in the Sacrament which doth not only represent unto you the manner of Christs Death and in visible Actions set before you what he suffered on the Cross Nor doth the Sacrament only convey unto you that Grace which flows from Christs Death but it doth seal and confirm unto every worthy Communicant all the Benefits of Christs Passion For God to magnifie his Mercy and Goodness towards Believers was not content to give them only a general offer of his Promises in Christ but thought sit to seal them to every particular penitent Christian and in the Sacrament actually to deliver him them Faith apprehending and applying the benefits of Christ which are all comprized in the Forgiveness of Sins and Salvation the sum of all the Happiness of this World and of that which is to come LVI And having tried and found your Faith toward God to be such as he has promised not to be displeased with your next business is to examine your Charity toward your Neighbour for it is required of them who come to the Lords Supper to be in Charity with all Men. If thou bringest thy Gift to the Altar and there rememberest that thy Brother hath ought against thee leave there thy Gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift This was our Saviour's advice to the Jews and may thus be translated to your self and every Christian If at any time you are coming to the Lords Table and there call to mind that you have done any man any Injury do you repair first to that Person whom you have injured use means to reconcile him to you repair the wrong and if you cannot let him know your willingness and request his Pardon and having done thus return to compleat your intention and receive the Sacrament in testimony of your Peace with God and your Neighbour This reconcilement with your Brethren is absolutely necessary not only to make your participation of the Sacrament but all other performances acceptable to God And you see it consists in a confession of your wrong and repairing it it being reasonable that in order to obtain his pardon whom you have injured you acknowledge your fault to him and to the utmost of your Ability make him amends LVII And as to this Charity here spoken of the very Elements of the Lords Supper figure and enforce it for the many grains made up into one Loaf and the many Grapes pressed into one Cup signifie how we being many are made one Bread and one Body And nothing can make all Christians to be affectionately one but Charity or mystically and spiritually one except Charity the Bond of Peace and Union And this is that heavenly temper of Mind to which Christians are obliged upon the account of the nearness of that relation which is amongst them for they have all but one Father one Saviour one Sanctifier they all profess one Faith have all received one and the same Baptism and all expect one and the same Inheritance But if in spight of all this you trample Charity under Feet and instead of being reconciled to your Neighbour you malice and hate him you are no more fit for the Sacrament than a Murderer for such are all those who hate their fellow Christians according to St. John in the third and fourth Chapters of his first Epistle LVIII And as Charity binds you to seek to be reconciled to those whom you have injured and to obtain their Pardon so it likewise engageth you to forgive those by whom you have been wrong'd And indeed the forgiving others their Trespasses is the condition of obtaining the forgiveness of your own for if you forgive Men their Trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you but if you forgive not men their Trespasses neither will your Father forgive your Trespasses This was our Saviours own Doctrine Mat. 18. from verse 23. to the end and also his Practice when he pray'd for the forgiveness of his Crucifiers and that at a time too when his own most grievous Agonies and Pains might justly have diverted all respect to others especially to those who were then actually putting him to death How dismal then is your Condition if instead of having your Heart replenished with Charity it be full of Malice if instead of obeying the Doctrine and following the Example of Christ you act quite contrary If you find your brest barren of this kindness to your fellow-Christians pretend not to any real respect to the blessed Author of that Name 1 John 4.20 For if a man say I love God and hateth his Brother he is a Lyar for he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he never saw You never beheld God with any Eye but that of Faith and therefore could never have Opportunity if he needed it to shew any kindness to his Person So that all you can do to testifie you love him is your Obedience to his Commands whereof this is the sum That he who loveth God loves his Brother also 1 John 4.21 LIX And if this love be without dissimulation such as Scripture and common Equity requires at your hands it will not only appear in a merciful forgiveness of Offenders but also in a liberal relief of the needy And I mention this latter Act of Charity because I find that something was ever given to the Corban of the Poor by those who came to the Sacrament If you consult the practice of the Primitive the best Guide for the present Church you will hardly find that the Lords Supper was ever administred without an Offertory In Acts 2.45 46. you have mention made of selling Possessions and Goods and parting them to all as every man had need And that this was done at the solemn times of publick Prayers and receiving of the Sacrament there is light enough in the Text to clear it You read likewise of a Command That upon the first day of the Week every man should lay by him in store as God hath prospered him The first day of the Week was that we now call Sunday and the Lords day whereon the Lords Supper was constantly received 1. Cor. 16.2 unto which they never came emptie but according as God had increased their Goods the Communicants gave to the relief of the Poor And if you look into the ancient Liturgies you will find them generally taking notice of this Religious Custom And that this was intended by our own Church is concludible from her placing Texts to persuade to this sort of Charity and desiring God to accept our Alms and Oblations in the Communion-office Apol. 2. In Justin Martyr a Father of the second Age we read how the Christians brought forth some of the good Fruits of the Earth and offer'd them at Gods Table and the Bishop or in his absence the Presbyter received them as an Abel's Offering and blessed God for the Fruits of the Season
sinful Body may be made clean by his Body and my Soul washed through his most precious Blood At the receiving of the Bread LOrd I am not worthy thaâ— thou shouldest come undeâ— my Roof but speak the Word and my Soul shall be healed Adding with the Priest THE Body of our Lord Jesuâ— Christ which was given foâ— me preserve my Body and Soâ— unto everlasting Life Amen At the receiving of the Cup. WHat Reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the Benefits that he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. Adding with the Priest THE Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for me preserve my Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life Amen Immediately after your receiving of the Sacrament say OH my God thou art true and holy Oh my Soul thou art blessed and happy Oh the depth of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! how incomprehensible are his Judgments and his ways past finding out Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name which saveth thy Life from Destruction and feedeth thee with the Bread of Heaven Glory be to God on high and in Earth Peace good Will towards men I praise thee I worship thee O Lord and I magnifie thy Name for ever who hast vouchsafed to fill my Soul with Gladness and to feed me with the heavenly Mysteries of Christs sacred Body and Blood I humbly beseech thee that from henceforth I may walk in all good Works and serve thee in holiness and pureness of living to the Honour of thy Name Amen Meditations whilst others are Communicating HAppy are those Servants whom when their Lord cometh he shall find thus doing Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you If any one defile the Temple of God him will God destroy Behold thou art made whole sin no more lest a worse thing happen unto thee Be ye followers of God as dear Children and walk in love even as Christ loved us and gave himself an Offering and a Sacrifice of a sweet savour unto God for us As you go from before the Communion Table this Doxology TO thee O King eternal the immortal invisible and only wise God be all Honour and Glory now and for evermore Amen A Thanksgiving after the receiving of the Communion to be said at Home THou O my God hast comforted my Soul thou hast strengthned and refreshed me with thy Blessings and rejoyced my Heart with the tokens of thy Love O how sweet are thy comforts how ravishing are the Effects of thy Goodness toward them that fear thee Wonderfuâ— vouchsafement Thou hast treated a vile wretched Sinner at thâ— own Table and fed me with thâ— Bread that came down from Heaven Wherein am I better than those to whom thou dost not grant this Favour It is not it is not for my Merits but because thou wilt be glorified in doing good to the most unworthy thou hast this day made me a happy Example of this thy free Grace and Bounty Vouchsafe me this favour also O my God that through the whole course of my Life I may give thee Praise and Glory and that the due sense of thy Mercies may make me unfeignedly thankful and that my thankfulness may appear in my care to walk before thee in Holiness Sobriety and Righteousness all the days of my Life Amen FINIS Books Printed for W. 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TO THE Right Reverend Father in God SETH Lord Bishop of SARUM My LORD YOur Name is here prefixed to the Ensuing Discourse neither for Charm nor Amuâ— to save it from the Rude and Censorious for it doth not at all â—gard what Entertainment it meets â—ith at such hands But it assumes â—is Honour upon the Account of â—s Author who having the Happiâ—ess to be one of your Diocesan Clergy thinks all he can perform in that Relation ought to be devoted to your Lordship as a sincere Testimony of his bounden acknowledging your Paternal
other Appointed means but by a due receiving the Holy Communion The Young Persons Devotions upon his first Admission to the LORD'S TABLE Expostulation WIlt thou then O God vouchsafe me to partake of that which my Soul has so long thirsted after Shall I this day be admitted a Guest at that Divine Banquet from which my own unworthiness ought for ever to exclude me Wilt thou be so gracious to a miserable sinner as to accept of a renewing of the Covenant I made in Baptism after that by numerous ways I have violated and broken it Then Lord I will not absent my self but draw near hoping to be found in the number of those whom thou dost invite even of those who truly and earnestly repent of their sins who are in Love and Charity with their Neighbours who intend to lead a New Life to follow thy Commandments and to walk from henceforth in thy Holy Ways For upon these and no Terms else do I come to the Holy Sacrament which yet I dare not receive till with all Humility of Soul and Body I have prostrated my self and made Confession of my sins The Confession ALmighty God Father oâ— our Lord Jesus Christ Maker of all things Judge of alâ— Men I acknowledge and bewail my manifold Sins and Wickedness which I from time to time most grievously have committed by Thought Word and Deed against thy Divine Majesty provoking most justly thy Wrath and Indignation against me I do earnestly repent and am heartily sorry for these my Misdoings the Remembrance of them is grievous to me the burden of them is intolerable Have mercy upon me have mercy upon me most merciful Father for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake forgive me all that is past and grant that I may ever hereafter serve and please thee in Newness of Life to the Honour and Glory of thy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayer for Pardon FOrgive me O Lord whatsoever I have transgrest against thee from the time of my Baptism even to this very Moment whether against Knowledge or through Ignorance at home or abroad sleeping or waking in Thoughts Words or Deeds Whether occasion'd through the fiery Darts of my Ghostly Enemy or by the unclean Desires of my own Heart Have Mercy upon me and grant me pardon through Jesus Christ Amen Remember not the sins of my Youth nor my Transgressions According to thy Mercy remember me for thy goodness sake O Lord. Lord the sins of these my Younger Days are many the Breaches innumerable wherewiâ—â— I have ignorantly or foolishlâ— for want of Knowledge or Coâ—sideration offended against thee Lay them not I beseech thee tâ— my Charge but of thy owâ— free Mercy and Compassion to 〈◊〉 wretched sinner be thou pleased to be reconciled unto me anâ— seal the same to my Soul by thiâ— blessed Sacrament For thy Name sake O Lord pardon my iniquity for it is great I have many ways greatly sinn'd against thee and have no ground of hope for Mercy but only from thy free abundant Pardon which I know exceedeth my Sins and for which I am the more abundantly qualified by how much my state is more truly Miserable On the account therefore of thy Free Pardon to the greatest sinners so they be truly penitent I beseech thee be reconciled unto me who this day unfeignedly repent and turn to thee For Purifying the Heart ALmighty God unto whom all Hearts be open all Desires known and from whom no Secrets are hid Cleanse the Thoughts of my Heart by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit that I may sincerely love thee and worthily magnifie thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord give me Grace this day to receive the blessed Body and Blood of thy Son my most blessed Saviour into a Clean Charitable and Thankful Heart that it may perfectly cleanse me from all Dregs of sin that being made clean it may nourish me in Faith Hope Charity and Obedience with all other Fruits of spiritual life and growth in thee That in all the future Course of my Life I may shew my self such an engrafted Member into the Body of thy Son that I may nevâ—â— be drawn to do any â—hing thâ— may dishonour his Name Granâ— this O Lord I beseech theâ— eveâ— for his Merit and Mercy sake Amen For Self-Examination ALmighty God and most merciful Father give me I beseech thee that Grace that I may duly examine the inmost of my heart and my most secret thoughts that I may know how I stand before thee Lord I confess all my sins and my unworthiness to present my self at thine Altar But thou and thou only canst forgive sin and give true Repentance do both gracious Father and them behold I am clean to come unto thee Lord make me a worthy Receiver of that for which I come even Christ and Forgiveness of sin in Christ and that for his own Mercy-sake and thine Amen For belief of Christ's Presence without disputing the manner O Lord God hear my Prayers And while others dispute grant that I may stedfastly believe behold I quarrel not the Words of thy Son my Saviour's blessed Institution I know his Words are no gross unnatural Conceit but they are Spirit and Life and supernatural He hath promised me if I come worthily that I shall receive his most precious Body and Blood with all the benefits of his Passion without amusing my self then about the manner of receiving Him Lord make me able make me worthy to receive Him For grant me this Favour and I know I can no more die Eternally then his Body and Blood can again die and be shed Lord so wash and cleanse my Soul that I may now and at all times else come prepared by hearty Prayers and Devotion and be made worthy by thâ— Grace of this blessed Sacramenâ— the Pledge and Earnest of Eternâ—â— Life in the Merits of the same Holy Jesus who gave his Body anâ— Blood for me Amen Immediately before the sight of tâ—â— Bread O Lord God how I receive thâ— Body and Blood of my moâ— blessed Saviour the price of mâ— Redemption is the very wondeâ— of my Soul Yet that I do receivâ— them is my firm and constant belief At this time they are graciously tender'd to me and my Faith Lord make me a worthy Receiveâ— and be it unto me according to mâ— Saviour's Word Amen Looking upon the Bread and Winâ— say O Thou that sittest on high with the Father and art here invisibly present with us come and sanctifie these thy Creatures of Bread â—nd Wine and those by whom â—hey are to be received Amen As the Bread is coming to you say LEt thy Body I beseech thee O Lord Jesu Christ which was given for me preserve my Boâ—y and Soul unto Everlasting Life â—nd grant that I may take and eat â—n Remembrance that thou hast died for me and feed on thee in my Heart by Faith with Thanksgiving Amen As the Wine is brought say LEt thy
others and beget a discountenance in your self But there will be no ground left for this surmise when it is duely consider'd that the Person to whom you are thus to reveal your self is a pious and discreet Minister of Gods Word one who will be as faithful to conceal as you are to discover your infirmities and as ready to heal your sores as you are to rip them up one too who will be so far from insulting over your Weaknesses or thinking ill of you for discovering them that he will love and encourage your ingenuous and Christian dealing and restore you in the Spirit of meekness and help to set things at rights between God and your Soul But suppose the discovery of your Scruples should indeed turn to your shame which is the worst you can fear yet to abstain from doing it upon this account is to betray in you a less care of your Soul than of your Body For the foulest and most shameful Diseases of the Body you can without blushing lay open to your Physician and will you then be coy and squeamish to confess the sickness of your Soul of which your care ought to be infinitely greater than of your Body as no less excelling it than the heavenly Manna did the Earthen Pot that contained it So that neither fear of shame nor any thing else ought to keep you from using such means as any way tend to its Salvation LXXV And thus having with what brevity and plainness I was able run through the several Duties to be perform'd at your coming to the Communion and brought you as it were to the Rails of the Holy Table before I leave you I will take the freedom to mind you how you are there to carry your self Where two things are now required of you namely a Devout frame of Mind and a decent gesture of Body LXXVI As to that Devout frame of Mind required of you at the time of receiving it chiefly consists in thoughts of your own unworthiness of being a Guest at so Divine a Banquet And in order to raise in and to humble you under a due sense of this Unworthiness call to mind the sins you have committed since you were last at the Sacrament because you are now come again to repeat and renew that Covenant which thereby you have broken LXXVII Be attentive to the actions of the Minister and when you see him breaking the Bread and pouring out the Wine meditate How Christs Body was broken and his Blood shed upon the Cross And above all think with your self that it was your Sins that drove the Nails into his Hands and Feet and pierced his blessed Side with the Spear That it was your sins with the sins of others occasioned all his Sufferings the pains of his Body and Soul and that if he had not suffered once upon the Cross you had been tormented to everlasting Ages And upon these sober Thoughts you will even abhor your self and with indignation behold your cruel dealing with your Gracious Lord. Consider too how nothing but the Blood of Christ can cleanse your sins and that it doth not like Abel's speak for Vengeance but loudly calls for Mercy upon them who spilt it if they repent and reform and still draws down Blessing upon all who worthily receive it in the Sacrament Consider too how Christ by those Sufferings which are represented and commemorated in the Sacrament has made an Atonement for your sins appeased the Wrath and satisfi'd the Justice of God which you have provoked and incensed against your Soul And this will raise up your hopes and make you come with an humble and religious boldness to the Communion being assured God will not onely there seal unto you but put you in possession of the benefits of Christs Sufferings namely Reconciliation with God and Pardon of your Sins LXXVIII Let your Tongue and Heart joyn with the Minister in that excellent Prayer wherewith he delivers the Bread and Wine The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given c. The Bloud of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed c. Lift up your Heart unto the Lord. Let your Thoughts be wholly set upon Christs death and its benefits for the remembrance of Christs death as it was one main end of the Institution so is it of your receiving of the Sacrament And look not upon the Bread and Wine being consecrate and blessed as ordinary things but as they are after a spiritual manner the Body and Bloud of Christ LXXIX And as these and the like considerations may serve to render your Soul devout so will they also make your Body humble For though Humility properly belongs to the Heart yet it cannot be outwardly expressed but by gestures of the Body And you are to manifest your Reverence at the Lords Supper by using such gestures as the custom of the place where you receive it account most decent humble and reverend Kneeling is the posture appointed by our National Church as fittest to signifie your humble and grateful acknowledgment of the benefits of Christ therein sealed to every worthy Receiver and for the avoiding of such profanation and disorder in the Holy Communion as might otherwise ensue LXXX If you look to the first Institution of the Sacrament you will find Christ employing therein such a singular care that nothing low or mean appears about it And in all times where Schism and Faction were excluded nothing but solemnity and expressions of greatest reverence appear'd at the receiving it But to proceed LXXXI Besides Humility and Reverence there is required of them who come to the Lords Supper a thankful remembrance of Christs death And this you cannot want when you reflect upon what he suffer'd for you both in credit and Body when he underwent the most painful and ignominious sort of dying and in those sharp and fearful Agonies of his Soul which forced him to cry out His God had forsaken him And seeing all this was to save you from perishing this must needs awaken you to an holy ambition of making your Thankfulness if possible as unspeakable as his Sufferings And how can you but praise and magnifie his Goodness who hath redeem'd you at so dear a rate especially when you come to the Sacrament to make solemn Commemoration of Gods mercies in sending his Son to die for you and appointing the Sacrament to be a continual Pledge of your Thankfulness for the same With Angels therefore and Arch-angels and all the Company of Heaven laud and magnifie his glorious Name praising him and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory Glory be to thee O Lord most high Thanksgiving or praising of God was the devout practice of the first Christians at the receiving of the Lords Supper Acts 2.46 47. And in after-Ages Thanksgiving was thought so necessary at its celebration that the Sacrament it self thence got the name of Eucharist A word though it be not found
has an Vnion with Him as being the Head of it so I believe there is a Common Vnion among the Members both those that are glorified in Heaven and those that in some degree are sanctified on Earth And this is called the Communion of Saints and is the first Priviledge of the Christian Church And by vertue of this all true Christians communicate in all Offices of Piety and Charity in doing good to one anothers Bodies and Souls And this they do upon the account that they have in common One God one Christ one Spirit one Lord one Faith one Baptism one Hope ARTICLE X. The Forgiveness of Sins As the Communion of Saints genuinely ariseth from the Nature of the Vniversal Church so Pardon of Sins follows from both For none shall have their Sins forgiven but those who live and die in the Communion of the Church For unless I abide in this Ark I shall certainly perish Now Sin as I have been instructed is of two sorts the one Original which is the sin of my Nature the other Actual which is the sin of my Conversation The former I brought with me into the World the latter I commit while I live therein And both these sorts of sin deserve Eternal Death and can only be pardon'd by the Merits of Christ For sin being a Transgression of the Law of God it can only be forgiven by him whose Law it transgresseth For Remission of sins is the second Priviledge of the Church which is preached to all in the Name of Christ and sealed in Baptism wherein I believe my Original Sin is presently pardon'd and that my Actual Sins committed after Baptism shall be pardon'd if I truly repent me of the same Now this my Belief of the Forgiveness of Sins supposes that I believe That God graciously and freely without any Desert on Man's part gave his Son to die for the World and That for the sake of his meritorious Death he remits the Fault absolves from the Guilt and acquits from Punishment all truly penitent and believing Sinners And I do further believe That he imputes to them the Obedience of his own Son and his Righteousness and by means thereof accounts them just in his sight I believe That all who are justified and thus acquitted have Holiness in some degree according to the Condition of this Life Which Holiness tho' it cannot altogether discharge them from sin yet it doth not suffer it to reign over them So that a justified Person is not under its Dominion nor yields himself a Vassal to it but resists its Commands and makes it die daily And for the greater security of the Forgiveness of sins God hath committed to his Ministers an indispensible Power and Charge to preach Faith and Repentance as the Condition of this Forgiveness He hath likewise appointed them to pray and intercede and also to baptize for the Forgiveness of sins and to administer the Lord's Supper in memory of that Blood which was shed for the Remission of Sins And indeed all that God hath left in the Hand and Power of his Ministers especially tends to make Men capable of receiving what they believe namely the Remission of sins ARTICLE XI The Resurrection of the Body It was the Hope of the Fathers under the Old Testament as well as it is of Christians under the New That there shall be a Resurrection both of the Just and Unjust And if it were otherwise Christians of all Men would be most miserable and all that I have learn'd and you have taught me concerning Christianity would be in vain But I firmly and truly believe That my Mortal Body shall be raised from the Corruption of the Grave by Vertue of the Resurrection of Christ And this my Belief is founded upon the Power and good Pleasure of God who both can and will raise from the dead the very same Body that died ARTICLE XII The Life everlasting The Enjoyment of Everlasting Life is the last Christian Privilege and that which crowns the rest And I have learned to understand by this Life the Enjoyment of all true Happiness in Soul and Body For I believe that the Faculties of the Souls of just Persons shall be perfectly enlightned and sanctified and that their Bodies shall live after the manner of Spirits and be exceedingly glorified And opposite to this Life everlasting I believe there is an everlasting Death which is the Portion of the Wicked And that as Life everlasting consists in the Fruition so I believe everlasting Death consists in the Loss of God's Presence and all other Comforts and is the enduring of the sting of Conscience and Torments of Hell for ever But as my believing all the Articles of the Christian Faith as they are summ'd up in that which is called the Apostles Creed supposes that I am to learn not only the Words but likewise the Sense of the Creed so it also implies that I should live like them that do believe for otherwise my consenting to the Truth of the Articles will stand me in no stead And therefore not medling with remote and learned Inferences I will draw such from each Article as are near and familiar short and edifying As for Example From my believing that God created me I infer I am bound to be obedient and subject to him By my believing that Christ redeemed me I think it my Duty to yield up my self to him as his Purchase and to be wholly disposed by him and employed only in his Service My believing Christ's Conception by the Holy Ghost and his Birth of the Virgin should make me diligent to fit my Heart for the Holy Ghost to overshadow and for Christ to be born in it My belief of Christ's Crucifixion should teach me to crucifie the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts and to destroy the Body of sin My belief of his Death and Burial should make me content to die for the sake of Truth being assured that if I suffer for Christ I shall also reign with him It should also keep me from being disheartned by Death seeing that Christ by dying hath taken away the Stinâ— of Death which is Sin and maâ— it an Entrance into Life My bâ—lieving the Resurrection of Chrisâ— should make me actually rise froâ— Sin to a New Life and utterlâ— to forsake my Sins as Christ diâ— the Grave to which after â— was once risen from it he returned no more My believinâ— Christ's Ascension and sitting â— the Right-hand of God shoulâ— teach me to set my Affections oâ— things above and not on thing on the Earth The believing Judgment to come should makâ— me careful so to walk as that may not be condemned in iâ— My believing the Holy Catholick Church and Communion oâ— Saints should render me mightâ— circumspect to preserve Charity which is the Bond of Peace and to avoid all things destructive oâ— Catholick Unity The Remission of sins which I believe should make me highly to esteem all those Ways and Means which
you may here do wisely to call to mind by what occasions and with what baits you have been â—nd still are apt to be drawn away and enticed to the end you may with greater vigilance and courage avoid and resist them For common Prudence will teach you to strengthen the Fence where the Beast useth to break in and to re-inforce that Avenue where the Enemy is wont to make and prevail in his Attack XLVIII The last thing I shall mention concerning your Religious Resolutions is their speedy execution for delay therein has ever been thought dangerous aâ— having a throat wide enough tâ— swallow the biggest opportunâ—ty And you cannot be suâ—â— till you practise what you puâ—pose for seeing your life coâ—tinually walks to and fro â— a breath and that you have 〈◊〉 warrant of being able to do thâ— the next hour which this yoâ— neglect and put off this througâ—ly concludes for the present dâ—ing of what you purpose Anâ— if holy Resolutions might safeâ—â— be delay'd yet they can be delay'd no longer than your comâ—ing to the Scarament becauâ— you cannot safely approach thâ— Ordinance without stedfastâ— purposing to lead a new lifâ— for till you are a new Creaturâ— or begin to lead a new life yoâ— are in sense of Scripture deaâ— And how absurd a thing is it 〈◊〉 put Bread and Wine into a deaâ— mans mouth none so stupid aâ— not to imagine You may indeed naturally eat and drink the Bread and Wine receive into your stomach the elements of the Sacrament but if you live in the liking much more in the commission of any thing you know to be sin you can receive no more spiritual nourishment in the Sacrament than a dead Carcass at the best Entertainment XLIX And this is another consideration that lays upon you a necessity presently to renounce your sins to give them a Bill of Divorce and to withdraw from them all degrees of kindness and respect For without this you can be in no fit disposition to be married to Christ and to embrace all the Graces flowing from him In short that Resolution which I call a branch of Repentance and which is indispensible required of you when you come to the Lords Table is made up of these two things First Renouncing of all sin Secondly Embracing of all Christian Vertues The first without the second is but sweeping the house without furnishing it And therefore when you have cleansed your Soul of the nastiness and dirt of sin you are not to let it lye empty but to furnish it with all those Graces commanded you in the Gospel such especially as are required in every one coming to the Supper of the Lord. And those are chiefly three namely Faith Charity and Devotion L. The necessity of Faith is expresly taught you by your first Catechism where it saith That a lively Faith in Gods Mercies through Christ is required of every Communicant and that the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lords Supper For it is by Faith that you there look upon him whom God hath set forth to be the Propitiation for your Sins even Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World Rom. 3.25 John 1.29 You easily perceive the necessity of Faith when you mind that in receiving the Holy Sacrament you are to believe that Jesus is the true Seed of the Woman which was promised in the beginning and was sent in the fulness of time that in hiâ— all the Nations of the Earth iâ— they will may be blessed he being the Universal and Mighty Saviour who both will and can save all that come unto him there being no other in whom Salvation is to be expected Yoâ— are likewise to believe that he was crucified or died an ignominious or cursed death and that the Merits of his death are sufficient to save all Sinners and that all those Merits are convey'd to you in the Sacrament when it is worthily received LI. But as to the clear Nature oâ— that Faith now required of you the Church fairly intimates whaâ— it is when she calls it a lively Faith in Gods Mercy through Christ LII And Faith is said to be lively when it works through Love shewing it self in well doing for where Life is there will be Action And the Life of Faith like that of Nature will shew it self in the Heart Tongue and Hands In the first by sincereness of Devotion and holy Thoughts in the second by wholsome and gracious Communication And in the last by works of Justice and Charity LIII The Object of this lively Faith is God's Mercy upon which it reflects as the Fountain whence the Scriptures have proceeded in which Gods Covenant for Mans Redemption is established and his Promises to believing penitent Sinners are contained And if you shall inquire into the reason of all this you will find that nothing but his meer Mercy moved God to make known his Will and in the Holy Scriptures to reveal the Means of Salvation and make the way to Heaven plain and easie It was onely to shew the great love wherewith he loved you and the exceeding Riches of his Grace that prevailed with God to be thus kind unto you LIV. But all this is through Christ he is the Conduit of all these Blessings being of God made unto all Believers Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification Redemption He is the Author oâ— all true Knowledge the cause oâ— your Justification your Sanctification and will be also of your Deliverance and rescue from all Calamities that you are subject to in this Life and at last from Death it self by raising you again 1 Cor. 1.30 And as by a voice from Heaven God declaed with Solemnity that he was well pleased with Christ so he hath likewise declared that he is well pleased with Believers only for his sake By Christ you are predestinated adopted accepted and pardon'd and shall be glorified So that in your own Person you may speak as the Apostle did in the Name of all Christians Ephes 1.3 4 5 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed me with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly things in Christ according as he hath chosen me in him that I should be holy and without blame before him in Love LV. In whom I have Redemption through his Blood the forgiveness of Sins according to the riches of his Grace c. It is impossible in any Duty without Faith to please God or to be accepted of him because whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin But in the matter of the Holy Sacrament Faith hath a more appropriate Office for by it as by a Hand Mouth and Stomach you receive eat and digest the spiritual Food and heavenly Sustenance by which your Soul is nourished to eternal Life And in the sense of the Spirit to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ is properly to believe on him