of Blessing which we bless says St. Paul 1 Cor. 10.16 Is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ Not only a Remembrance of his Body broken but a Communion or a participation of the Body by which according to the fairest and most natural construction of the words we can understand no less than this that as we bodily and carnally partake of the Bread and Wine which are the signs and representations of His Body that was broken and His Blood that was shed for us so Morally and Spiritually we shall also partake of the benefits the intention and end of breaking his Body and shedding His Blood the Pardon of our sins and the Salvation of our Souls if we receive the same with such affections and dispositions of mind as we ought to do and this our Church has taught us in her most Excellent and Comprehensive Catechism That the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper By these Visible signs as by the Rod in your Copy-hold Courts you have Livery and Seisin given you of all the blessings purchased for you by the Body and Blood of Christ under the Conditions of Fealty to the Lord and the Customs Rents and Services of the Mannor Par. Methinks it is not so difficult to understand the nature of this Holy Sacrament and the reason of its institution as I thought it was I am heartily troubled that I have so long neglected it I am convinced what an enemy I have been to my self and am now resolved that I will never miss an opportunity of Receiving Min. But hold a little You had best consider what you say and what has been said to you For as the most nourishing of meats received into a sick and crazy stomach instead of that wholsome juice that strength and spirit which it contains in it self and would certainly yield and give out to the body does now but feed the diseases of it and fill it fuller of evil humours not for want of vertue in the food but for want of proper dispositions in the Recipient So also the Holy Eucharist though it contains and is ready to confer those benefits and Graces I have informed you of yet you must not think that it operates as a charm by the repetition of certain words or the punctual celebration of the Ceremony as you have already been instructed but in a way that is Natural and Rational that is to say upon this Condition that the mind of the Receiver be duly qualified and prepared There is therefore more imployed in this so solemn a Remembrance of our Saviour's Death and Passion than it may be you are aware of It will not be the Body and Blood of Christ to every one that receives the Elements of Bread and Wine which are the signs thereof but only to such as are duly qualified and prepared to receive them God is ready to perform his part of the Covenant if we have fulfilled or are resolved to fulfil the conditions which are required of us Par. I beseech you let me understand the utmost of my Duty that I may prepare my self as I ought to do Min. I will so and because the just and necessary preparation to any action whatsoever depends upon and is measured by the nature the end and design of the Action it self therefore I shall only trouble you with such preparatory exercises as you your self shall acknowledge to be fairly inferr'd from the nature of the Holy Sacrament as I have explained it to you First then Is the Communion a Sacrament does the outward action represent and signifie the whole transaction of our Redemption Begun in the Birth continued in the Life and Preaching of our Saviour and finished in his Death upon the Cross Then a Religious Commemoration hereof implyes and supposes a sufficient explicit knowledge of that which we so solemnly Commemorate because the Knowledge of the Fact goes before the Remembrance or recollection of it in the nature of the thing It is necessary therefore that you acquaint your self distinctly with the History of our Saviour's Life and Death contained especially in the four Evangelists before you can be qualified to receive Again Do we understand the Holy Sacrament not only as a bare external Ceremony of Remembrance but as a confirmation of the Covenant of Grace as the Seal of that Covenant and all the Blessings of it to every Communicant that is willing to accept the terms Matt. 26.26 This Bread is my body and This Cup is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins or according to S. Luke Luk. 22.19 This Cup is the New Testament in my blood or as S. Paul expresses it 1 Cor. 10.16 a Communion of the body and blood of the Lord then this implyes a competent knowledge at least of the grounds and principles of the Christian Faith And therefore it is absolutely necessary that every Communicant be well informed First In the miserable condition of all mankind as well by reason of the corruption of our nature as because of our many actual and obstinate transgressions which expose us to the Anger and Justice of God and to those grievous punishments annexed to his Laws which we are neither able to undergo nor avoid And Secondly in the nature and conditions of our Saviour's Mediation between God and us Heb. 10.10 who by the will of God has sanctified us who has put us into a capacity of Renovation Pardon Mercy and Eternal Life by the offering up of his Body once for all 2 Cor. 5.21 who knew no sin himself but was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God through him Heb. 9.26 1 Pet. 3.18 Who therefore took our nature upon him that he might be capable of bearing our sins in his own body In a word who by his death and sufferings according to the wonderful Council of God to us unknown has offered such a satisfaction to God as with safety to the honour of his Laws and the Justice of his Government he has been pleased to accept of and has thereupon abundantly assured us of his readiness to be reconciled to us So that if any difference continue still between us the reason thereof shall be wholly on our part Col. 1.21 2 Cor. 5.18 For all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ That he hath now restored us all to a capacity of favour Pardon and eternal Happiness upon condition that we believe and hope in his Mercy through the merits of his Son Repent of all our past transgressions and sincerely endeavour to govern our lives by the Laws of his Gospel for the time to come That instead of a perfect and exact obedience which the best of us are not able to perform
and Virtue which are the indispensable conditions of our acceptance We may prevent our growth in Grace by thinking our selves unfit to use the means thereof An hearty desire of perfection with such endeavours Improvements Devotions and preparations as our capacity and opportunity will permit intitle us to the use and to the benefits of the Holy Sacraments For how could they be said to be the means of Grace if none but persons already vested with it in great degrees were allowed to use them So that the sincere though imperfect Christian at the present has a particular propriety in the Holy Sacrament because they are appointed of God to be the means of obtaining that which these especially want For I am not come Matt. 9.12 13. says our Saviour to call the righteous but sinners to repentance And again The whole need not a Physician but the sick Not that there are any so righteous as not to need Repentance or so whole as not to need a Physician but the more confirmed and establisht Men are in a course of Obedience to God the more they are under the power of Religion and the longer they have so continued These comparatively speaking have the less occasion to use the means I say not this to encourage carelesness or indifference in the worship of God in any God knows the frailties of the best are so great and so many that there is little fear of diverting a good Man from the worship of God because of the comfort and support he feels therein and the great necessity in this state of uncertainty and war that he finds thereof But since our Saviour allows it I would by His own similitudes expel and dissipate all fatal scruples out of the minds of the sincere though young Beginners in Religion Par. Sir I thank you for your pains and I hope they are not ill bestowed by the Grace of God you shall see the good effect thereof in a little time Min. Ay that is the end of all I pray God confirm your Resolutions and be sure you let me see you as often as you can that I may explain or enlarge upon any Article of our Discourse or refresh your Memory as occasion may require THE END Proper Prayers suited to the foregoing Account of the Holy Sacrament A Preparatory Prayer OAlmighty God! although thy Councils are unsearchable Rom. 11.33 and thy ways past finding out tho' neither I nor the Angels of thy presence shall ever comprehend the mystery of Man's Redemption thro' Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.12 yet it is enough for me that thus it is revealed and therefore I believe with all mine heart I adore the mystery and resolve my hope and trust into the merits of the Cross I will now and ever implore thy Pardon Grace and Assistance for His sake alone whose Body was broken and whose Blood was shed for the Remission of my sins mine only Saviour and Redeemer And O that I might meet my Lord this day in the appointed Signs and Sacrament of his Passion with an heart as sted fast in the Faith as if I had seen his Miracles as full of Love as if I had been healed of my diseases by his Power as full of Joy as if Himself had said unto me Be of good chear thy sins are all forgiven Matt. 9.2 as constant in my Resolutions against all Impiety and sin as if I had seen my Lord in his Agony and heard Him say My God my God why hast Thou forsaken me Matt. 27.46 O Lord encourage my sincere desires and enable me to perform the intended duties with these and all such holy dispositions as Thou requirest of me assist my weakness by thy power support and strengthen all those Graces which Thou hast begun and perfect them at last in habits of Obedience Love and Praise through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Ejaculation upon the receiving of the Bread O Lord I am a sinful man Matt. 8.8 not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof O cleanse my soul from all impurity and filth make me fit to receive so glorious a guest and then abide and dwell in me for ever thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Ejaculation upon receiving of the Cup. Lord Mar. 9.24 I believe help thou mine unbelief that the Bread which I eat and the Wine which I drink thus blessed and given by thy Command may be indeed the Body and Blood of Christ to me the Seal of my Pardon and the earnest of Eternal life thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer to be said immediately after you have received the Elements O Most merciful God and Father How wonderful is Thy love to me a wretched sinner that Thou now vouchsafest to receive me as a guest to thine own Table and hast fed me with the Bread of Heaven Joh. 6.55 That thou shouldst make an offer of peace and reconciliation to me That Thou shouldst never be weary of shewing mercy That the blood of our Saviour should be salutary still and exhibited for ever to the relief of all that are willing to be healed Lord what is man that thou art so mindful of him Psal 8.4 or the Son of Man that Thou so regardest him O make me worthy of this inestimable blessing purifie my thoughts rectifie my will sanctifie mine affections strengthen my resolutions that I may go on from one degree of grace unto another Col. 1.28 Mat. 25.23 till I come to be perfect in Christ Jesus that I may improve my Talent and be the better sensible for every Sacrament I receive till my Faith shall at last be perfected in Vision and the Communion of thy Body and Blood shall be finally resolved into the full enjoyment of thine Eternal Deity O Blessed Jesus Amen A Prayer to be said in your Closet after your return from the Holy Communion O Eternal God! Ps 7.9 Rev. 2.23 Ps 51.6 That searchest the hearts and triest the reins of men Thou that requirest truth in the inner parts O purge my soul from all Hypocrisie and guile that I may now and always serve thee with that sincerity and purity as I ought to do O Lord I hope my inward self my very soul and heart did indite the Praises Prayers and Vows of my Tongue this day before thee O thou that remembrest whereof we are made Ps 103 14. and considerest that we are but men Heb 4.15 O Thou our great High Priest who art touched with the feeling of our infirmities accept of my good intentions and forgive the coldness of my Devotions and the remisness of my mind the wandring of my thoughts and the many imperfections of this and of all mine Holy things and O Lord I beseech thee continue upon my soul that Holy disposition that Religious sense which by thy Grace I have been affected with this day that I may be united to thy self in the same affections and
desires Col. 3.3 that my life may be hid with Christ in God that when Christ who is our life shall appear I may appear with him in Glory to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all Honour Praise Might Majesty Dominion and Obedience now and for evermore Amen General Prayers to be said at any time A Confession of Sins O Eternal God! Heb. 1.3 Thou art the Almighty Creator and wise disposer of all things Thou hast been very gracious unto me from my youth up until now Thou hast blessed me with every thing that is necessary for the instruction of my soul and for the support and pleasure of my life O what obligations hast thou laid upon me by thy particular Grace and favour towards me to serve thee all the days of my life with a perfect heart What then shall I say unto Thee O Thou that art the Judge of men How have I requited thee for all the benefits Thou hast done unto me I blush and am ashamed to appear before thee Ps 139.8 Amos 9.2 3 4. Ps 51.3 but I cannot fly from thy presence I will therefore acknowledge my transgressions and mine iniquities I will not hide How have I employed my childhood and youth in trifles How has my mind been filled and possess'd with vanity How impatient and yet how frivolous have I been in my desires how foolish in all mine actions How insensible of my duty to thy Sacred Majesty how cold in my Devotions how negligent of Instruction how indifferent to sober Counsels How have I preferred the profit the pomp and pleasures of the World before my duty to God my neighbour and my self O Lord I am very sensible that my sins are more in number than the hairs of my head more in weight than I am able to bear Mine only hope is in Thy mercy mine only refuge are Thy Gracious Promises of pardon and favour to repenting sinners through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Redeemer Amen A Prayer for Pardon O Most Holy and Righteous God! I humbly prostrate my self before thy Glorious Majesty to acknowledge and bewail my many and grievous sins which I have committed against Thee Jam. 3. I do not know how often I have offended The sense of my miscarriages is very sharp upon my spirit and the apprehension of Thy just displeasure is very terrible But Thou hast invited all that travel Matt. 11 28. and are heavy laden to come unto Thee and hast promised to refresh them Thou hast laid help upon one that is mighty to save Ps 89.19 even the Lamb that was slain from the beginning of the World â—â—h 1. He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows â—â—i 53. and on Him is laid the iniquities of us all Lord of thine infinite mercies wash away my sins in the blood of my dear Redeemer nail them to his Cross bury them in his Grave that they may never rise in Judgment against me to accuse and terrifie my Conscience here or condemn me to everlasting punishment in the life to come thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Resolution O Eternal God! I acknowledge and adore Thy Goodness towards me that Thou hast made me a reasonable Creature that I am not driven by necessity as other Beings are Gen. 1.26 but am created in the Image of God himself O how just and reasonable is it that we should glorifie our bountiful Creator with all the faculties which He has given us O God I bewail mine own defects of Duty towards Thee I have not improved mine opportunities of knowledge I have been contented to know but little and have practised less my mind has been employed and satisfied in trifling objects my will has followed after vanity and God has not been in all my thoughts Psal 10. But now O Lord I am very sensible of my folly as well as of my sin and I am resolved for the time to come Psal 119. to run the way of Thy Commandments when Thou shalt enlarge mine heart I do most sincerely and devoutly offer and present my self my soul and body Rom. 12. â— a lively reasonable sacrifice unto Thee I unfeignedly resolve that sin shall no more have dominion over me Rom. 6 1â— I will not yield my members instruments of unrighteousness to sin but I will yield my self to God Psal 96. â— I will endeavour to affect my mind with the beauty of holiness till I Love by thine affections chuse what Thou proposest believe what Thou revealest expect Thy promises and intirely resign my self to the obedience of thy Law Lord of thy Goodness accept mine offering have mercy and compassion upon me pity mine infirmities consider my Contrition accept my Repentance encourage my sincerity and restore me to Thy Grace and favour through Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen An Act of Hope ALmighty and most merciful Father Thou art Infinite in all Perfections the Author and Fountain of all the scattered excellencies in the World â—m 1.16 as Thou art just to punish Wickedness 〈◊〉 145.9 so Thy Mercy is over all thy Works Thou remembrest that we are but men 〈◊〉 103.14 Thou considerest the various temptations to which we are exposed the weakness of our reason the violence of our passions the treachery of our hearts 〈◊〉 17.9 the infirmities of our Bodies and all the imperfections of our present state Thou art not therefore extreme to mark what we do amiss Thou art slow to anger full of compassion Exo. 34.4 and abundant in goodness and truth Ezek. 18.23 Thou hast no pleasure in the death of him that dies but if at any time the wicked will turn away from his sins and do that which is lawful and right Thou hast promised that he shall surely live he shall not die that iniquity shall not be his ruine Thou O blessed Jesus Eph. 1.14 Heb. 9.12 2 Pet. 2 1â— 1 Cor. 6.20 1 Joh. 1. â— Heb. 7 2â— hast purchased pardon and redemption for us at the price of Thy precious blood Thou art the propitiation for our sins our Advocate and only Mediator who art able to save to the utmost all that come unto God by Thee seeing Thou ever livest to make intercession for us I know O Lord that never a word shall fail that Thou hast spoken 1 King â— 56 and therefore I will never add the sin of distrust to the number of mine offences but I will always worship before my God with the most honourable thoughts the most worthy apprehensions I can conceive or frame Lord make me truly penitent for what is past perfect in the purposes of mine heart sincere in the professions of my Tongue and diligent to live thereafter for the time to come and then I will humbly hope in the promises of thy Gospel and serve thee without fear â—uk 1.74 O blessed God
with kindness wait to be gracious not easily provoked longer before He punishes That his love to Man should be equal and universal but managed with the most perfect wisdom diffused more warm and lively where it is necessary withdrawn and eclips'd as the temper of the subject may require it and all this without any cause or motive from without himself but it is the pure effort and energy of his own nature no sudden passion to beget it no slight mistaken injury no pride or envy to withdraw it but goodness sincere and pure equal and impartial exerted with the most perfect wisdom towards the whole Creation from the beginning of the world till time shall be no more O the depth of the riches both of the Wisdom and Goodness of God! These depths and these riches of his goodness are not to be understood but by a due intention of the mind But whosoever thus exerts his Mind his utmost self in the contemplation of God will love Him with his Mind too because Desire and Love are always equal to our knowledge That is the First The Second particular implied in the Love of God with all our Mind is the Highest and most extreme Delight in such conversation with Him and enjoyment of Him as is sutable to our present state Desire of conversation with the object is a necessary act of Love The nearer we approach it the more we expect to be pleased and when once we have attained to an intimate conversation then all our previous passion and desire is perfected We now enjoy the object in continual assurances of mutual affection we communicate our hopes and fears our Joys and griefs we consult advise and assist each other and this indeed was the end at first proposed Thus also in respect of God wheresoever the Glories of his nature are apprehended there the humble profession of our Love the desire of his acceptance the discovery of our needs the opening of our hearts the imploring his assistance the expression of our passion in Hallelujahs and Songs of Praise will follow of necessity Where these are wanting there can be no opinion of the Goodness and Omniscience of the Wisdom and Power of God But if our love of God be with all the Mind with a more quick sensation of these perfections acts of Religion will be our greatest pleasure our most ravishing Delight For by these we converse with that invisible Majesty we adore receive returns and pledges of his love assurances of his favour and encouragement in our choice That 's the Second The last particular act implied in the love of God with all the Mind is a fervent desire of perfect union with Him and the Everlasting Fruition of Him Desire of the most intimate union according as the object is capable of being enjoyed is a necessary part of love And in respect of God there is no one thing that the Scriptures do more plainly assert and inculcate than the union of pious Men with God Good men are said to be joyned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glued to the Lord and to be one spirit to dwell in Christ to put on Christ to be as closely united as the Vine and branches as husband and wife as the foundation and the building as the Soul and body Finally as God and our blessed Saviour for so our Saviour prays Joh 17.21 that those whom thou hast given me may be One as thou Father art in me and I in Thee that they also may be one in us May be one in us not essentially or hypostatically but in the consent of their will in likeness of disposition temper and design as if they were acted by the same Principle and in this the proper unity of Souls consists And thus our Saviour explains the Unity of Believers with himself by bringing forth the fruits of righteousness John 15.15 Indeed the effects of this Union the delights and pleasures which fill the minds of those who are thus united to God are ineffable and therefore according to S. Paul Eph. 5.32 it is a great mystery Whosoever therefore loves the Lord his God with all his mind with clearer knowledge and more pure desire will be impatient of a perfect Vnion of the most full and satisfying fruition of God in Heaven The more we know of God the more our Souls will desire him because he is absolutly perfect and therefore we are sure to be for ever entertained with fresh discoveries of Beauty and Glory Enjoyment will inflame our desire till our Souls shall be wholly resolved into the object O how despicable will all the World appear even Lise it self in comparison of a more perfect participation of the Divine Nature How earnestly shall we expect till our Knowledge shall be improved into its utmost capacity that we may see him face to face How shall we long for such a compleat enjoyment as shall not be allayed by infirmities and sins by temptations and despondencies by natural corruptions and impure affections but continue for ever vigorous and fruitful constant and indissoluble And as these higher and more perfect degrees of Knowledge and desire ought to be pursued as a duty so they are sometimes bestowed upon the diligent and sincere as a reward God is pleased to manifest himself unto them to raise their desires and refresh them with returns of his Love and cause them to drink of the rivers of His pleasure But if we never attain to this more spiritual frame if our minds through worldly impediments shall never be improved into a distinct and clear perception of the Attributes of God Yet if our love of God be with competent knowledge and great sincerity if it be fruitful in the necessary acts of Imitation Faith Obedience and the rest it will be rewarded and made perfect hereafter though it never arrive at the more perfect Knowledge and Desire of God here And thus I have considered the particular parts the necessary acts and exercises of love to God First with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul secondly with all thy Mind And the duty so particularly stated and examined we may easily discern the reason of that primacy and precedency which our Saviour ascribes to this above all the Commands of God This is the first and great Commandment And this was the Third head of discourse proposed It is first in the disposition of God himself He begins his Instituion of Laws with Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind Deut. 6.5 It is first in the order of Nature it is the root the principle and reason of all other duties whatsoever It is first in respect of the Object end or final resolution of the Duty being chiefly exercised upon the Majesty of God himself It is first in respect of Amplitude and Capacity forasmuch as all the other duties of Religion have a necessary dependance upon it and relation to it And the
and resolved themselves into the guidance of another whose Law is immoveably perfect and the same to every particular person There must be therefore an Universal and intire consent in their opinions desires and course of life as being derived from one and the same unalterable Law Iph. 4.15 They grow up into him in all things says St. Paul which is the head even Christ. And thus the unity of all sincere and faithful Christians with Christ and with one another may be easily understood of all and yet it is as real as strict and proper as the Metaphor in the Text before us by which it is exprest namely the unity of innumerable Particles of Flower by the balm or leaven which pervades and binds them all in one Lump or Loaf For we being many are one body and one bread V. 17. for we are all partakers of that one bread The Conclusion then is this that if all the faithful Christians upon earth are as the several parts of the same loaf if they are members one of another if they receive their vital influence from the same root 1 Cor. 12.20 if they are moved and acted by the same principle then we ought that is we must we can do no other than love one another intirely no love like that which sympathy and consent of will creates or to speak more properly love is not the creature of sympathy and consent but sympathy and consent of Will are Love they are the thing it self they cannot be distinguished And therefore without Charity without intire and perfect Love amongst our selves we cannot be united to Christ we cannot have eaten his Body or drunk his Blood The Elements will be no more to such as these nay less than common bread and wine We cannot be the members of the mystical body of Christ so long as we are separated from one another by the least degree of malice and evil will for no man ever hated his own flesh He then that loves not 1 Joh. 4 8. knows not God has no true principle of Religion for God is love Upon all these accounts it is that the Holy Sacrament has been always esteemed a token of Vnity a bond of Charity and a symbol of peace and concord And hence it was that in former times the Communicants brought their Offerings to the Minister Fruits of the earth or any Viands for entertainment which when the Sacrament was ended were eaten as a common feast by all degrees and ranks promiscuously without respect to place or quality And this was the feast of Charity â— Pet. 2.13 mentioned by S. Jude v. 12. and was concluded with a kiss in token of entire and perfect friendship But these pure and innocent Ceremonies being soon abused were afterwards disused Nevertheless we have something like them still continued in our Church namely in the Collection that is ordinarily made for the poor and after the Communion in eating and drinking what remains of the Consecrated Elements in the Church Rubr. without distinction of persons but as the custom is the meanest persons are invited to be the chief partakers of it Par. Sir I hope I understand you and I am heartily glad that I did not receive before I was instructed and I find upon the matter that it requires both time and retirement to prepare our selves as we ought to do and the first time more especially but I will endeavour by God's assistance to follow your directions Min. You have made a very good inference from our whole discourse the reason of the action and the solemnity of this most sacred Ordinance the several parts of our Religion which it has respect to require a very strict examination of our Knowledge Repentance Affections purposes and desires that so our apprehensions of the thing and the intention of our mind may bear a proportion to the outward action to the design the words and the gestures of the service Our devotion as you have heard is to be exercised upon every part of Christianity our particular defects are here to be bewailed the several graces of Faith Hope and Love universal Love towards God and Man are to be exerted in this solemnity and therefore it is very necessary to withdraw our selves from the world and retire into our selves some time before we receive That we may recollect the principles and the duties the blessings and the promises of our Religion that we may examine the state of our Soul what necessary Article of Faith we doubt of or do not understand what evil habit remains unmortified or is most unwilling to be subdued what is the sin that so easily besets us that has the advantage of our natural complexion violent inclination or present profit what methods we have taken or may take for the future to subdue it what improvements we have made since we last received and how we have kept our resolutions That we may sufficiently bewail our failings and take pleasure and satisfaction in our proficiency That we may excite and stir up our devotions by proper Meditations These are weighty matters yet very necessary and therefore require a previous consideration But to say how long how many hours or days or weeks a man ought to spend in Meditation and Prayer before he may presume to receive or to what degree of Knowledge and Virtue he must attain is both impossible and unnecessary Do you but remember that competent knowledge and great integrity with an hearty desire to grow in Grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.18 is the true preparation of the Soul and you shall be able with Sobriety to judge for your self He that wants this is not fit to receive but he that is thus qualified is a worthy Communicant though his knowledge may not be so distinct and clear or his virtues so shining and perfect as some other Christians possibly may be Has not God encouraged persons of weak Faith and a frail virtue provided it be true to hope for his acceptance Aatt 12.20 For he will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax says our Saviour that is he will support it and inflame it by the influences of his Grace if we have but the first beginnings of Holiness an hearty liking of it and desire after it he will nourish it and bring it to perfection Aatt 7.7.5.6 For to them that knock it shall be opened They that ask shall have They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled No man therefore that is inquisitive to know and sincere in practice has any reason to be discouraged For the Grace and assistance which God has promised he bestows and infuses into the hearts of men as by the immediate influences of his Spirit upon the Soul so especially through his Word and Sacraments It is certain we cannot be too well prepared but we may be too scrupulous about the degrees of Knowledge
by the assistance of thy most holy and eternal Spirit Amen A Prayer for Divine Assistance and increase of Grace MOST Glorious and Blessed God! Thou art Infinite in all perfections thy Will is pure and all thine Excellencies are unchangeable But though thou hast been pleased to derive upon us some small degrees of thy glorious Nature though we act for the sake of such ends as we our selves propose and chuse yet our faculties are weak our sensitive appetites impose upon our reason The law of our members prevails upon the law of our mind â—om 7.15 16 c. that we cannot do the thing that we would O work in me O Lord what thou wouldst have me both to will and do â—hil 2.13 assist me by thy Grace that the power of evil habits may decay and dye in me that the life of God and all the Graces of the Holy Spirit may grow more vigorous and strong Break not O Lord Mat. 12.20 the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax but assist my weakness strengthen my faint desires encourage my sincerity confirm my Faith inflame my Love cherish mine Hope and enlarge my Charity support me under all my conflicts and carry me through all temptations that I may chearfully do and suffer whatsoever pleases thee Matt. 5 6. Psal 63.1.84.2.42.1 Phil. 3.14 O how I hunger and thirst after righteousness how my soul longeth after God! how chearfully could I leave all things that hinder me behind and press forwards for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ if by any means I may attain the resurrection of the dead O perfect what thou hast begun Eph. 3.47 Gal. 4.19 Ps 73.24 dwell in mine heart by faith and form thy self in me Guide me by thy counsels here and receive me at last into thine everlasting glory through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen A Prayer for a due intention of Mind in the Celebration of Religious Duties O Father of Mercies and God of all our Consolations It was Thine own essential Goodness that first inclined thee to create us that thou mightest communicate thy self unto us and exercise thy Grace and Bounty upon us Thou hast given us all the assurances that our hearts can wish That thou delightest to do us good and that thine ears are open to our prayers 1 Pet 3.12 How justly then art thou the desire and the Worship of all nations O that I could praise thee with understanding and recount thine Excellencies with that Sense and Adoration as I ought O that I could make my Prayers unto thee with a perfect Heart with true desire and sutable endeavour that in all the Solemnities of Religion I could approach thy presence with such an holy frame with such a temper and affection of mind as the duty may require But O Lord I cannot enough bewail mine own formality and deadness in things Divine and Spiritual How difficult do I find it to raise in my mind a lively sense of God even in the most solemn duties How hard it is to bring my Soul to such a perfect Unity to such an intire concurrence as it ought to have with the outward celebrations of Religion But O blessed Jesus who once didst pity and forgive the infirmities of thine own disciples Matt. 26.45 who could not watch with thee an hour have mercy upon me Warm mine Affections by the irradiations of thy Love refine my Nature and raise me above the body Enlighten my Mind that I may know Thee correct the perverseness of my Will that I may chearfully obey Thee mortifie all mine inordinate desires that I may prefer and chuse Thee heal all my bodily distempers ease my worldly cares subdue mine unruly passions and preserve me from too strong temptations that my Mind may be always steddy and composed always fit to serve Thee here that I may sing an eternal Hallelujah to thy Praise hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer to be said by well meaning persons under any dejection or despondencies of Mind O Most Merciful God and Father Thou correctest Jer. 10.24 but it is with judgment not thine anger that thou shouldst bring us to nothing Heb. 12.6 thou chastenest every son whom thou dost receive All the evils that we suffer in the world are the directions of thy Wisdom for our Good Heb. 12.10 I therefore bless thy Holy Name for all thy Fatherly corrections wherewith in Mercy thou hast ever visited me And I humbly implore thy Divine Assistance that I may now behave my self with the most intire and perfect resignation to thy Will under that confusion fear and terror of mind which thou art pleased to lay upon me I rejoyce in the midst of this sore affliction as it is a token of thy care and Love how severely soever it may affect me Lord bring me nearer to thy self and preserve me stedfast in my duty to the end how sharp soever the means may be But O most gracious Father if the hiding of thy Countenance from me for a time has wrought those happy effects upon me for which thy Wisdom and Goodness did design it Restore me O restore me for Jesus Christ his sake to a sense of thy Love to peace in my Mind again Ps 6.6 I am weary of my groaning all the night long do I water my couch with my tears my Soul is disquieted within me sunk down into the dust of death even into the pit of hell Visit me O God Ps 106.4 with thy salvation cause thine Holy Spirit to descend into mine heart that he may defend and guard me in all my tryals support and quiet my dejected Mind Is 50 2. 59.1 Matt 8.8 Thy hand is not shortned that it cannot save say but the word O Lord and thy servant shall be healed O how would I magnifie thy Glory imitate thy Life and obey thy Will if Thou shouldst be pleased to trust me with Health and Peace again Lord pardon and hear the importunity of thy servant my heart is full Psal 6.4.55.5.142.1 Psal 60.1 Lam. 5.20 21. my soul also is sore troubled Lord how long wilt thou punish me O turn Thee again and have mercy upon me consider my complaint and let my crying come unto Thee O how chearfully would I do or suffer any thing whereby I might testifie the sincerity of mine Adoration Love and Duty to Thy Sacred Majesty I have none in Heaven but God Ps 73.25 and there is none upon Earth that I desire in comparison of Thee O when shall I feel that joy and peace in my mind which Thou hast promised to those that Love Thy Law Ps 119 165. O when wilt thou dispel those clouds of diffidence and fear which depress and trouble me even now that I find in my self the most sincere desires to do my duty in the World Yet not my will Matt. 26.42 O Lord but Thine be done here I am
do with me whatsoever pleases Thee Though Thou shouldst slay me yet will I trust in Thee I throw my self into the Arms of Thy mercy beseeching Thee to lay no more upon me than Thou shalt enable me to bear 1 Cor. 10.13 and all I beg upon the alone Account of the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen A Prayer for Protection with Thanksgiving O Eternal God! Thou art the Almighty Father of the world I was created by thy Power and am preserved by thy Wisdom and Goodness I am truly sensible of Thy particular Grace and favour towards me in all the periods and states of life thro' which I have passed * Mention here the particular blessings of your condition whether in pious Parents or in hopeful Children prosperous estate faithful friends bountiful benefactors good busband discreet or virtuoâ— wife c. O blessed God affect my mind as it ought to be with a sense of thy bounty and beneficence that I may rely upon Thy Providence for the time to come that I may be wholly resign'd to Thy most blessed Will and fully satisfied under all Thy dispensations towards me Endue me O Lord with all those gifts and graces that may enable me to acquit my self as I ought to do in all the conditions of life which thou shalt be pleased to call me to open mine understanding rectifie mine errors quicken my diligence strengthen my faith and with my capacities inlarge my Charity that Thou mayst still continue to be gracious to me to direct my Counsel to preserve my health to guide my hand and to bless me in all my ways and works thro' Jesus Christ our Lord in whose most holy name and words I conclude mine imperfect prayers saying Our Father c. THE END Matth. xxii 37 38 39. Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind This is the first and great Commandment And the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self THE Immortality of the Soul and a future state of Bliss or Misery according as our actions in the flesh have been good or evil are the common Notions the indeleble Opinions the universal expectation of Mankind And therefore a distinct and perfect knowledge of Religion or of such an Institution of Faith and Manners as will certainly be accepted of God procure his favour here and everlasting blessedness in the Life to come is a matter of the highest concernment to us No reasonable Man that believes a future Judgment with the consequent Rewards and Punishments can find any peace or contentment in his Mind till by a clear understanding of his duty and a firm resolution to fulfil it he has founded to himself a rational hope of a happy life in the other World But though the thing it self has been always steddily believed yet a consistent regular account of this future Life was never stated nor the methods by which it might certainly be obtained which so much concerns us discovered to the World till the light of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel appeared to give us the knowledge of Salvation Even the Jews had no distinct and clear conception of the Life to come The opinions of the Pharisees themselves concerning it who were the most zealous assertors of it were very absurd and sensual insomuch that Josephus compares the heaven of the Phanisees to that of the Greeks who dream'd of fortunate Islands replenished with all imaginable delights of the Body quick and more curious appetites and more perfect objects of satisfaction But by the Ministry of our Blessed Saviour Life and Immortality are brought to light proposed intelligibly and asserted with Divine Authority Hence the Pharisees having heard of the Wisdom of our Saviour that he had put the Sadducees to silence cleared the Doctrine of the Resurrection and was able to answer all the doubts and questions concerning the life to come sent a Lawyer from amongst themselves V. 35. to make an experiment of his Judgment who enquires of our Saviour under the style of Master Which is the great Commandment Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and thy neighbour as thy self The Text is a general Account of the way and method whereby we may attain everlasting life of such a conversation and course of action here as will procure to us everlasting blessedness in the world to come And all the Duties Qualities and Habits which are required of us as conditions of Eternal life are comprehended by our Saviour under these Two Heads The first respects our duty towards God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God c. The second respects our duty towards our Neighbour Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self I begin with the first of these which respects our Duty towards God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind This is the first and great Commandment And in the handling of this copious Argument I shall confine my thoughts to this following Method First I shall explain the terms and give you a more general account of the nature of the duty and the Principles into which it is resolved Secondly I shall consider the particular parts the necessary acts and exercises of Love to God First With all the Heart and with all the Soul And Secondly With all the Mind Thirdly I shall consider upon what Accounts the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul and with all the Mind may be said to be the First and Great Commandment Fourthly I shall perswade and encourage you to the practice of this duty and the pursuit of this habit of Love to God by several motives couched and implied in this one word Thou shalt love the Lord thy God Fifthly and Lastly I shall make Application of the whole I begin with the first of these the Explication of the terms and the consideration of the nature of the duty in the general and the Principles into which it is resolved Thou shalt love the Lord thy God To Love is to take delight and pleasure in the Object with a desire of such an enjoyment of it as the nature of the thing will bear and Reason will permit and the causes or reasons of such Delight and Desire are only two however various the objects about which they are exercised may be namely an opinion of personal excellency in the object it self or a sense of kindness or benefits received from it These are the onely Principles of Love these are the onely causes of all the delight and desire in the world that is voluntary and chosen Persons 't is true may be and very frequently are mistaken in their apprehensions of beauty and goodness whereby this best and most
agreeable passion of love is too often exercised upon unworthy objects pursued and enjoyed after an unreasonable manner But notwithstanding that whether the object be wisely chosen or foolishly whether the beauty apprehended be real or imaginary wheresoever delight and desire are there beauty or goodness in the object is however apprehended and supposed And from this general account of the nature and Principles of Love we may most firmly establish the notion of Love to God Wherefore then to Love the Lord our God is so to apprehend the excellencies of the Divine nature his absolute perfections in themselves and his infinite grace and goodness towards us as that we most sincerely and heartily admire and adore his Majesty and earnestly desire the most intimate enjoyment of Him and the most perfect union with Him that we are capable of This is the nature of the Duty in the general And the Qualifications with which it ought to be exercised are three with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind The Text is taken out of Deut. 6.5 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Might St. Mark Luke 10.27 and St. Luke express it with all thy Strength And because of this indifferent variation of the phrase and because the same thing is sometimes expressed by one of these phrases only as with all thy Heart 1 Sam. 7.3 Sometimes the Heart and Soul without the Mind or Strength as in the 2 Kings 23.3 Therefore some Expositors consider the Heart the Soul and Mind as words of the same or of equal signification accumulated only to press and inculcate the duty more effectually upon us but not as a Climax of perfection in the practice of it But because we may observe a real and material difference in the common use and acceptation of the words expressing the degrees of Intention and desire in the acts and operations of the Soul and because it will very much administer to the just explication of the duty therefore I shall presume and with good authority to consider the Heart the Soul and Mind as qualifications of gradual Excellency as a Scale of Perfection in the practice and exercise of Love to God And first With all thy Heart By the Heart according to the usual signification of that Metaphor we understand Integrity Sincerity of affection Ye have obeyed from the heart Rom. 6.17 the form of doctrine that was delivered you that is sincerely and without hypocrisie And innumerable other places Secondly with all thy Soul that is with Understanding and Knowledge that our Love of God be not only Sincere but grounded well proceeding from Causes proper and considered not with Passion only but with Judgment The Soul here may be understood of Reason and Discretion whereby we distinguish of Good and Evil base and worthy and to whose determinations the Will Desires and instruments of Action are obedient Thirdly with all thy Mind By the Mind may be understood the more Spiritual Principle in Man whereby he feels and enjoys the truth of such Propositions as Reason by comparing one thing with another shall discover Reason is as it were an Artificial Mechanical deduction of Conclusions from Premises but the Mind enjoys them really by an intire agreement with the Proposition And upon this account the wicked in Scripture are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as are able to collect the truths of Religion or any other Propositions by Scholastick inference but the Pious and Regenerate have an inward sensation of things Intellectual and Divine and are therefore called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to whose Body and Soul is added Mind or Spirit Wherefore then to Love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind is sincerely to Adore and Delight in God from a distinct perception from an inward sensation as well of his absolute Perfections in themselves as of His infinite Bounty and Goodness towards us And thus I have explained the Terms and stated the Nature of the duty in general I proceed as I proposed in the second place to consider the particular parts the necessary acts and exercises of Love to God First with all our Heart and with all our Soul Secondly with all our Mind And First the particular acts implyed in the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul are chiefly these First the Preference of God to all other objects whatsoever He that loves with Judgment esteems and values according to weight and measure according to the degrees of beauty and excellence in the object As he readily acknowledges whatsoever worth or goodness he any where discerns so he suffers not his Passion and desire to go before his understanding But God is a Being that exists of himself in whom is implied whatsoever can be supposed to be and in whom all being is resolved as into its proper and most perfect cause Defect supposes impotence and controul but Omnipotence implies the most absolute perfection Desire of Good when known is necessary But can any instance of goodness or perfection be hid from his knowledge or kept from his possession who is the cause of all things Wherefore then since all perfections are essential to this first and Original Good one of the necessary acts of Love to such a being is the preference of him to all other Beings whatsoever If our Love of God be with all the Soul with judgment and understanding then we know that there is none in heaven but God and none upon earth to be desired in comparison of Him That he is the fountain of all the imperfect excellencies of all created Beings that he is the most constant and the most potent friend and benefactor who made us by his Power and sustains us by his Providence guides us by his Council assists us by his Spirit pities our Weakness pardons our Sins and is ready at last to receive us into Glory Wheresoever therefore He is understood all other objects habits and desires will necessarily fall before him For whatsoever beauty or goodness may be found in any other object they are all derived from God in whom all fullness dwells That is the first The Second particular implyed in the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul is a stedfast Faith in whatsoever he reveals A sincere affection is apt in its nature to beget an unreasonable credulity It is very difficult to perswade our selves that our friend whose happiness we know is our greatest pleasure should abuse our Passion by deceit and guile to sport or private ends and therefore notwithstanding all the infirmities of humane Nature all the insincerities which may proceed from wicked dispositions and violent temptations yet Love creates an intire and perfect confidence in one another How much more if our Love of God be with all our Heart and Soul shall we
believe his Word and rely upon his Promises because he is Truth it self and cannot be deceived he is Wisdom it self and cannot propose or promise at adventure he is Power it self and can bring into act whatsoever he decrees He is Goodness it self and neither can nor will deceive us If therefore our Love of God be sincere and with understanding the most intire and perfect confidence in his Word and Promises are necessary We shall inquire into his Will study his Laws submit our apprehensions to his determinations and stedfastly believe whatsoever he reveals If there arise among you a Prophet or a dreamer of dreams Deut. 13.1 2 3. and giveth you a sign or a wonder and the sign or wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee saying go after other gods which thou hast not known and serve them thou shalt not hearken to that Prophet or that dreamer of dreams for the Lord thy God proveth thee to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul The adhering firmly to the Word of God though a Wonder should be wrought in confirmation of a contrary doctrine is made a test of our Love of God by God himself That is the Second The Third particular implied in the Love of God with all the heart and with all the Soul is such an imitation of the Divine Perfections as our present state and capacity will permit Self-love or a desire of being happy and perfect in the kind is the necessary inclination or the first principle of every being And therefore whatsoever Good or excellence we clearly understand as essential to or perfective of our being or conducible to the ease and convenience of our life we cannot chuse but desire the possession of it It is not so properly an act of reason as an instinct of nature But if we love the Lord our God with all our Heart and Soul with sincerity and understanding we shall discern the beauty capacity and perfection of our own nature in the Qualities and the life of the first and most perfect of rational Beings and shall therefore necessarily desire to imitate those Divine vertues which we so adore and love The abstracted essence of God is impossible to be comprehended by a finite understanding but we judge of the Divinity as of all things else by effects and operations by his works of Creation and Providence by his Universal righteousness wisdom purity and goodness so visible in the government of the World If we therefore apprehend and admire these glorious Attributes of God we shall endeavour to transcribe his Copy and model our Souls according to this Exemplar because the resolution of the mind that such a quality is worthy and excellent includes desire and imitation we shall endeavour to be holy as God is holy in all our conversation that as he is so we may be in the World wise in the management of our ends just in our dealings merciful to the distressed ready to forgive our enemies in all things aspiring after the Divine perfections and setting the Life of God before us as the Rule of our Conversation That 's the Third The fourth particular implied in the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul is a constant uniform Obedience to his Will What a chearful flexibility what a readiness to do any thing that may be grateful and pleasant to each other may be observed in the love of equals If therefore love has such a power where the authority is precarious only and by consent how much more will the Love of God oblige us to the most diligent observance of His will forasmuch as the love of our Superiors includes obedience in its nature No man can intirely love a Prince or a Father that does not approve and obey his Precepts and therefore St. John defines the Love of God by keeping his Commandments 1 Joh. 5.3 This is the Love of God that we keep his Commandments We cannot add to infinite perfection we cannot oblige Him in any real services who is already Lord of all there remains therefore no possible testimony of our Love to God without the resignation of our opinions desires and actions to his will This is all we have to offer If a man Love me says our Saviour he will keep my words Joh. 14.23 and he that hath my Commandments and doth them he it is that loves me Would it not be the greatest solecism in love if our friend should prescribe us a method of happiness promise his assistance assure us of success and we should receive it civilly applaud his judgment believe all he says but never proceed to accomplish the methods he proposes Hence those who live in disobedience to the Laws of God are said to hate Him Exod. 20.6 Indeed if we have any true conceptions of the Divine perfections which love supposes we know that God is infinite in wisdom to direct and guide us infinite in goodness and will suit his commands to our abilities full of mercy and compassion and will pity our weakness and pardon our failings If therefore love wheresoever it is sincere is apt to create an extravagant desire of pleasing the object even with the utmost hazard and sometimes by unlawful practices by humouring vices flattering deformities serving the basest ends any thing indeed that they think may gratifie the person How much more will the love of God oblige us to the strictest care and observance of His will because we know that His will is perfect He can command us nothing nor can he be pleased with any thing that is not truly Good He cannot be giddy and inconstant frequish and uncertain humorsome and hard to be pleased as imperfect objects are but He will receive our addresses and accept our services He will enable us to obey him and make the best construction of all our sincere endeavours and at last compleat our love in the everlasting enjoyment of Himself That 's the 4th The last particular implyed in the Love of God with all the heart and with all the Soul is the most hearty sorrow whensoever we shall offend him with an earnest desire to be reconciled Whosoever loves will endeavour to recommend himself by an obliging deportment to the good opinion of the object pursues a kind acceptance waits a sutable return and expects at length the enjoyment of his hopes If therefore he has given any just occasion of Offence by omitting what was necessary to be done or by doing any thing that was contrary to his Pretensions or inconsistent with his Love it must needs affect him with indignation against himself that he should bring his own sincerity into question injure the person whose happiness is his greatest Joy retard his progress towards that end he chiefly aims at and superinduce a Cloud upon that Sun by whose influence he lives Thus also in respect of God if we love him with Understanding we cannot but
pursue his favour and most earnestly desire to be loved again because we know that our Love of God if it be sincere and pure will be returned in the most ravishing delights we know that his Love is Life that it is not an empty Passion but exerted in the most substantial effects and happy instances And therefore that we should have sinned against him must needs be the most insupportable affliction because in proportion to the nature of our offence our chief design of obtaining his favour and the light of his countenance will be hindred and all our work of so great importance may be to begin again And as we shall be deeply sensible of our offence so shall we also be very sollicitous to be reconciled One of the most essential acts of Love is a desire of the good opinion of the object nor is any thing more directly contrary to that Passion than stoutness and indifference No man can sit down and be satisfied under the displeasure of his friend till he has acknowledged his offence dimulced his anger by sutable mediations and all such other acts as reason in his case will suggest unto him Thus as our Love of God will make us very careful to obtain and preserve his favour so shall we also be extremely solicitous in case of offences to be reconciled If our love of God was ever real it can never be withdrawn when once we have understood and have been warmed with the love of God it is not possible in the nature of the thing that we should ever be reduced to indifference for the glory of God is immutable and his Beauty perfect which where they are understood will of necessity both attract and continue Desire and Love as being the only object that can fully delight and satisfie the faculty Neither is this all but we know moreover that we cannot be happy without his Love if He hide his face we are wretched and undone that Impartial Justice towards offenders is as certain an Attribute of God as Infinite Goodness Nothing therefore can discourage us we shall never give over our Confessions and Tears our Vows and Resolutions and the tender of all such satisfactions as are possible for us to make till we have reason to hope that our sins are pardoned and our persons are again received into his favour These are the essential parts the necessary acts of Love to God viz. That we prefer Him to all other objects whatsoever believe his Word and rely upon his Promises imitate his Life and obey his Laws be deeply sorrowful whensoever we offend him and earnestly endeavour to be reconciled All these several expressions are of the essence of Love and flow from the nature of the thing And so I proceed as I proposed in the second place to consider the more perfect exercises of Love to God with all thy Mind Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Mind In the explication of the Words it has been already noted that the Love of God with all the soul is such an adoration of God as proceeds from a sense of the Glories and excellencies of His Being as they are apprehended by reason and inferr'd from his Definition Nature and Operations but the Love of God with all the mind is with a more quick and sensible perception of the Divine perfections with reason improved into a more lively apprehension of the object A young Philosopher shall acknowledge the benefits of frugality suppose or of any other Vertue and shall be able himself to deduce the advantages of it by the rules of Logic and shall believe his deductions to be regular and true But a man of Age and Experience besides what reason suggests from causes to effects has a sense and feeling of the thing he is affected with it it has seized and taken possession of him he is one with the Notion Thus Reason infers the Perfections of God from necessary Principles the Judgment is satisfied and the Will performs such acts as are sutable and consonant to such opinions and apprehensions of the Soul But he whose knowledge has affected his mind not only knows believes and acts accordingly but he has also a more quick and sensible perception and enjoyment of the Divine Perfections by an inexplicable agreement harmony and delight he is one with them ravished and overcome of Desire and Love And the particular acts implied in the Love of God with all the Mind are chiefly Three The first is frequent Meditation and a due intention of the Mind upon the beauty and excellencies of the object This is both an act and a cause of the love of God with all the Mind Where our affections are fixed there all our faculties will be employed Love therefore will provoke us to the meditation of God and Meditation will improve our Knowledge and perfect our Love For since it is impossible to discover a blemish in absolute perfection the more we pry into Him the more of necessity we shall love him Whosoever then is affected sensibly and in his Mind with the love of God will separate considerable portions of his time for the contemplation of the Divine Perfections He will abstract his mind from sensible things that it may be purer and more free more apt to apprehend more easily impressed by objects Divine and Spiritual Nothing hinders our clearer Knowledge and more ardent love of God but the prepossession of our affections by the beauty and goodness of the World These we converse with these we admire and court but as for the infinite perfections of God we believe them as the Doctrine of the Church and hope to enjoy them through the merits of Christ according to the Tradition of the Fathers We resolve that God is incomprehensible as indeed He is and therefore we never endeavour to find out so much of his beauty as by a due disposition of Soul without revelation or ecstasie we might Whereas if our lives were more retired castigate and sober our spirits would be purer our minds more quick and vigorous objects Divine and Spiritual would be more agreeable more easily felt and enjoyed by us It were easie to consider particulars and show how a due intention of mind upon the attributes of God will more sensibly affect us Do we adore Him for so much of his Infinite Goodness as appears at the first view in the general or towards our selves How much more should we be affected if we look it round and consider throughly this perfection of the will of God That God who is Omnipotent and under no controle should be bounded in his Will by the Laws of Goodness Righteousness and Mercy That He should vouchsafe to communicate his own likeness and subject the whole Creation to the use and convenience of Man that He should love us when we were his enemies and restore our corrupted nature to its first integrity by the passion of his only Son That He should still follow us
Duty being found so Honourable in its order so pleasant and agreeable to the humane Nature in it self my pains in proposing Motives which was the Fourth particular are I hope prevented The distinct understanding of the Divine Perfections requiring such intention and purity of Mind such a concurrence of circumstances as are competent to very few therefore our Saviour urges the duty of love to God by an Argument that falls under Sense and is easily understood of all that is to say our Relation to God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God Though God is infinitely perfect yet he vouchsased to impart his likeness and form a relation to himself that he might exercise his Goodness upon us and make us happy First in our Creation in the Dignity Liberty and Ingenuity of our Nature acting as God freely and for the sake of ends understanding clearly loving regularly capable of Arts Philosophy Policy and Religion and are sure to live for ever Secondly in our Redemption when we so foolishly desire to be independent and did what lay in us to cast off our Relation to God then God that knew our infirmities pitied our follies and redeemed us by the blood of his Son from the captivity of sin from our miserable servitude under the Tyranny of our selves our irregular lusts and passions and restored us to the rectitude of our Will to the Love and Obedience of himself again Thirdly in His particular Care and Providence The Government of God is managed by infinite Wisdom And though all his benefits are not bestowed upon every man yet if we rightly judge we shall find they are dispensed with an equal and impartial hand If one has riches another has health if one has external honour another has a good reputation if one has strength another has wit Every man for the most part has some particular happiness in his own condition sufficient to ballance his wants Thou shalt therefore love the Lord thy God What therefore now remains Vse but that we resolve to determine our Affections which are never idle never indifferent upon this most perfect Object of whom our opinion shall never vary our desire shall never cool enjoyment never clog where our reception shall be gracious and our passion encouraged whose kindness is immutable and whose Love is Operative It is Strength in Difficulties in Hazards Wisdom in Temptations Victory in Distress a Refuge in Fears a Support in Death everlasting Life to which of his Mercy may He bring us all for Jesus Christ his sake the Righteous To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be ascribed all Honour Praise and Obedience now and for evermore Amen Matth. xxii 39 40. And the Second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self On these Two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets THE Pharisees envying the Fame of our Saviour's Wisdom and fearing the success of his doctrine and the revolt of the Jews V. 15. took counsel together how they might intangle him in his talk and resolved upon a Question of State to be propos'd unto him Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar or not V. 17. To which they knew a direct and positive answer would either betray him into the high dipleasure of the King or at least into the hatred of the Potent Faction of Herodians But our Saviour who knew their thoughts defeated their malice by such a prudent and inoffensive answer as neither Party could except against viz. Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesars V. 22. and unto God the things that are God's and when they heard these words they marvelled and left him and went their way V. 23. and the same day the Sadducees came to him also who indeed believe no future state at all but they dissembled their opinion for the present and pretended to consult our Saviour as if they sincerely desired his Judgment in a case concerning the Resurrection of the dead but in truth with intent to expose the doctrine it self Namely if a Woman have seven Husbands upon Earth V. 28. in the Resurrection whose of the seven shall she be In answer to which our Saviour corrects their false and gross opinion of the future life and shows them their ignorance of the state of the question they proposed For in the Resurrection they neither marry V. 30. nor are given in marriage and thus with the same most perfect wisdom he astonishes the multitude V. 33 34. and put the Sadducees to silence too Last of all a Lawyer having heard of the wisdom of our Saviour that he had put the Sadducees to silence and was able to answer all the doubts and Questions concerning the life to come inquires of our Saviour under the style of Master V. 36. Which is the great Commandment Jesus saith unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind This is the First and the Great Commandment and the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets Which words are a general Account of the Way and Method whereby we may attain everlasting life of such a conversation and course of action here as will procure to us everlasting blessedness in the World to come And all the duties qualities and habits which are required of us as conditions of Eternal life are comprehended by our Saviour under these Two Heads The first respects our duty towards God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God c. The second respects our duty towards our Neighbour in the words of my Text And the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets In the handling of this useful and necessary Argument I shall confine my Discourse to this following Method First I shall explain the nature of the duty and consider what is understood by loving our Neighbour as our selves Secondly I shall illustrate the beauty and necessity of universal love and urge it upon your practice by several Arguments couch'd and implied in these words Thy Neighbor Thirdly I shall represent the likeness of this command to the former that of love to God in several Particulars and the second is like unto it Fourthly I shall consider upon what Accounts the Law and the Prophets are said to depend upon these two On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets Fifthly and Lastly I shall make Application of the Whole I begin with the first of these viz. the explication of the duty what is understood by Loving our Neighbour as our selves and that I may proceed more clearly I shall briefly consider these Three Things First Who we are to understand by our Neighbour Secondly What by Loving our Neighbour Thirdly What by Loving our Neighbour as our selves And first by our