Lesson therefore as He advises of becoming like little Children throughly be planted in the hearts of Children and then Knowledg in other parts of Scripture will grow up with them and Faith thus planted in humility while their hearts are tender and easy to be wrought on by this plain and familiar Precept will take deep root and increase more and more as they do in strength and stature For though at the first their Faith be but as a grain of Mustard-seed yet having in the Spring time got the start of Pride and desire of worldly wealth or greatness it will afterward flourish in all heavenly knowledge and fructify in every good word and work VI. And above all other pieces of Humility it is absolutely necessary that Children be brought up to a great reverence of God's Ministers and a high opinion of their Calling Place and Persons If Parents or Guardians would teach them to honour them as their spiritual Fathers and to look upon them as men appointed by God to take care of their best part their immortal Souls and to bring Divine blessings to them If they would tell them Children these are the men by whom you are baptized and made Christians by these you must therefore be instructed and confirmed also in Religion and assured more and more of God's blessing it would have a mighty effect upon them and dispose them for all the good they may hereafter reape by them Whereas those words of reproach or undervaluing which they now daily hear must needs have the quite contrary effect or at least for want of such Admonitions and frequent inculcating the respect honour and esteem which is due to God's Ministers they mind so little what they say that when they become capable of it they receive no benefit by them A short Prayer tor the Morning ALmighty God and most mercifull Father I most humbly bow down my self before Thee to worship thy Divine Majesty by whom I was brought into the world and have been preserved and provided for all my life long and now this last night blessed be thy Goodness protected from all Dangers and raised up in health and safety to see the light of another day I thank Thee O Lord for these and all the rest of thy Mercies especially for thy singular Love in Christ Jesus beseeching Thee to awaken and preserve in me such a lively sense thereof that I may never prove ungratefull to Him but constantly doe Him all faithfull service Particularly this day I earnestly implore the assistence of his Holy Spirit to inable me to keep those Vows that are upon me not to follow nor be led by worldly and carnal Lusts but to obey thy holy Will and Commandments and to walk in the same all the days of my life Help me Good Lord in my place and condition to perform my Duty towards Thee and towards my Neighbour with such care fidelity and chearfulness that I may with some confidence present my self again before Thee in the Evening and comfortably hope for thy continued good Providence over me To which I humbly recommend thy Church and Houshold beseeching Thee to keep it in thy true Religion and to defend it evermore by thy mighty Power through Jesus Christ our Lord. In whose most blessed Name and words I still beseech Thee to be mercifull to me and to all thy people saying Our Father c. A short Prayer for the Evening I Thank Thee O Lord of Heaven and Earth that by thy mercifull Providence I am here prostrate again before Thee not onely in health and safety of body but in integrity of heart I hope and with sincere purposes to continue always thy faithfull Servant Pardon O most mercifull Father whatsoever I have done or omitted this day contrary to my resolutions and obligations Pitty my great weaknesses and accept of my honest endeavours to keep a good Conscience void of offence towards Thee and towards Man Which that I may doe every day better and better vouchsafe me the assistence of thy special Grace to strengthen me in the performance of all my Duty That where I have been wont to slip I may be more watchfull and where I have been negligent I may use the greater diligence and so continue thy Child a lively Member of Christ and an Inheritour of thy heavenly Kingdom And hear the Prayers of thy whole Church which have been made this day for every member of the same especially for our Sovereign Lord the KING for all that minister under him in holy or civil things for all that are distressed in mind body or estate beseeching Thee to dispense thy Graces and Blessings to every one of them sutable to their several necessities And be my mercifull Protectour all this night and after a refreshing Rest raise me up again in the morning with a thankfull heart to Thee for thy care over me fully resolved continually to mortify all my evil and corrupt Affections and daily to proceed in all Vertue and Godliness of living through Jesus Christ our Saviour In whose Name and words I commend my self to thy mercy saying Our Father c. A Prayer for one of riper years before the receiving of Baptism O Lord the Creatour of the World and Redeemer of Mankind I fall down before Thee to acknowledge that I am thine and to beseech Thee though I have offended Thee to receive me into thy service again Pardon good Lord all the Follies of my Childhood with all the Sins Negligences and Ignorances of my riper years Let them all be done away in that Fountaïn which Thou hast set open for us to wash in and be clean I desire to be admitted thither and intend there to devote my self intirely to Thee renouncing the Devil the World and the Flesh and resolving obediently to keep thy holy will and Commandments and to walk in the same all the days of my life Vouchsafe me O Lord the assistence of thy Holy Spirit that I may both seriously make and faithfully keep those holy Vows and Promises Preserve in me a perpetual remembrance of them that I may never by any Sin lose so great a Grace as Thou intendest to bestow upon me but always continue a lively Member of Christ and an Heir of his heavenly Kingdom To which I beseech Thee at last to bring me through the Merits of Christ Jesus Amen A Prayer for one that intends to be Confirmed O Most Blessed God by whose grace I was called into a state of Salvation when I was Baptized and from whom cometh every good thought desire and purpose which I have since felt in my heart Assist me I beseech Thee in the new dedication which I am going to make of my self unto Thee whose I am and resolve to be to the end of my days Fill me O Lord with such a lively sense of the honour Thou doest me in admitting me into thy Service that I may give up my self not onely with the full but with the most chearfull consent of my heart to believe and doe whatsoever Thou wouldst have me And then be pleased to confirm me in thy Grace and to strengthen me with might by thy Holy Spirit in the inner man that I may ever discern and chuse and follow those things which are acceptable in thy sight Arm me good Lord against all the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil with a will stedfastly resolved never to yield to any of them but to persist faithfully in the performance of my Vow which was made in my name when I was baptized and which I now intend with my own mouth to ratify openly before 〈◊〉 Church Whose devout Prayers I beseech Thee to hear for me through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer after Confirmation ALmighty and everliving God who hast vouchsafed to regenerate me by Water and the Holy Ghost and also 〈◊〉 farther certified me 〈…〉 the hands of thy Minister lately laid on me of thy Favour and gracious Goodness towards me Accept I most humbly beseech Thee of my hearty thanks for such great and undeserved Benefits and continue in me those good thoughts desires and purposes which I found then in my heart to persist in faithfull Obedience to Thee for ever For which end be pleased daily to impart unto me more and more of the Holy Spirit to preserve me in thy fear and love and to inable me to doe all the rest of my Duty not onely towards Thee but towards my Neighbour Especially to those by whom as thy Stewards thy heavenly Mysteries are conveyed to us that reverently attending to their Instructions and receiving their godly Admonitions and obediently following their Guidance and direction I may be finally owned for one of thy good and faithfull Servants at that Day when the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls shall appear again to our Salvation To Him with Thee O Father and the Holy Ghost be eternal praises Amen They that need Prayers for other particular occasions may be furnished in a Book called the Devout Christian c. THE END The Contents Chap. I. Of the Duty pag. 1. Chap. II. Of the Necessity of this Duty p. 7. Chap. III. Of the Ends for which it was instituted p. 14. Chap. IV. Of Preparation for it p. 23. Chap. V. A Prayer for that morning when you intend to receive Which may be used any time before p. 39. Chap. VI. The manner of Receiving p. 46. Chap. VII Meditations and Prayers afterward p. 81. Chap. VIII Directions for a godly Life sutable to this holy Communion p. 99. Chap. IX Touching Doubts and Scruples p. 114. Chap. X. Directions in case of frequent Relapses into Sin p. 127. Chap. XI The Duties of Children p. 138. Chap. XII The Dutier of Servants p. 147. Chap. XIII Advices to all Young persons p. 158. Chap. XIV Directions about them that cannot reade p. 168. Chap. XV. Directions to those that can reade p. 179. Chap. XVI A necessary qualification to receive benefit by all this p. 203. A short Prayer for the Morning p. 213. A short Prayer for the Evening p. 216. A Prayer for one of riper years before the receiving of Baptism p. 221. A Prayer for one that intends to be Confirmed p. 224. A Prayer after Confirmation p. 227. The End
reverently to all my betters to hurt no body by word or deed to be true and just in all my dealing to bear no malice nor hatred in my heart to keep my hands from picking and stealing and my tongue from evil speaking lying and slandering to keep my body in temperance soberness and chastity not to covet nor desire other mens goods but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living and to doe my duty in that state of life unto which it shall please God to call me All these things you promised with your own mouth before God and his People when you was confirmed that you would be carefull to observe and must therefore make this the constant Rule of your life and call upon God by diligent Prayer for his speciall Graces without which you will not be able to serve Him Which if you doe sincerely then III. I would advise you every evening before you go to sleep to take some time to think how well you have kept your Resolution and observed this Rule And where you find you have faln short of it or done contrary to it to make a new Resolution to be more carefull the next day And if you be able to set down in writing those Negligences or breaches of your Covenant with God when you take notice of them you will have the less to doe when the opportunity of communicating approacheth For then IV. Lastly you can with much ease examine your selves before the Communion and have a full account of your life and conversation ready at hand About which you will be lamentably puzzled and long in drawing it up if you do not constantly make some observation how things go with you but in this Method shall be able presently and without any perplexity to understand certainly and clearly in what case you are And so you have nothing farther to doe by way of Preparation to the Sacrament but onely first sorrowfully to bewail your Sinfulness and to confess your selves to Almighty God and that secondly with a full purpose of Amendment of life and of greater diligence and watchfulness hereafter especially in those particulars wherein you have miscarried For sorrowfull Confession and Affliction of spirit for your Sins is not sufficient but must end in this unfeigned Resolution And if you find thirdly that your Offences are not onely against God but also against your Neighbours then as you are directed in the Communion-Service to reconcile your selves unto them Being ready to make restitution and satisfaction according to the utmost of your powers for all injuries and wrongs done by you to any other and being ready likewise to forgive others that have offended you as ye would have forgiveness of your offences at God's hand When all this is done then you ought not to discourage your selves with a fancy of your Unworthiness to partake of that Holy Table to which you are invited For you will always be unworthy in the strictest sense of the word but are really worthy in God's account when you are thus disposed and sensible at the best of your unworthiness of such great Blessings as God of his goodness is desirous to bestow upon you CHAP. V. A Prayer for that morning when you intend to receive Which may be used any time before BEsides those usuall Prayers wherein you constantly recommend your self to God and give him thanks for his daily benefits it will be fit to make a particular application of your self to Him for his gracious assistence and his blessing upon you in that holy Duty after this manner O Lord I most humbly abase my self before Thee confessing that I am unworthy of any of those mercies which I enjoy in common with the rest of thy Creatures For I have too much forgotten Thee my Creatour and Jesus Christ my Redeemer whom I have many ways offended either through ignorance or negligence or wilfull sins Here mention the particulars out of your daily observations And yet so great is thy Goodness Thou art pleased to give me an opportunity to partake of thy extraordinary love and kindness in thy dear Son the Lord Jesus For I am invited by his Minister to come and feast with Him at his Table by a thankfull Commemoration of the offering He made of his own Body and Bloud upon the Cross for us And I am very desirous to go if Thou wilt but be pleased graciously to pardon all my past offences either against Thee or against my Neighbour and to accept of my hearty sorrow for them and unfeigned resolution to doe my endeavour to amend them O be mercifull unto me be mercifull unto me I most humbly beseech Thee for the sake of Jesus Christ who died for me And though I am unworthy so much as at any time to approach into thy presence yet do not reject me now but permit me to come even unto thy holy Table For which if I am in any measure prepared it is to be ascribed to thy grace which hath wrought such good dispositions in me and therefore will I hope still so assist me that I may not be an unwelcome guest unto Thee but be filled with such a lively sense of thy Love to me and with such a sincere and ardent Love to Thee and with such satisfaction of heart in being one of thy Servants that I may be more sorrowfull then ever that I have offended Thee and more stedfastly resolved to be strictly obedient to Thee And O most gracious God let me find I beseech Thee all such godly Resolutions in me more confirmed and strengthned by the heavenly Food Thou hast prepared for me O that as I stand already engaged by former Vows which I have upon me so I may faithfully and chearfully obey thy holy will in all things and daily increase in thy holy Spirit more and more untill I come to thy everlasting Kingdom Hear me O Lord and help me so to perform my Duty in every part of that holy action which I am going to doe in remembrance of my Saviour that I may not onely at present rejoyce in his Love to me but be excited thereby to doe the rest of my Duty better and with more delight all the days of my life Which I humbly beg through his Merits and Mediation to whom with Thee O Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour glory and praise both now and for evermore Amen CHAP. VI. The manner of Receiving THUS I have led you to the Holy Communion and now you will expect I should instruct your behaviour there I know no plainer or more natural method then to direct you what to doe in every part of that Divine Service When the Sermon therefore is done and you are conveniently placed that you may lose no time while the Minister is making himself ready and the Congregation that doth not receive is dismissing repeat the Prayer above written or some part of it When you see the Minister going up to officiate say Blessed
be the Lord for his Ministers the Stewards of the Mysteries of God especially for those faithfull and wise Stewards whom the Lord hath made Rulers over his houshold to give them meat in due season XXIV Matth. 45. 1 Cor. IV. I. When he begins the Offertory say Let every one of our Prayers together with our Alms and Oblations come up for a memorial before the Lord whose holy Angels I believe are present at these Solemnities A poor Servant may adde The Lord accept of my poor Mite who have little to offer but my self and all that I can doe which I dedicate to his service Then awaken your self to accompany the Minister in the Prayer for the whole state of Christ's Church c. and attend diligently to the following Exhortation which begins with these words Dearly beloved in the Lord which the Minister ought to speak and you hear with much affection Then joyn as heartily and earnestly as you are able in the General Confession and receive the Absolution with the comfortable words of Christ and his Apostles that follow after as you would do the most joyfull news in the world stirring up your selves as the Minister exhorts you when he saith Lift up your hearts to bless and praise the Lord together with all the Heavenly host for such everlasting consolation and good hope as He hath given us through his grace in Christ Jesus For those precious Promises ought to be sweeter to you as the Psalmist speaks then the honey and the honey-comb far dearer then thousands of gold and silver And now you may be assured though unworthy to gather the crums under his Table that receiving the Creatures of Bread and Wine according to Christ's institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion you shall be partakers of his most blessed Body and Bloud Unto to which words in the Prayer of Consecration say secretly to your self Amen Amen When the Minister himself Communicates say The Lord hear thee The Lord remember all thy Offerings and accept thy Sacrifice Grant thee thy heart's desire and fulfill all thy mind The Lord fulfill all thy Petitions both for thy self and for us and for all his people When you are going to approach to the Lord's Table Propound to your self by way of Question the Invitation which the Minister hath given you saying Do I truly and earnestly repent me of my Sins and am I in love and charity with my Neighbours and intend to lead a new life following the Commandments of God and walking from henceforth in his holy ways And finding your self able to return the Answer of a good Conscience resolve as it there follows Then I will draw near with Faith and take this Holy Sacrament to my comfort When you are placed there say Lord what am I that Thou shouldst be thus gracious to me What an honour is it that I am invited hither to feast at Thy Table upon the Body and Bloud of my Blessed Saviour To receive the pledges of his Love and to engage my Love to Him which I desire may abound more and more towards Him and towards my Christian Brethren and towards all men When the Minister hath delivered thee the Bread concluding in these words Feed on him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving say I do believe O Lord that Thou art the Bread of life which came down from Heaven by whom we are nourished to eternal Life And I thank Thee with all my Soul that Thou hast both taught us the way of God in truth and also died for our Sins and rose again to give us hope of that immortal Life Blessed be thy Name I have now by thy own appointment received the sacred pledge and earned of it Wherefore my Soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour Whose Grace I trust will be with my spirit that I may rejoyce in the Lord alway and ever delight in all well-doing Amen Or this I believe O Blessed Jesus that Thou art the Lord of all and give Thee most humble and hearty thanks for calling me to the knowledge of thy Grace and to Faith in Thee beseeching Thee that as I have now received this new token of thy Love blessed be thy Goodness so Thou wilt ever be my God and by continuance in well-doing bring me to everlasting Life Amen A shorter after the Bread I thank Thee O Lord for calling me into this state of Salvation and for giving me this new pledge of thy continued Love Assist me with thy Grace to doe my duty to Thee and to my Neighbour so faithfully that I may abide in thy love for ever through Jesus Christ c. After you have received the Cup when the Minister concludes with those words and be thankfull say I thank Thee O Lord of Heaven and Earth that Thou wouldst condescend to take our Nature upon Thee and therein suffer for our Sins yea shed thy precious Bloud upon the Cross for our Redemption Glory honour blessing and praise be unto Thee O Lord to whom in all reason I ought henceforth to live and not unto my self And therefore here I devote my self to thy faithfull service and resolve if need be even to take up my Cross and follow Thee Assist me good Lord and make me partaker of all the Benefits of thy Death and Passion according as Thou seest me sincerely resolved in all things for ever to obey Thee Amen Or this Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his Benefits Who forgiveth all thy Sin and hath now filled thy mouth with good things and who giveth thee hope of better in eternal Life Sanctify me wholly O Lord that I may not fall short of it but my whole Spirit and Soul and Body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Amen A shorter after the Cup. I thank Thee again O Lord for thy wonderfull Love in sending thy Son to lay down his Life and in making me partaker of the Benefits of his precious Bloud shedding for us Preserve in me for ever a sense of thy Love and thereby preserve me holy and without blemish to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Amen After you are gone from the Lord's Table to your seat say Blessed be the Lord for his exceeding great grace and mercy to us in Christ Jesus Blessed be the Lord who hath called me into fellowship with Himself and with his Son Christ Jesus Blessed be his Name that I have now received the tokens of his endless Love in which I ought to rejoyce without ceasing as more valuable then all the goods of this world It is my joy O Lord my highest satisfaction I have in this world that I am beloved of Thee who art able to make me more happy then I can conceive O preserve me for ever in thy Love and for that end preserve in me the same thoughts
Answer when you think of the Third thing your Fidelity to him saying I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous Judgments I have inclined my heart to perform thy Statutes always even unto the end CXIX Psal 106.112 It is reasonable that whatsoever I doe in word or deed I should doe all in the Name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God and the Father by Him III. Coloss 17. IV. And when you think lastly of having Communion with Him say What greater Happiness can I wish then to be one with Christ and to be made partaker with Him in the Merits of his Death whereby I am sure that I shall partake with Him in the glory of his Resurrection By this I know that I dwell in Him and He in me because He hath given me of his Spirit O make me Blessed Lord more and more one with Thee by making me more perfectly of the same mind spirit and disposition with Thee A Prayer at home on that day If you be by such means as these duly affected with our Saviour's Love towards you the remembrance of it will not presently slip out of your mind nor will you be willing to part with it And while it continues there it will make all your Christian Duty easy and delightfull and it will be a hard matter to persuade you to offend Him Do not fail therefore to endeavour to preserve it by affecting your heart again with such thoughts as these repeating some time or other on that day the foregoing Meditations and adding this Prayer I can never thank Thee enough O Father of mercies and God of all comfort for the innumerable benefits I have received from thy bounty And therefore ought to take all opportunities to bless Thee and to speak good of thy Name especially now that I have newly tasted how gracious Thou art in giving thy onely Son our Saviour Jesus Christ not onely to die for us but also to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that Sacrament which I have this day received When I think onely what a kindness it is that I have my daily bread and never want things convenient for the support and comfort of this present life I find that I am indebted to Thee upon that account exceedingly above all that I can express But that Thou art pleased to admit me to thy own Table and there entertain me with the blessed hope of being with my Saviour where He is and rejoycing with Him for ever Lord how much doth it surpass the highest of my thoughts and with what delight and satisfaction ought it to fill my heart Possess me I beseech Thee most mercifull Father with such a lively sense of this Love that I may never forget how happy I am in being so nearly related to Christ Jesus But always account it such an honour to be one of his Servants that I may constantly and chearfully obey Him and delight in this and all other Duties of a Christian life It is a great favour I ought to be sensible that I may have the liberty alway to resort unto Him as my most gracious Lord and Master and enjoy Him not onely in the publick Offices of Religion but here at home in these private addresses unto Him 0 that by all such means I may grow more like Him and carry away such a resemblance of his Holiness Goodness Humility Meekness and Patience that every body may see I have been with Jesus O that there may be such a pious sense of his Love and such devout affections towards Him left in my heart that I may not content my self merely with my daily Prayers much less with these present expressions of Love to Him but it may he my constant care every day to approve my self unto Him so faithfully in all well-doing that I may not be afraid to appear again before Him at the next invitation I have to his Table And let the hearts of all those who have this day devoutly attended on thy service be joyfull and glad in Thee Help us all to keep our selves pure and undefiled and to walk so steddily in the fear of God and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost that others seeing our good conversation in Christ may be in love with Religion and glorify Thee our heavenly Father Have mercy also as we have this day most humbly prayed upon the whole Church And so rule the heart of thy chosen Servant CHARLES our King and Governour that in all his thoughts words and works he may ever seek thy honour and glory and study to preserve thy people committed to his charge in wealth peace and godliness And grant also unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's Religion that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their Profession and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same for thy dear Sons sake Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen If this seem too long here follows a shorter I prostrate my self here again before Thee O Lord of Heaven and Earth to bless and praise Thee for all thy Mercies towards me especially for those which Thou hast this day bestowed on me I would not be so ungratefull as presently to forget such a wonderfull Grace as Thou hast vouchsafed me but desire most earnestly to have a lasting remembrance of it in my heart provoking me to love and to good works And for that end I now renew my humble supplications unto Thee that Thou wilt constantly excite and assist me by thy Holy Spirit to walk worthy of my high and heavenly calling in Christ Jesus by such a sober righteous and godly life adorning his Doctrine in all things that He may own me for his good and faithfull Servant at that great Day when we shall see Him not in these shadows and figures of Him but face to face And have mercy upon thy whole Church Whose Prayers I beseech Thee to hear for every Member of the same more especially for our Sovereign and all that are in authority under him that by their pious care and watchfulness thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. VIII Directions for a godly Life sutable to this holy Communion I. TAKE some time every day to call to mind how much you stand engaged to our Saviour Christ first by your Baptismal Vow secondly by your solemn Ratification of it at your Confirmation and thirdly by your renewing it lately at the Holy Communion when you professed how much you were indebted to Him both upon the account of his offering Himself upon the Cross for you and of his giving Himself there again to you II. If these three come into your mind as soon as you awake in the morning it will be a great security to you And to make your self more sensible of your obligation you may begin the day with this Reflection I am not my own but the Lord