance from worse then Egyptian Bondage procured the new Covenant established all my mercies purchased conveyed and sanctified yet how unthankful for insensible forgetful of it am I so greatly ungrateful as to burie in oblivion the greatest expression of his infinite love in honour of him to make a solemn rehearsal of his famous Acts to speak of the glorious honour oâ— His Majestie and to talk of his Power I come unto this lasting Monument and Memorial to shew forth his death till he come Oh let me celebrate it with an affectionate fiducial thankful obediential remembrance with a ravished heart filled with a gracious composition of joy and sorrow love and admiration with such resentments as befit so strange an object that I may desire rejoyce mourn and tremble be in such a mixture of passions as may even imitate the confusion that was in the world at his sufferings make such deep and lasting impressions thereof on my soul as if this was the very day he suffered Let me not conclude I have received Christ till I have remembred him so as to affect my heart with love to him desire after him faith and joy in him sorrow for my sins the cause of his suffering Let me think of it as an history to beget my knowledge as a Gospel to beget my Faith as an example to provoke my patience as a benefit to procure my happiness Oh that I may so remember him at his Table on his Cross that he may not forget me on his Throne in his Kingdom Lift up my mind from the contemplation of him as he hung upon the Tree to him as he sits now in Glorie at thy right hand making intercession for me presenting to thee the invaluable merits of his death to appease thee for the sins I commit daily against thee Oh set me as a seal upon thy heart as a seal upon thy arm that I may be never forgotten always remembred preserved kept safely by thee and let me set thee as a seal upon my heart as a seal on my arm receive thy image and impression of thy love keep it thankfully continually on my heart and testifie it in my life By reason of my infirmities carelesness sins To have my personal claim and title to the new Covenant cleared how apt am I to doubt the pardon of them and my interest in thy love The streams of corruption rising up in me interrupt the light and lustre of my future possession and suggest matter of diffidence and anxietie that my hopes hitherto have been
sins oh that none of you might escape here that ye may all lye bleeding as so many Sacrifices at the Altar of my Lord oh let them now feel the weight and sharpness of thy Cross here let them be slain at thy foot that I may not carry away one of them alive How can my Heart refrain from tears of sorrow and joy to think of its unkindness and of his strange love what heart can be so hard as without pain to think we love him no more who put himself to such pains for us Oh how am I troubled that my heart should be so cold when his was so hot with love as to send forth its life-blood for my Redemption and yet when I consider that in this stream of blood my sinful Soul is washed and that by his stripes I am healed that instead of sin and death and Hell deserved Righteousness and life and Heaven is purchased how can I chuse but rejoyce in his love and hope he will accept of my poor acknowledgement who so pardons as might even melt the hardest heart and for ever silence and satisfie it by the love of God and sufficiency of the Sacrifice Oh how am I ravished therewith I am justified by Faith and at peace with God the flames of Hell shall never touch me Death is swallowed up in victory I am consigned to a blessed immortality But oh my Lord I take the boldness to complain unto thee and expostulate with thee how sayest thou that thou lovest me if thou discover thy self no more unto me if I have no more love unto thee no more life from thee if I be so barren and unfruitful towards thee so dull and cold in thy service so unwilling to execute thy commands so weak and unable against assaults if thou be with me who can be against me what can be too hard for me what cannot be done by me through thee O! since it is thy pleasure to be so familiar with me if thou lovest me so much fulfil in me all the good pleasure of thy will and the work of Faith with power Oh let the merit of Christ's death free me from the guilt upon me and his Spirit cleanse me from the stains within me Let holiness to the Lord be written upon my whole Soul and Body that they may be a delectable habitation for thee unite my heart unto thee transform me altogether in thee I put my self out of my own power I accept of and close with thee as my Maker and Preserver Lord and Sovereign Priest and Prophet King and Captain Head and Husband to be ordered disposed provided for by thee I give my hearty consent that thou shouldest dwell within me as the alone Prince of my soul the possession of it I for ever surrender up unto thee I cease to be my own I renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh I profess my acceptance of submission to to place my happiness in and to resign my self wholly unto thee to be provided for disposed of led saved by theē Oh how am I pleased with my choice that I have parted with my self and am become thine How am I beholden to thee that I may give my self unto thee that thou hast brought me into the Bond of the Covenant Oh come dear Redeemer to the price of thy own blood cease thine own and save me assist and strengthen me feed and preserve me never leave me nor forsake me The Cup. COme my beloved now I have drunk thy Cup of wrath pledge me in this Cup of Salvation for which I pierc'd my side I drew this wine on purpose for thee when I trod the wine-press of my Fathers wrath alone This Cup is the New Testament in my blood is a pledge of signifies and represents by representation is my bloud in which the New Testament between God and Man is founded and established confirmed and ratified and by which remission of sins and all other consequent blessings of the New Covenant are purchased It s glorious liberties and immunities I hereby sign and seal unto you a full release and discharge from all your debts from the house of bondage sin the grave and hell Here I deliver yon your Protection from all your Enemies will I save you from the Arrests of the Law from the powers of darkness from the victory of the world from the curse of the Cross none shall prove too hard for you all shall work good unto you I hereby confer upon and instate you in all its royal priviledges and prerogatives behold I give my self to you to be your God and instead of all relations I will be a Friend and Physician a Shepherd Sovereign and Husband unto you to espouse your interest to counsel and heal you to feed and comfort you to watch over and defend you Lo I make over my self to you in all my Essential perfections mine omnipotency shall be your guard my omnisciency your overseer my omnipresence your companion my mercy your store my wisdom your counsellor my justice your revenger and rewarder my holiness a fountain of grace unto you my sovereignty to be commanded by you my infiniteness and all-sufficiency the lot and extent of your inheritance my Faithfulness unchangeableness the rock of your rest and security my eternity the date of your happiness I will be yours in all my personal relations a Father unto you what would my Children have of your Fathers instruction and probation protection and provision care and ear bread and rod heart and house pity and compassion I here assure you my Son and Spirit I give you to cloath and teach you assist and comfort you intercede in and for you sanctifie and save you with my self I give you all things mine Angels for your guardians and attendants my Word and Ordinances Ministers and providences for your guide and good Whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the World or life or death or things present or things to come all are yours And that you may know I am in earnest lo I establish my Covenant with yon ordered in all things and sure written in the blood founded in the all-sufficient merits of your surety in whom I am well-pleased whose death made this Testament unchangeable for ever so that your name can never be blotted out nor your inheritance alienated nor your legacies diminished nothing can be altered I here solemnly deliver it to you as my Act and Deed sealed with the Oath and Blood of God who engages here his own Body for security Come ye blessed fear not the donation is free and full I have received a ransom and expect only you believe know and accept of your own blessedness Here are the conveyances see the seals take the writings behold the blood of the Covenant receive the instruments of your salvation This I give you as a pledge of my love and of the truth of all I have promised I hereby plight you my troth and set to my hand
unto and be a companion of all those that fear the Lord make the liveliest of them my most intimates and upon all occasions improve their fellowship to the best advantage O that I may henceforth behave my self as a stone of the same Building as a branch of the same Vine as a servant of the same Familie as a member of the same Body as a Son of the same Father oh merciful Eternal high Priest let that Sacrifice thou once offeredst on the Cross for the sins of the world which thou doest now and ever represent in Heaven to thy Father by thy never-ceasing intercession which this day hath been exhibited Sacramentally on hy holy Table obtain Mercy and Peace Faith and Love Truth and Unity Safety and establishment Grace Glory and all good things to thy whole Church and let not the gates of Hell ever prevail against it Chear up and comfort thy self against all discouragements Have I worthily received the Lords Supper whatsoever my miseries are this cannot but be a reviving cordial yet my sins are pardoned How little should I be dismayed at any inward or outward troubles let me be fed all my days with the bread and water of affliction I have another bread and cup to sweeten both let her not say she is sick her sins are forgiven I have received an all-sufficient Saviour and seek for nothing in but renounce my self having so much in him How can I any more walk dejectedly that am interested in the New Covenant which with all its promises and priviledges is ratified and confirmed to me what ever I need is to be had here health and recovery from sickness a competant maintenance and support peace deliverance from our enemies content and patience liberty and joy sanctified riches or a chearful poverty and whatsoever is a blessing is purchased for and secured to us And oh that this in all my troubles difficulties addresses to God may quiet me and strengthen my Faith to apprehend him as in Covenant with me that hath engaged himself to be with me in all estates and conditions and to order all things for my advantage I have resigned up my self to him let him do with me what seemeth him good He cannot deny himself all his words are oaths for their certaintie and all his promises the sure mercies of David This Sacrament is that to my particular person which it is in it self and by design to all the world If I receive worthily I shall receive any of those blessings according as God shall chuse for me which shall be not onely with more wisdom but more affection then I can for my self Let me but be void of all care but onely to preserve my Fathers love and I cannot want He whom Almighty Wisdom and Goodness takes a Fatherly care of engages to feed cannot but have enough All things are yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's Nothing is excluded where he is included Keep up earnest longings after this and the eternal Supper of the Lamb. Oh when will the opportunitie return when shall I come again and appear before God when shall I see his power and his glory taste his love and goodness as I have in the Sacrament O that I may still be feasting my Soul on those Heavenly Dainties those spiritual Viands those satisfying pleasures at his Table I think the time long to that day of gladness and rejoycing The King of Glory hath now espoused me to himself by Proxy by his Embassadour the day is hastening when the Marriage shall be publickly triumphantly solemnized and compleated Mount up my Soul and ever stand wishly looking for his appearance never slack thy Watch nor let thy Expectation cool till he take thee to himself where we shall be gathered together where the Bodie is and his Glory presented without an umbrage where he shall lay aside his veil and his amiable countenance be chequer'd with no intermingled frowns intervening clouds or obscure mediums where mysteries shall be turned into revelations the translation into the original commemoration into vision espousal into mutual fruition and embraces sighs and tears into nuptial songs and festivities transient glances into the direct beams of the ever radiant Sun of Righteousness a moments work into an eternity of rest where is satiety without nauseating perfect happiness without care or incumbrance envy or successor alteration or end for every chain a ray of light every tear a pearl every prison a palace every loss the purchase of a Kingdom every affront in Gods Service an eternal honour every hour of sorrow a thousand years of comfort multiplyed with a never ceasing Numeration Where Jobâ— that sate on the Dunghil sits among the Angels Lazarus that lay among the Dogs is lodged in Abrahams bosom the Saints heretofore among the pots walk in white where are riches and pleasures truâ— and real adequate and sutable solid and satisfying lasting and durable where I shall see thee oh infinite Sweetness and Delight without a Veil and live upon thee without a Figure where I shall have not a Sacramental but a Beatificalâ— Communion not wear thy ring but see thy face not remember but behold thee not in Faith but clear and full Fruition Come Love come Lord and that long day For which I languish come away When this dry Soul those Eyes shall see And drink the unseal'd source of thee When Glory's Sun Faith's shade shall chace Then for thy Veil give me thy Face AN APPENDIX TO THE Devout Communicant CONTAINING More particular Directions and Meditations for the time of Receiving with a Prayer before and after A Prayer at home before the Sacrament ETernally Blessed and infinitely Glorious Lord God! Thou art greatly to be feared in the Assembly of thy Saints and to be had in reverence of all that draw nigh unto thee Look down from Heaven the habitation of thy Holiness and Glory in much mercy pity and tender compassion upon me A vile sinful despicable Creature prostrate at thy Footstool unworthy to look up unto thy Throne or to receive any thing at thy hands but thy wrath and severe displeasure I am less then the least of all thy Mercies and liable to the severest of thy Judgments by reason of the pollution and sinfulness of my Nature Heart and Life I am of the degenerate Posterity of fallen Adam and have all the powers faculties and members of my Soul and Body defiled with sin I have sinned in every Age in every Relation in every Condition in every imployment of my Life I have distrusted thy Word disregarded thy Calls slighted thy Judgments abused thy Mercies turned thy Grace into Wantonness rejected the tenders of thy Love resisted the motions of thy Holy Spirit the checks of my own Conscience and followed the motions of my own evil Heart I have dishonoured thy Name prophaned thy Sabbaths polluted thy Ordinances been unthankful for thy Benefits impatient under Afflictions unfaithful to my promises mis-spent my time neglected
my Duty walked unanswerable to those multiplied obligations laid upon me broken all thy holy Commandments by many and great transgressions made and judged my self unworthy of everlasting life * Here mention your particular failings so that nothing might remain unto me but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation to devour me But thou delightest in mercy and not in the death of a sinner art not willing any should perish but that all should come to repentance Oh take not counsel of thy just indignation but of thy native goodness thy satisfi'd justice Wilt thou destroy him that presents himself to be punished and thy Son to have satisfied that desires not to live unless it be by the benefit of thy mercy and his sufferings Wilt thou not spare me for thy Son who sparedst not thy Son for me Is there not enough in his Merits and Sacrifice to expiate all my sins and to justifie my person in thy sight O suffer not thy self to be deprived of the glory of my forgiveness and salvation as well as of my creation and redemption Save me whom thou hast hitherto spared and forgive me eternal death which I have so often merited by my great offences Bury them all in the bottomless Ocean of thy own Mercy and forgetfulness and my Saviours Blood lay them upon him who is able to bear them and cloath me with his righteousness that is able to cover me Oh free me from the guilt and stain the power and penalty the reign and dominion of sin that nothing may separate me from thy love nor from the sensible discoveries of it at thy Table That I may be a meet and worthy Receiver accept me into thy favour let thy mercy pardon my sins thy grace sanctifie my soul thy goodness supply my wants thy merits inrich my poverty thy precious blood wash away all my spots thy Holy Spirit prepare and direct and assist me Take away my filthy garments my spiritual filthiness and cloath me with the best robe the Lord our righteousness Oh think me worthy for his sake and make me worthy for thy mercy-sake Deal not with me according to my deserts but thy great goodness and my great necessity Let me so remember my sins that thou mayest forget them set them so before my face that thou mayest cast them behind thy back Give me such a lively steadfast Faith in Christ for forgiveness that thou mayest seal it up unto my soul Let me love him and all his members with a pure heart fervently at thy holy Communion and ever after without dissimulation So enlarge my Soul with spiritual affections and desires that it may even break for the longings it hath unto that Ordinance and unto thy Testimonies at all times Remove far from me all blindness of mind hardness of heart unrelenting affections deadness and indisposedness earthliness and distraction irreverence unbecoming apprehensions whatsoever may hinder the blessing and efficacy of that soul-nourishing refreshing Ordinance thy gracious presence my eternal salvation Create in me an understanding heavenly clean heart O God and renew an humble contrite right spirit within me prepared for thee Oh be not as a stranger unto me hide not thy self from me lift up the light of thy countenance upon me Let me feel the comfortable breathings of thy Holie Spirit in my Soul at thy Ordinance sanctifie it to me and me to receive it acceptably with due preparation and apprehensions reverence and humility repentance and faith love and charity joy and thankfulness a deep sense of thy inexpressible love and my own unworthiness And oh that all of us who this day approach thy Table may so eat his flesh which he hath given for the life of the World that we may live for ever and so drink his blood that it may be to us for remission of sins Meet us not in our selves in thy justice as a consuming fire but a reconciled Father in thy righteous and beloved Son whom thou gavest who gave himself for us when we were thy enemies Let us depart thence more under the power of thy love and grace and under greater resolutions and abilities to do thee faithful service all our dayes through Jesus Christ our Sacrifice and Redemption Hope and Confidence Surety and Advocate the Food and Health the Life and Salvation of our Souls who hath taught us when we pray to say Our Father c. As soon as ever the Sermon is ended look towards the Lords Table and say within your selves THis Sacrament I am going to is a standing Memorial of my Saviour's Passion wherein he once offered up Himself to God and a Sign of that nourishing and strengthning Grace which he now offers to me under the notion of Food It is the true meanes and instrument of conveying on me those Blessings and signifies that which by its proper Institution it represents In the making and ordering of those Elements see consider O my Soul the heavy Blows and Bruises the Pressures Piercings Pains and Sufferings of thy Saviour from his Father and wicked men The malice and violence of his Murderers crucified Him as a Malefactor and the fierie wrath of God made him a Burnt Sacrifice and under both these Sufferings He is become to me Meat indeed and Drink indeed the stay and support the comfort refreshment and life of my Soul nourishing and preserving it to eternal life That Bread and Wine could never sustain and nourish me if the one had not fallen into the Earth under the Sickle the Flail the Mill-stone and the Fire the other under the Hook and the Press of the Husbandman nothing less then the Cross the Wounds the Death of my Lord my God of his dearest Son made me a Saviour and by this Sacrament assures me I shall be kept up and fed with a supplie of all necessarie Blessings as certainlie as he gives me to taste that Bread and Wine the ordinarie meanes for preserving my life and strength Whilest we condemned Creatures were passing on to our Execution the Son of God looked upon us and took our Condemnation upon Himself and under it died in our stead Thus by the death and satisfaction of this Sacrifice Justice gave way to my Release God the Father forgave my Sin and God the Son procured my Life Then fall upon your Knees with all imaginable Reverence and say LEt the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer Most gracious God who of thy great goodness hast ordained this Ordinance for a continual Remembrance ofâ— hat ever prevailing Sacrifice which thy infinite Wisdom and Love hast appointed and accepted upon the Cross for us vile helpless wretched Sinners make us truely sensible of all our offences against thee and of his Love and Sufferings for us and accept us in Him to the Praise of thy Grace Rebuke all unseasonable thoughts and imaginations stir up and act in us
so cause me to feed on digest improve his body and blood having the same expectation of Spiritual and Eternal life from him that I have of temporal life from my food Let me eat not only the Bread of the Lord but the Bread which the Lord that as by my senses I receive â—he Elements to my Corporal so by faith 〈◊〉 may receive and apply him to my Spiriâ—â—al nourishment Let the Ordinance be a â—â—vely resemblance remembrance and â—pplication of the sufferings and earnest of the Supper of the Lamb. Let Christ be 〈◊〉 lively set forth as if Crucified before by eyes dying for me that beholding â—mbracing and even putting my fingers â—nto the print of his nails and feet and â—hrusting my hand into his side so fully â—erswaded of his suffering for me that I â—â—ay not be faithless but believing saying â—y Lord and my God he loved me and â—ave himself for me my beloved is mine â—nd I am his O that I may so touch him â—s may find and feel strength peace virâ—ue come from him and be healed of all â—â—y uncleanness that they may not be â—nto death but unto the glory of thy â—ercyâ— in pardoning and grace in purifying 〈◊〉 polluted a Wretch That it may be he food the feast of my graces the poiâ—â—on the funeral of my corruptions Let â—â—e so feed on his blessed Bodie and bathe â—â—y soul in his pretious Blood that my Soul may magnifie the Lord and mâ—â— Spirit rejoyce in God my Saviour whoâ—â— having not seen I may love in whâ—â— though now I see him not yet believing 〈◊〉 may rejoyce with joy unspeakable and fuâ—â— of glory Circumcise my Heart to loâ—â— thee with all my Soul Love and witâ— all my strength Let my hearâ— be ravisht with this infinite merciâ—â— in thee to sinful miserable man in cotriving and giving so glorious a Reddeemer and Redemption to save him and now in presenting us with such special Seals of his love and admitting uâ—â—â— into so near so holy a Communion 〈◊〉 For this let me be dissolv'd into lovâ— to thee and thy Son and to man foâ— his sake and into a steadfast vow of lifâ— and death to thy service that I will give and forgive do and suffer any thing foâ— thee Let me be fill'd with holy raptures joys and hopes in so great a goodness who having done this will deâ—â— me nothing and maugre the rage and malice of hell not see my soul lost foâ— whom all this is done Oh let me meet with strong endearments of Affections melting and flowing over toâ—ards thee languishing with desires enjoy thee even turn'd into made 〈◊〉 of love for thee that I may be the â—isciple whom thou lovest and laid in â—y bosom Oh deal with me as thou â—ften dost with those that draw near to â—â—ee though I burn not with so hot a â—ame yet through thy grace I crave it â—f thee that I may participate with â—nd be numbred among such fervent â—overs If I cannot say I am sick of Love â—et am sick that I cannot love thee â—here wilt thou give me thy love â—dmission to more familiar fellowship â—earâ—r manifestation sensible feeling â—nd assurance of thy love and affectiâ—n unto me that I am beloved of â—hee Give me grace to love the Lord â—esus in sincerity let him dwell in my â—eart by Faith and Love that being â—â—oted and grounded in Love I may be â—ble to comprehend with all Saints â—hat is the breadth and length and â—epth and heighth and to know the â—ove of Christ which passes knowledge â—hat the remembrance of him may pierce â—e with grief transport me with love captivate my will engage all my affections to him and for him And let me knoâ— I am passed from death to life because love the Brethren Shed abroad thâ— love in my cold frozen heart and inflaâ—â— it with fervent affection to thee and thing While my love is burning towards thâ— self oh how can it chuse but be imparâ—â— to thy Friends who sincerely love theâ— and on whom thou hast set thy heart arâ—shed thy love thy spirit whereby the are made like unto thee They mâ—â— needs be lovely in my eyes to whoâ— Christ is pretious Oh let me not conâ—â— to this Love-feast with a bitter but chanâ—â— table spirit Purge out therefore tâ—â— old leven of malice which will sow the Ordinance to me Oh that our Fâ—ther in Heaven may look down upon 〈◊〉 children feasting together in mutual loâ—â— and delight in the remembrance of 〈◊〉 that love he hath shewn us and joyâ—â— expectation of what further he hath pâ—â—mised to us Let me not sit sad aâ— dejected Joy and Thanksgiving as if I liked 〈◊〉 the provision or though my self not welcom Maâ—â— this real magnificent solemn sumptuous Feast these Celestial Viands wherewith thou feedest thy people by thy gracious comfortable discoveries of thy self a spiritual banquet unto my soul a feast of fat things a feast of wine on the lees of fat things full of marrow of wine on the lees well refin'd Do not onely stand and knocks but open the door of my heart vouchsafe to come in and abide with me that there may be a chearful comfortable converse sup with me and let me sup with thee that I may be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house feel and find abundance of soul-satisfaction reached out to me in the Ordinance and do thou make me drink of the River of thy pleasure quench my thirst after carnal and let me be fill'd with Divine pleasures ravishments and contentments flowing from the inexhaustible fountain of Divine plentie Let my soul be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth praise thee with joyful lips Let me come before thee with thanksgiving and praise thee with my whole heart Let there be Angels work at Angels food make me joyful in thy house of prayer By and for him let me offer the Sacrifice of Praise to God the fruit of my lips giving thanks unto his Name in the great Congregation and Praise thee among much People Thou art ready to give bread to the hungry to fill them with good things Spiritual Thirst and the water of life to him that is athirst Thou art not straitned in thy self but I am straitned in my own bowels the desire and the meat the necessity and relief are all from thee Oh thou that providest Food give also a stomach bid and make me welcom say eat oh Friend drink yea drink abundantly oh Beloved Oh create and stir up in me earnest longings and a Spiritual appetite that I may come to be made partaker of the good things thou hast prepared for me with enlarged affections and longing desires after answerable to my need of the Ordinance and Christ offered in it as full nourishment for my Soul under the forms of Bread and Wine and with strong expectations to receive him and his benefits with desire let me desire to eat this Passeover
among worse as well as died among â—hieves Blessedness is made not earth â—nely but wo to bring earth from wo to â—lessedness Behold him now O my soul hanging â—pon the Cross and thy sins putting him â—nto that gore saying Weep not for me â—hat endures it but weep for your selves â—hat causes it read in me the cruelty of â—our sins see how barbarously they have â—sed me how miserably I am torn and wounded by you how many thorns in this Crown of thorns are your sins how my blood with my warmest love runs out to fetch you home to God Oh my head my side my hands and my feet Look through these gaping wounds into my heart pierc'd first by love and then by a spear for you Was ever any sorrow or love like unto mine Can I do more then die for you Will you not be perswaded what an evil and bitter thing sin is unto me Do you not see how it rakes into my side and tears my very heart how greedily it sucks my blood Behold the pits it diggeth the very print of its nails see the very place where it hath thrust its spear Canst thou hug and embrace bloody Parricides shew any kindness to so deadly an enemy harbour them that have used me thus You say You are my friends will you not take my part against them Have not all these wounds mouths enough to persvvade you to fall out vvith sin Would you have me used thus again Could you find in your heart to see me once more upon a Gibbet Will you tear open my wounds crucifie me afresh Else why can you not be prevail'd with by this sight Why do you not spit in the face of your sins do all the despight you can unto revenge me perfectly upon them â—ail them unto my Cross if you would have me embrace you O how ought my Adamantine heart to rend in pieces when all thy tortures and grones are for are from us And yet as if once were not sufficient how often do we joyn with those that crucifie thee afresh By hypocrisie we bend the knee with ludibrious devotion saying Hail King of the Jews By presumption we put a Reed in thy hand We smite and buffet thee with the works of darkness saying Prophesie who smote thee By Prophaneness we spit in thy face the filth of our rotten hearts By Sacriledge we cast lots for thy garments By Schism we divide thy seamless Coat which the rude Soldiers did not By popularity we wash our hands as innocent and to please men condemn thee By unhallowed cups we give thee gall to drink By Superstition betray thee vvith a kiss and despise thee vvith seeming honour By Apostacy deny forswear thee By Heresie rack and disjoynt thee By the roareâ— laughs and scoffs oaths and blasphemies tear and rend thee By any common sin we prefer Barabba before thee O weâ—â— thy pains so light that we must every day redouble them Is this the kindness the entertainment thou deservest the recompence of thine inestimable love thus cruelly to vex and wound thee O how can we hope to find Redemption by thy Blood while we continue by our horrid crimes to make new gashes in thy side to rub thy wounds afresh and cause them to stream anew that were even closed up before an act more Jewish then the Jews Oh! I sigh unto thee for want of grief for thy grievous sufferings Oh that I could turn my self into tears that I might wash the wounds I have made seeing thou diedst for my sins how ought I to despise my self who have so cruelly offended and tormented thee the very party whose offences have brought those miserable torments and death upon thee Oh how must this needs irreconcile and engage me to pursue them to death that in the eye of all the world brought so great shame and pain and amazement on the Lord of Life and Glory Come along with me Oh ye vile ye sinful passions and corrupt affections into his presence if ye dare live so long and there receive your mortal wound from him Methinks you should begin to die at the very thoughts of a dying Redeemer and swoun away at the sight of yonder Blood and not stay till you come to his Cross but give up the Ghost before you see but the image his death do you not feel the power of it afar off doth not his pierced side pierce your heart before you behold it Oh ye bloody things what have ye done what wounds have you made in the Bodie of my Lord lay your necks quietly on the block prepare your selves for death which is approaching nay never struggle nor resist think not to live any longer for I have vow'd you in sacrifice to him And now what remains Ends in going but that I renew a quick and lively sense of the ends of this Rite and of mine in going and what lies hid under the Ceremonie Oh my Soul whither art thou going What is that Table which I see yonder spread for us and what is thy chief design in going to it what means that broken bread that is provided for vvhat end vvas that body Crucified do men use to drink a cup of Blood Oh let me knovv the bottom of this mysterie let me enter into this secret and my ovvn heart's Renouncing my own Righteousness and Preparation in his name merits mediation strength and righteousness in obedience to thy command and thy follovvers practice to renevv my Covenant vvith thee to commemorate and be affected vvith his death to ovvn and encrease my Spiritual Union and Communion vvith him and his members to further my joy in the Holy Ghost peace of Conscience and hopes of Eternal Life for the nourishment of my Soul to get povver against my sins to act and excite and strengthen my graces to make fresh applications of his blood to have the Covenant of Grace vvith all its blessings sealed unto me I go unto thy Table O stir up in me thirsting desires after strong expectations to receive these blessed ends and benefits and do thou make them good unto me Oh how weak To strengthen my Inner man how imperfect are my Graces I see and know but in part so love obey believe but in part Oh how many temptations adversaries difficulties assault me How seldom have I a will to do good and when I would do good evil is present with me All I have â—an or am is from thee so due unto thee but all still unworthy of thee yet how heart-bound is that little all of service I do thee I pray as if afraid to be heard bear as if unwilling to be saved communicate as if loth to receive thee serve thee as if I would not please thee To that end I go to the Lords Supper sutable and sufficient to nourish my inner man where â—re rendred most familiarly and effectually his Flesh and Blood meat and drink indeed Oh that I may have such â—xpectations of
and blood oh my soul drowned not his affections to us his Compassion brake through his passion in the same night which was so full of anguish and dolor to his Soul wherein he was betray'd when death was in sight and all those unspeakable fears and sorrows terrors and sufferings were ready to invade him when his Disciples were readie to betray forsake deny him injuries from men readie to load him and the Justice of God upon sin to be demonstrated on him he then even forgot his own misereies to remember and dispense his meries to us and provide this Banquet for us continually to present himself to us lest after he had endured so much for us we should forget or distrust his love unto us Oh how was he burned between two fires the fire of his Affections to us and that of his Afflictions for us At that time wherein men were designing the greatest cruelty against him was he bestowing the greatest courtesie and gift on us himself leaving us a Legacie a pledge at parting of his dearest love stronger then death that held him on the cross to finish our Salvation when death could not hold him in the grave Before he gave himself to be crucified for us he provides an ordinance the means of his communicating himself to us he gives us in the Sacrament what he did and gave prepared and purchased for us on the cross Oh the infinite love of God that he would give his own Son and of Christ that he would so graciously come and save us and leave us those remembrances and tokens of his love that he should die for us when he was on earth be so mindful of and nourish us with himself now he is in Heaven Oh wonderful misterie that the Bodie of Christ now reigning in Heaven should be laid upon the Table that the Author of life should become the Bread of life that under the broken form of bread and wine whole Christ should be conveyed to everie Believer His Personal Union is with the single nature but his Mystical with every Believer This Sacrament is the representative of the Substance the sign of a Covenant the seal of a Purchase the figure of a Body the witness of our Faith the earnest of our Hope the presence of things distant the sight of things absent the taste of things unconceivable the knowledge of things that are past knowledge a seal of our Saviours engraving whose superscription is Christ's loving us whose Image is Christ dying for us whose deed is Christs New Testament confirmed to us in the sign we have the Image in the seal the benefit of Christ's Body in the sign we see in the seal we by Faith receive him The Bread and Wine are but the dishes in which this Feast not of the belly but mind is served up not the Feast it self Faith eats not the Bread but the breaking of it drinks not the Wine but the pouring of it forth The eating Christs flesh and drinking his blood is nothing else but an act of Faith terminated upon him as our Mediator and Redeemer The participation of his Body and Blood for strength and refreshment sweet to Faith as meat and drink is to hunger could not be better shadow'd forth then by the staff of Bread and Wine comprising all sorts of Spiritual provision for our inner man and Faith is to the Soul what Natural hear is to the body by virtue of which the Nutritive Faculty turns the food into nourishment They present and confirm Christ to us as the most needful beneficial and perfect nourishment of the New man as Bread and Wine are such unto the Body i. e. that Christ crucified preserves us from Eternal death and is unto us the Fountain of Spiritual and Eternal life Believe and thou hast eaten Christ is present with but not in the Bread and Wine but to the faithful Receiver not in the Elements but to the Communicants not water but washing with it is Baptism not Bread and wine on the Table are a Sacrament but eating and drinking them which if they be acts of Faith the hand and mouth of the soul the Bread and Wine as really convey and unite whole Christ with the vital influences that proceed from him to the Soul as the hand doth them to the mouth or the mouth to the stomach Whatsoever we may expect of bodily strength or reparation from Bread and Wine we may expect from Christ for our Soul life maintained grace quickened deadness enlivened resolutions enabled hope erected faith strengthened lusts subdued which is consequent upon our union with Christ and interest in the Covenant renewed and ratified to his people by Christs death and sealed to them in the Sacrament In the Word we have a promise here a pawn or pledge of him Lift up your heads therefore O ye gates of my Soul and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors and the King of Glorie shall come in And be assured such additions of grace as thou art fitted for and Infinite Wisdom sees meet to deal out shall be conferred upon thee Fear not I charge thee do not faint let not thy weakness thy povertie thy inabilitie discourage thee all have not Talents alike a Faith richly embroidered with love and delight is not given to all and expected onely from those to whom it is given Be thy attire whole sincere clean and white free from spots of the flesh and Spirit though not so perfumed with heaven as thy Brethren thou wilt be welcome Thy God and Saviour will not ask How camest thou hither not having on a Wedding-garment he knows thy heart and sees thou hast it He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoking Flax till he send forth judgment unto victorys What manner of guests were those he commanded to be brought in to the Wedding Supper but such as were found in the streets and lanes the Hedges and high wayes the poor and the maimed the lame the halt and the blind hunger-starved forlorn undone lost wretches Oh blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee that they may dwell in thy Courts We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy House even of thy holy Temple At the Lords Table WHat shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto him now in the presence of all his people Come forth oh my graces stir up your selves stand ye lively and active before the Lord. Awake my Faith and see the Attonement of my sins in the broken body of my Saviour the price paying the ransom laid down the thing in doing Awake Repentance and hear the strong cries and see the doleful Agonies of him that bore our chastisements Awake my Memory and call to mind that Egypt wherein I was and the Blood of the Passover which removed the Destroying Angel from my Soul Now