Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	blood_n	body_n	cup_n	12,251	5	9.5859	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34877	A supplement to Knowledge and practice wherein the main things necessary to be known and believed in order to salvation are more fully explained, and several new directions given for the promoting of real holiness both of heart and life : to which is added a serious disswasive from some of the reigning and customary sins of the times, viz. swearing, lying, pride, gluttony, drunkenness, uncleanness, discontent, covetousness and earthly-mindedness, anger and malice, idleness / by Samuel Cradock ... useful for the instruction of private families.	Cradock, Samuel, 1621?-1706.	1679 (1679)	Wing C6756; ESTC R15332	329,893	408

their Fathers were all servants in Egypt and as that night God delivered them c. And tells particularly of the wonders done in Egypt and the manner of their deliverance saying to this purpose This is the Passover which we celebrate because the Lord passed over the houses of our Fathers in Egypt therefore we are bound to give thanks to praise to laud and glorify him and sing Hallelujahs to him c. This kind of declaration or shewing forth the occasion of the Passover they called Haggadah Hence the Apostle may be supposed to have borrowed his phrase As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this Cup ye declare or set forth the Lords death 1 Cor. 11.26 This annunciation or shewing forth to their Children the Lords wonderful goodness and mercy to them we find commanded Exod. 12.26 27. And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you what mean you by this service That ye shall say it is the Sacrifice of the Lords Passover who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses 6. Then he takes that part of the unlevened cake that was before reserved and blessing it and giving thanks for it as before he distributes to every one a piece of it to eat with the Paschal Lamb of which each person present was bound to eat as much as the quantity of an Olive at least The breaking of bread therefore at which our Saviour did institute the commemoration of his body seems to be this second breaking of bread viz. in time of Supper after which nothing more was to be eaten that night For 't is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they were eating or towards the end of the Supper Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to his Disciples saying take eat this is my body Mat. 26.26 7. All this done they drink up the third Cup called the Cup of blessing or thanksgiving after meat Paul calls it by this very name 1 Cor. 10.16 The Cup of blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ c. And this third Cup which was after supper that is after they had done eating and was the conclusion of the Supper was the Cup which our Saviour applied to a new spiritual signification And having instituted it into an Eucharistical Cup bad them drink all of it So that now he ordaines bread to be a representation of his body henceforward in the same manner as the Paschal Lamb had been the representation of his body before and the cup to be the New Testament in his blood now as the blood of bullocks had been the Old Testament in his blood before Exod. 24.8 And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said behold the blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you c. After this they sang the Hallelujah or Hymn or Psalm of Praise according to Custom And accordingly our Saviour and his Apostles did sing a hymn after the Paschal Supper before they departed So that supposing these Rites to be then in use among the Jews as their own writers tell us it will from thence appear that the bread and wine which our Saviour distributed at his last Passover and appointed to signifie and represent his body and blood were rites within the compass of it and belonging to it only applied by him now to a new evangelical use and signification And he dealt no otherwise in this Sacrament than he did before in that other of Baptism which he seems to have founded upon the old rite in use among the Jews of purification by water So that our Saviour in instituting both Sacaments of the new Testament seems to have taken the old rites of the Jews and to have ordained and advanced them to a new evangelical use and mystical signification and so to have put as one sayes a new superscription upon the old metal There is one thing more that it will not be amiss here to take notice of viz. That from the Jewish custom of having a feast at the end of their Sacrifices the Christians of the Primitive Church instituted their Agapae or love feasts And they of the Church of Corinth did much imitate the Jewish Paschal rites in receiving of the Lords Supper For they had a Supper before in which they were not always very temperate as appears 1. Cor. 11. And at the conclusion of this Supper they had the bread and wine of the Lords Supper administred as the Jews at the end of their Paschal Supper had the unlevened bread and the Cup of blessing Having spoken thus much of the Passover and the rites belonging to it I now come to speak of the Lords Supper which succeeds it And here I shall treat 1. Of the Author of it 2. Of the time when it was instituted 3. Of the Nature of it 4. Of the ends for which it was instituted 1. Christ himself is the Author of it We have before shewn how Christ eating the Paschal Supper with his Disciples who were Jews took some of the Paschal cheer and provisions and made them the materials of this blessed Sacrament 'T is Christ who was the Author of it 'T is he who is the King and Soveraign of his Church 'T is he who appoints therein his Officers Laws and Ordinances He is the Mediator of the new Covenant and therefore appoints the tokens and seals of it Divine institution only makes a Sacrament the whole Church cannot do it 2. Let us consider the time in which it was instituted viz. in the same night in which he was betrayed by Judas 1 Cor. 11.23 Observe Christs great love to his Church He saw his death approaching yet he bestows now a great favour on mankind when he sees he shall receive the hardest measure from them O that the same mind were in us that was in Christ Jesus Judas had resolved beforehand to betray him and accordingly had agreed with the Chief-Priests and Council of the Jews yet with this wicked resolution he comes to eat the Passover with him Sins of purpose and resolution are most dangerous We should look not only on Judas's sin in betraying his Master but on his fixed intention and resolution to do it 'T is a dangerous thing to come to this Sacrament with an intent to go on in any known sin 3. Let us consider the nature of this Sacrament wherein three things are to be spoken to 1. The outward Ordinance or outward signs 2. The inward and Spiritual mysteries thereby signified 3. The Command for the observing this Ordinance 1. The outward Ordinance or Sacrament properly so called consists 1. Of certain Elements or materials viz. Bread and Wine 2. Of sundry Rites and Sacramental actions appertaining thereunto 1. Our Saviour took bread and gave thanks and so also the Cup. He blessed the Bread and the Wine severally as the Jews

Seal of the new Testament or Covenant which is to be ratified and confirmed by my blood * Heb. 9.15.16 Matth. 26.28 This is my blood of the New Testament which is now to be shed for many for the remission of sins that is this wine in the Cup is a sign or representation of my blood and a seal whereby the new Covenant is confirmed with all the promises of it For without shedding of blood there is no remission * Heb. 9.22 Gods Justice being no other way to be satisfied Now the Sacraments may be said to be Seals in two respects 1. They are absolute seals to the veracity and truth of Gods promises and Covenant 2. Conditional Seals in reference to us They Seal the remission of sins to all that perform the conditions required and to none else As the tree of life did not seal or confirm to Adam that he should have life except upon condition of his perfect obedience To them therefore that perform the conditions required they exhibit confer and passover the blessings promised in the Covenant of Grace 3. To be an objective means to stir up excite and increase Repentance Faith Love Hope Joy Thankfulness in believers by a lively representation of the evil of sin the infinite love of God in Christ the firmness of the Covenant of grace the greatness and sureness of the mercies promised 4. To be a badge and cognizance of the Church before the world and a token that we solemnly profess that we own a crucified Jesus for our Saviour and that 't is Christ and his death that we depend upon and abide by for the remission of all our sins and reconciliation with God 5. To be a means of our renewing our Covenant with God Covenants in the Scripture were wont to be made by eating and drinking together Isaac and Abimelech Jacob and Laban concluded their Covenants with a Feast * Gen. 6.30 and Gen. 31.44 46. Hereby we have an advantage of entring into a stricter engagement to God and renewing the Covenant we made with him in Baptism 6. To be a means of procuring and advancing unity and love among the Saints A feast carries in it the notion of love and good will But this is more a feast of love than any ordinary feast can be because 't is a remembrance of the greatest love that that ever was manifested viz. of that love which the Lord shewed in dying for us 'T is a Feast upon Christs Sacrifice And it should be a means not only of uniting believers more firmly to Christ their Head but of uniting and endearing them more one to another The ancient Christians did notably express this 1. By their Agapae or love-feast Jude verse 14. 2 Pet. 2.13 2. By their kiss of Charity Rom. 16.16 1 Cor. 16.30 3. By their collections for the poor made at these times 1 Cor. 16.1 Having thus spoken of the true and proper ends for which this Sacrament was instituted I come now to consider the mistaken ends for which it was not appointed 1. It was not appointed to turn bread and wine into the true and real body and blood of Christ For if sense be not to be believed concerning its own object and which tells all men that 't is still bread and wine how can we believe that Christ or any of his Apostles were ever in the World seeing they that saw them and conversed with them may on this ground for all that be deceived which were very irrational to imagine And the Apostle expresly calls it bread three times in three verses together and that after the Consecration 1 Cor. 11.26 27 28. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lords death till he come Wherefore whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of this Bread and drink of that Cup. And he tells us that the use of this Sacrament is not to make the Lards Body corporally present but to shew the Lords death till he come that is to be a visible representation and commemoration of his death till he come to judgment Indeed Christ is really present in this Sacrament but not in the elements but to the Faith of the worthy receiver When they eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup in a due manner exercising a lively Faith in him for the remission of all their sins Christ is then present to their Faith neither is he any otherwise present in this Sacrament 2. This Sacrament was not appointed to Sacrifice Christ really again to the Father to propitiate him for the quick and dead or to ease Souls in Purgatory to deliver them out of it For Christ having died once dieth no more but by once offering up himself hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified * Heb. 10.14 that is he hath made a perfect satisfaction to the justice of God and done all things needful to bring them to eternal life who are sanctified by his grace and brought to believe in him with a lively Faith 3. 'T is not appointed as a means to conveigh grace meerly by the work done or by the outward receiving of it only as charms are supposed to work neither are we to suppose that God will pardon or save any for their meer coming to this Ordinance though they strive not with their hearts to bring them to repentance faith in Christ sincere love to God and men and new obedience 4. 'T is not appointed as a means to wipe off the old score of sin that men may more freely and boldly encourage themselves to sin again as some ignorant people are apt to think but as a blessed means to mortifie sin in us and to engage us unto holiness And thus much concerning the first head I propounded to speak unto viz. The right informing the judgment and that concerning these four particulars 1. The author of this Sacrament 2. The time of its Institution 3. The nature of it 4. The ends for which it was appointed I come now to the second viz. to direct your practice and to shew you how you should receive it in a right manner In order to which you must know 1. There are some duties to be performed before you come to receive this holy Sacrament 2. Some duties in the time of receiving it 3. Some duties after There are two kinds of preparation necessary to a worthy receiver 1. The General which is that we look to it that we be in a state of grace for there are several graces that must be exercised in receiving this Sacrament and they that are not in a state of grace are utterly unfit for the present to approach this holy Table 2. The Particular which consists in a present actual fulness In order to the obtaining of this let me advise thee Reader to the

unto Christ they should address themselves unto it as one of the solemnest works in the world They should do it with due preparation reverence and seriousness as beseemeth those that are transacting a business of such unspeakable importance 4. They should ingage to bring up their children in the principles of the Christian Faith They should imagine God said to them as the daughter of Pharoah said to Moses's Mother Exod. 2.19 Bring up this Child for me Bring up this Child in my fear and for my service 5. They should be very earnest in prayer to God for their children O that Ismael might live in thy sight sayes holy Abraham Gen. 17.18 So should pious Parents pray for their children O that this child of mine may be a real member of Christ O that he may have the Image of God stamped upon his Soul O that he may honour God here and be for ever happy with him in his Kingdom hereafter 6. They should be early instilling good and wholsome principles and documents into them precept upon precept line upon line here a little and there a little as they are able to bear it Isa 28.10 And the Mother as well as the Father should make conscience to do this We read that Bathsheba the mother of Solomon did so Prov. 31. which chapter contains her wise instructions to him * And if it be the duty of Parents thus carefully to instruct their Children then surely 't is the duty of Children carefully to observe and lay to heart and practice the instructions of their Parents 7. They should check the first appearings and buddings forth of sin in them endeavouring to make them sensible of the great evil and danger of it 8. They should labour to make them in love with the beauty and excellency of Holiness and Vertue 9. They should bring them to the ordinances of God expecting the spirit of God will move upon those waters 10. They must be sure to set them a good example Children are more led by example than precept * Exemplum concionatoris concionibus validius Et exempl●m Parentis praeceptis validiu● 11. They must encourage all good beginnings of vertue or ingenuity they see in them 12. And lastly they must labour to give them a good education and put them into a good way of living in the World and make such provisions for them as God in his Providence shall inable them And those Parents that do these things whatever the success be will have comfort in so doing Of the Lords Supper I Come now to treat of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper In the handling of which I shall 1. Indeavor rightly to inform your Judgments concerning the true nature use intent and benefit of this holy ordinance 2. Direct your practice that you may know how to receive it in a right manner and to your spiritual benefit That you may therefore be rightly informed concerning the nature of this Sacrament you must know that the Jews had two ordinary standing Sacraments viz. 1. Circumcision to which Our Baptism do answer 2. The Passover to which The Lords Supper do answer Theirs were bloody Sacraments for the blood of Christ was to be shed Ours unbloody for the blood of Christ is shed Now that I may speak more distinctly and plainly concening the Sacrament of the Lords Supper it will be requisite that I speak something 1. concerning the Jewish Passover which we shall consider either as it was first instituted or as it was afterwards celebrated wherein divers rites of the first Aegyptian Passover were not exactly observed The first institution of the Passover we find Exod. 12. When Israel after long servitude and bondage was to go out of Egypt God commanded them in their several families to kill a Lamb to roast it whole to eat it within doors that night to sprinkle the side and upper door-posts with the blood thereof and so doing they should be safe from the destroying Angel that rode circuit that night to destroy all Egypts first born but he was to pass by all the houses of Israel sprinkled with blood And hence the name Passover Exod. 12.27 This was to be greatly observed on the fourteenth day of the first moneth at Even In the treating therefore of this Passover we shall first consider the things that were proper to the Jewish Passover in Egypt and then shew how they prefigured Christ our Passover 1. They were commanded to take a Lamb. A Lamb the emblem of innocency So our Saviour was stiled John 1.19 The Lamb of God being of a Lamb-like humility and meekness John his beloved Disciple often stiles him so as being exceedingly delighted with this similitude 2. A Lamb without blemish So was our Saviour 1 Pet. 1.19 3. One of their own flocks and folds Christ was of the Jewish Nation Rom. 9.4 5. Like in all things to his brethren sin only excepted 4. It must be slain So Christ was put to death on the Cross 5. Not a bone of it must be broken which was verified in Christ John 19.33 36. 6. It must be roasted So our Saviour suffered the scorching heat of his Fathers wrath sweating drops of blood for our sakes Luke 22.44 O Sinner how little art thou sensible of what thy Saviour hath suffered to redeem thee 7. The blood of the Lamb must be sprinkled on the side and upper door-posts of their houses if they intended to be preserved from the destroying Angel So must the blood of Christ be sprinkled by Faith on our hearts if we intend to be delivered from the wrath to come See 1 Pet. 1.2 and Heb. 12.24 There is no escaping the wrath of God but by the sprinkling of Christs blood on our consciences 8. They were to eat this Paschal Lamb with sower herbs and unlevened bread 1. With sower herbs to mind them of what affliction and bondage they were in in Egypt We must have contrition and remorse wrought in us for our sins and be in bitterness of soul for them ere we can reasonably expect relief by Christ 2. With unlevened bread The succeeding Jews that they might shew their exactness in observing this precept did at this Passover-time use great diligence to rid their houses of all leven yea they were so strict about it that they searched with candles to see if there were any remaining in any corner or hole And lest after all their diligence any should remain with them yet unfound out they passed a solemn execration upon it in these or the like words All the leven that is within my possession which I have seen or which I have not seen which I have cast out or not cast out be it accursed be it as the dust of the earth The Apostle shews us that by leven is meant malice and wickedness by unlevened bread sincerity and truth He intimates what manner of persons they must be that intend to feed upon Christ by Faith They must not think to eat of

this Lamb except they rid themselves of their Leven Leven it swells the mass and sours it Pride makes the heart swell and malice soures it search therefore O Sinner to find out thy leven when thou thinkest of approaching to this holy Table Search every corner of thy heart as with a candle and when thou hast found out thy sins manifest thy hatred and loathing of them Never think to be pardoned except thou part with thy sins Never think to be saved except thou be sanctified 9. They were to eat it with their loins girt and staves in their hands and shooes on their feet shewing themselves thereby to be in a posture of readiness to be gone out of Egypt and to seek the promised Land Which may intimate to us that we must receive this blessed Sacrament with intention to leave the dominions of Pharaoh the Kingdom Service and bondage of sin and Satan and to march on towards our heavenly Canaan People would fain escape damnation yet are loath to leave their pleasing and profitable sins No coming to Canaan except you leave Egypt 10. When they had eaten of the roasted Lamb if any thing thereof remained it was to be burnt with fire and not left till the morning This may shew us that Sacramental elements are not Sacramental * Nihil habet ratione Sacramenti extra usum legitimum Sacramentalem but in their use only and while they are used As Bread and Wine in this Sacrament and Water in Baptism after the Sacramental use are no longer Sacramental A stone is boundary in its use and place Remove it 't is a meer stone no boundary 11. Two sorts of persons were barred from eating the Passover 1. The uncircumcised the stranger and foreigner Exod. 12.43 48. Such as are not initiated into Christs Family the Church by the first Sacrament of Baptism cannot regularly be admitted to the Lords Table 2. unclean persons though circumcised or such as were in a journey were to be put off to the Passover of the second moneth being not cleansed for the present according to the purification of the Sanctuary 2 Chron. 30.18 19. Numb 9.10.11 This shews us that some persons who are within the communion of the Church may be unfit at some particular times to come to the Lords Table yea though believers may at such times eat and drink unworthily 12. After the Paschal Lamb was eaten on the next day viz. on the fifteetnh day of the first moneth began the Feast of the Passover or feast of unlevened bread It continued seven dayes and no levened bread was to be eaten during that time and of those seven dayes the first and last only were holy Convocations or Sabbaths wherein they might do no servile work Exod. 12.15 16. Levit. 23.5 6 7. Numb 28.16 17 18. The Apostle alludes hereunto 1 Cor. 5.7 Christ our Passover is Sacrificed therefore let us keep the feast As if he should have said those for whom Christ our Passover is Sacrificed on wh●s● consciences his blood is sprinkled ought to be a holy people not levened with sin and wickedness and to walk before God in sincerity and truth living all their dayes in a holy rejoycing and thanksgiving Thus much of the first Passover as instituted and observed in Egypt some of the Ceremonies whereof were proper to that Passover and not intended for any other following And accordingly in after times they were not observed As particularly 1. The Paschal Lamb was afterwards to be slain and eaten only at Je●usalem Deut. 16.5 6. The place which God had chosen for his publick worship 2. They did not observe the taking up of the Lamb four dayes before 3. Nor the sprinkling the door posts with blood 4. Nor staying within and not going out of the house that night For our Saviour and his Disciples did go out after Supper 5. Nor eating it in a travelling posture For we find our Saviour and his disciples eating it in a posture of discubiture or leaning on beds From whence we may take notice that we are not bound to observe all occasional or local circumstances or customs belonging to a Sacrament nor to follow our Saviour and his Apostles in those particular circumstances of eating the Lords Supper late at night or in a leaning posture or in an upper Chamber no woman being present c. Let us look to the substance end and intent of the Sacrament and chiefly mind that Having spoken thus much of the Passover I think it will not be amiss for the clearer understanding of the original institution of this Sacrament of the Lords Supper to insert a short description of the method and order of the Paschal Supper with the principal rites thereunto belonging which were then either all or most of them as it seems in use among the Jews as they are delivered to us by their own writers much after this manner consisting in several Cups or drinkings of Wine and two breakings of bread Some of which rites we shall shew that our Saviour took and ordained them to a new Evangelical use and mystical signification 1. When all things appertaining to the Feast were prepared and all persons belonging to that Company that were to eat together were ready the chief man of the company who was as it were the Priest among them takes a cup of Wine and blesses it in some such words as these Blessed be thou Lord who hast created the fruit of the vine and blessed be thou for this good day and this holy convocation c. Compare with this custome our Saviours words Luke 22.17 He took the Cup and gave thanks and said take this and divide it among you 2. Then the Table was furnished with provisions of several sorts viz. bitter herbs the unlevened bread the body of the Paschal Lamb roasted whole and so brought up 3. The chief man of the company takes the sower herbs and blesses them in some such words as these Blessed art thou O Lord who createst the fruits of the earth c. and then eats of them the quantity of an Olive at least and distributes to the rest uttering some such sentence as this These bitter herbs we eat in token that the Egyptians made the lives of our Fathers bitter in Egypt 4. Then he takes the dish or Charger which held the unleavened bread or Cakes and laying by a piece thereof to be eaten afterwards with the Paschal Lamb at the close of the Supper he blessed the bread in some such words as these blessed art thou O Lord who bringest forth bread out of the earth c. Then he breaks it and eats of it 5. When this is finished he begins the second Cup of Wine and the rest follow him Then their Children brought in were made to ask what is the reason that this night differs so much from other nights instancing in many particulars of the festival solemnities Then the master of the feast begins a a narrative how

all these glorious favours and benefits Let thy Soul rejoyce in God and call upon all within thee to praise his holy name 6. Pray earnestly that Christs Kingdom may be propagated and that many others may come to understand and partake of this great salvation purchased by our Lord and Saviour Pray that he may be more known believed on and faithfully obeyed all the world over And so much of the duties to be performed in time of receiving I come now to those required of thee after thou hast received For it is not enough that thou duly prepare thy self for this ordinance and carry thy self reverently at it but thou must labour to walk suitably unto it afterwards To that end observe these directions 1. When the Ordinance is done withdraw thy self to some secret place and there on thy knees bless the Lord for Jesus Christ and for the Covenant of Grace made in him and for adding the Sacraments as Seals of the Covenant to confirm thy faith And further for giving thee to be born in a land where the glorious light of the Gospel has shone so clearly for so many years and where thou hast such great helps and advantages for the eternal good of thy Soul 2. Labour to keep thy heart in the fervent love of God and Jesus Christ and with an holy delight and joy meditate often how much thou owest to God for sending his Son to be thy redeemer and how much thou owest to Christ for so willingly condescending to undertake this great work The Apostle tells us 1 Pet. 2.7 that to them that believe in him he is precious yea very precious in many respects 1. His name is precious 'T is as an ointment poured forth Matth. 1.21 His name shall be called Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins And 1 Thes 1. last 'T is Jesus who delivereth us from the wrath to come 2. His person is precious being God and Man in the same person What an high honour is it to be related to him 3. His Offices are precious He is Prophet Priest and King and he took on him all these offices for our benefit 4. His performances are precious both his active and passive obedience 5. His Life is precious which was so holy so humble so exemplary 6. His Death is precious being a propitiatory Sacrifice for our sins 7. His Resurrection is precious For God releasing him from the prison of the grave thereby declared he had received full satisfaction for the debt of our sins which he as our Surety undertook to discharge 8. His Ascension is precious For he ascended into Heaven as our fore-runner to prepare a place for us 9. His Intercession is precious For he ever liveth to make intercession for us 10. His authority and power is precious whereby he governs his Church and which he will farther exercise in raising our bodies from the Grave and in Judging the World at the last day and making our bodies if we be his members like his own glorious body 11. His Doctrince is precious 12. His Ordinances are precious 13. His ●nterest is precious to all that truly believe in him 3. Meditate on the priviledges promises and comforts of the Covenant of Grace sealed by the blood of thy dear Savior The priviledges are Justification Sanctification Adoption Glorification O how great are these priviledges The promises are such as these Psal 84.11 The Lord is a Sun and shield the Lord will give grace and glory no good thing will he withold from them that walk uprightly And Rom. 8.28 All things shall work together for good to them that love God The comforts are the consolations of the Spirit here and eternal comfort hereafter 4. Earnestly beg and humbly expect grace from Christ to enable thee to crucifie thy inward lusts and corruptions especially those thou findest thy heart most pestered with Having entertained Christ into thy Soul do not unhallow it again by suffering any evil lust to reign and rule therein 5. Labour to walk more watchfully Remember the Devil will now be very busie to tempt thee to sin after this ordinance as he did our Saviour presently after his Baptism He will if he can by some worldly diversion damp and cool those heavenly affections that were excited in thee in time of receiving 'T is a dangerous thing after an heat and warmth of heavenly affections to catch cold 6. Labour to strengthen thy purposes and resolutions of living more unto God Remember thou hast stronger obligations now upon thee to all Christian duties than before 7. Often meditate on the joys of Heaven and the eternal Supper of the Lamb and the blessed life which the Saints do live above Luke 14.15 Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God 8. Labour to live in charity with thy brethren to which thou art in an especial manner engaged by this Sacrament Do not cover the coals of contention under the ashes for a night or two and then blow them up again But consider if Christ hath so loved thee and forgiven thee so much thou oughtest to love thine enemies and heartily forgive them Remember what the Apostle saith Beloved if Christ so loved us we ought to love one another 1 John 4.11 Lastly When thou art tempted to sin remember thou hast been at a Sacrament and there hast renewed thy Covenant with Christ and thou must not be so base nor so false as willingly and deliberately to sin against him again And thus much of the duties to be performed before we come to receive and in the time of receiving and after we have received A Brief Exposition OF THE Lords Prayer OUR Saviour Matth. 6.9 c. taught his Disciples after what manner to Pray and gave them a breviary or pattern of Prayer which they might use in form as seems to be intimated Luke 11.2 or according to which they might order and regulate their other Prayers In this Plat-form there are three parts 1. The Preface Describing God to whom we are to pray 1. By his dear Relation to us Our Father therefore most ready to succour us and others with whom or for whom we pray 2. By his greatness and Majesty which art in Heaven that is who doth manifest hims●lf though he be every where present in Glory and Majesty in and from the highest Heavens and therefore most able to hear and help all his children and most justly to be reverenced loved and trusted in by them 2. The substance of the Prayer containing six Petitions The three first whereof have respect to Gods Glory the three latter to our selves and our particular good 1. Hallowed be thy Name wherein we Pray and Petition that Gods glorious Nature and Attributes viz. his infinite Power Wisdom Goodness Justice Truth Mercy c. which are discovered in his word and works and whereby he is made known as men are by their names may be displayed and more manifested to the world that all

takes the edge off from sufferings that they cannot wound and hurt us Whereas he that frets and rages makes that troublesome to him which else would not be so As in case of reproachful words which in themselves neither hurt our bodies nor lessen our estates but the great danger of them is if they drive us into anger For then our anger may run us into abundance of other sins Whereas he that meekly passes them by is never the worse for them nay the better as God orders it For he shall be rewarded for his Patience And so much of the excellency and benefits of meekness 16. Another Direction is this Be humbled seriously before the Lord for all former irregular and exorbitant Passions thou hast been guilty of and seek pardon of them in the blood of Christ and pray earnestly unto the Lord to keep thee from falling into the like again and to give thee the wisdom which comes from above which is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated and full of good fruits And when thou art surprized on a sudden with any unexpected accident or violent temptation that is apt to disorder thee then send up a fervent ejaculation to heaven as a speedy messenger for help and succour in that time of danger 17. Lastly Set a high price and value upon quietness meekness and a calm frame of Soul 1 Thes 4.11 Study to be quiet and to do thy own business And so much of the directions for the right regulating of our anger 4. I come to consider the excuses * Vitia nostra quia amamus defendimus malumus ea excusare quam excutere Sen. that those that are prone to be angry do use to make for themselves 1. They are ready to say that their afflictions are so great and so heavie that they cannot bear them with any patience And therefore they may say as Jonah did that they do well to be angry and that it is better for them to dye than to live Answ Be silent all flesh before God What art thou O Man O Worm that thou repliest against God Aaron had two Sons destroyed at one stroke by fire from Heaven And they both dyed for ought appears to the contrary in their sin and that is a sharper affliction than ever thou mettest with And yet the text sayes Lev. 10.3 Aaron held his peace he uttered not one word of murmuring or discontent against the Almighty To murmur against God is to throw a stone upward that will be sure to fall on his head that threw it Take heed therefore of inward repining or outward murmuring against the Almighty how heavy soever his hand be upon thee Shall a living man complain sayes the moanful Prophet Lam. 3.39 Man suffereth for his sin God is alwayes just though his wayes to us are sometimes amazing and past our finding out 2. They are ready to say that the provocation upon which they were angry was so great that flesh and blood could not bear it Answ Flesh and blood neither in a natural nor a moral sense except it be changed can enter into the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 15.50 And the Apostle tells us that they that live after the flesh shall die Rom. 8.13 and that not a temporal death only but an eternal And Gal. 5.24 He tells us that all that are Christs have in some good degrees though not all equally crucified the flesh with its corrupt affections and lusts * Sanabilibus aegrotamus malis Sen. 3. They are ready to say that they are Cholerick by nature and therefore they cannot help falling into Passion Alas how can they will they say except God give them patience Answ A Cholerick temper I confess may strongly dispose them to anger but cannot necessitate them to it And if they did pray earnestly to God for the assistance of his grace and set a watch over themselves they might bring themselves into better order But some people seem to expect that God should do all for them and neither earnestly beg grace from him to help them nor endeavour seriously in the power he vouchsafes to them to mortify the corruptions of their hearts If a great reward were propounded to a Cholerick man on condition he abstained from falling into any unseemly passion for one day whatever provocation were offered him surely he would do it And if a man may by great watchfulness abstain one day for a temporal reward why should he not do it the next day and the next after that out of obedience unto God There are several gracious Christians that are not easily frequently or furiously angry nor mis-behave themselves in their anger by word or deed Do you endeavour to do so likewise 4. They are ready to say that such a man was excessively hot and angry with them and why should not they be so with him Ans No man must go about to cure an evil with an evil or to correct a vice by a vice fire is not quenched by fire nor anger with anger 'T is more Christian-like to give place to wrath and and overcome evil with good CHAP. X. Of Idleness THE Prophet Ezekiel Chap. 16.49 tell us that this was the iniquity of Sodom Pride fulness of bread and abundance of Idleness neither did she strengthen the hands of the Poor I wish abundance of Idleness were not at this day a sin found in England as well as in Sodom and that among the wealthiest and those of the best rank and quality in the Nation whose education one would think should have taught them better things Seneca complained of old that men spent their time either in nihil agendo or aliud agendo or male agendo either in pure idleness and doing nothing or doing things of small moment and consequence or in doing things evil and wicked I wish this were not too true of many among us in these dayes who either idle and squander away their precious time or unusefully and impertinently imploy it or else imploy it in sin and wickedness little considering that diligence in doing evil is but a making haste to hell A discourse therefore that tends to shew people how necessary it is to their happiness that they should well imploy their time and not foolishly and carelesly squander it away I hope cannot be unseasonable The Apostle Ephes 4.15 16. makes circumspect walking and redeeming time to be the great Character to distinguish those that are wise from those that are foolish See that ye walk circumspectly sayes he not as fools but as wise redeeming the time This is the Subject therefore that I shall now speak to and in the handling of it I shall shew 1. What is meant by redeeming time 2. For what purposes especially it is to be redeemed 3. From what we must redeem it 4. What are the reasons and motives that should press this duty upon us 5. I shall give some directions as to the manner how we should redeem it