we follow the example of Jesus who though he was able by his very word to make the Elements what he pleased yet he did first give thanks or crave a blessing to shew us what we must do m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theoph. in Math. 26. He had given thanks in order to the Passover before Luke 22.17 and therefore it is likely that he made a peculiar Thanksgiving now relating to this mystery n Vid. Buxt Synag Jud. cap. 13. for so the Jews were wont to have several forms for the Passover o Super Pacifica benedicunt cum comedunt ea hoc modo Benedictus tu Domine Deus noster qui sanctificasti nos praeceptis tuis mandasti nobis comedere de Pacificis R. Salom. for the Peace-offerings yea distinct Graces for the meat and for the drink What the very words were with which our Saviour blessed God is not recorded so that all Churches have used their liberty in the manner of expressing this with some variety in the Phrase but as to the substance and design they are the same nor doth any Liturgy want some such supplication The Latine Church saith We humbly beseech and intreat thee O most merciful Father by Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord that thou wouldst accept and bless these gifts c. in St. Ambrose Make this our Oblation valid reasonable and acceptable which is made for a figure of the body and blood of Jesus Christ In the Liturgy of St. Basil We beseech thee let thy holy Spirit come upon us and upon these gifts here set forth to bless and sanctifie them c. And to name no more in that called St. Clements We offer to thee O Lord our King according to his institution this Bread and this Cup and we beseech thee vouchsafe to look graciously upon these gifts set forth in thy sight Now it is requisite that the whole Congregation should in heart join in this part of the Prayer to make it the more prevalent with Almighty God Math. 18.19 And to quicken us to ask with the greater Ardency let us consider how great a thing it is which we desire how earnestly did Moses pray when he was to bring water out of the Rock how fervently did Elijah call on his God when his sacrifice was to be kindled from Heaven but we do now beg a greater matter and for a much more noble end We behold the Creatures of Bread and Wine and we know them to be as yet no more p Antequam ergo consecretur panis est Ambros de sacr l 4 c. 5. But we desire they may be made the body and blood of Christ to us that although they remain in substance what they were yet to the worthy Receiver they may be something far more excellent which nothing can effect but that word q Si ergo tanta vis est in sermonibus Domini Jesu ut inciperent esse quae non erant quanto magis operatorius est ut sint quae erant in aliud commutentur Idem which made all things out of nothing We are not now begging for the meat that perisheth but for that which endureth to everlasting life John 6.27 yet we ought to hope he will grant us this request because we are about to partake of this Ordinance both in a right manner as Christ did institute it and to a right end viz. for a memorial of his Death we long after our Saviour with a mighty Passion and in this manner he hath chosen to communicate himself therefore we may chearfully request that by the receiving this Bread and Wine which he hath chosen we may become partakers of his most blessed Body and blood for St. Paul assures us the Bread thus blessed is the Communion or Communication of Christs Body There needs no real change in the substance of the Elements for this participation is not by sense but by Faith This lively representation by the operation of the Spirit gives us a fresh remembrance of the Love and Merit of our Redeemers Passion so that by Faith we lay hold upon him as the only satisfaction for our sins and then the Power of God doth by these Symbols communicate our Lord unto us and convey unto our Souls all the salutary benefits of that great expiation We have all the real effects the virtue and the comfort of receiving Jesus though we do not tear his flesh with our teeth And if it may please God to make us partakers of the benefits of Christs Passion we will not inquire into the manner but we will believe because we feel the effects and rejoice in the graces that flow from him nor shall we desire more § 7. Who in the same night that he was betrayed took Bread The best pattern for the Celebration of this mystery is to be taken from the divine Author thereof our Lord Jesus whose Words and Actions are in this particular so punctually related in the Gospels on purpose to direct us in this solemnity and when the Rite was disordered in the Church of Corinth St. Paul 1 Cor. 11. sends them to the first Institution as to the Rule and Canon by which they ought to rectifie all that was amiss and for this reason as we have noted no Church in the World did ever omit these words of our Saviour by which they believed the Consecration to be principally made Wherefore let him that Ministers pronounce them with great deliberation and the profoundest reverence remembring he speaks in the person of Christ And let each Communicant think he is placed among the Disciples in the presence of Jesus at his first Supper and since every Word and Action is big with Mystery let him fix both his Eye and his heart upon the Holy Table and prepare to entertain every particular with a suitable Meditation And first when the time is mentioned in which this Heavenly Feast was instituted viz. The same night in which he was betrayed r 1 Cor. 11.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In quâ nocte tradebatur Litur Clem. In nocte quâ tradebat se ipsum pro vitâ mundi Lit. S. Basil Perperam itaque Missal Rom. habet Qui pridie quam pateretur even the last night which he lived in this mortal Body Then consider in this manner Behold what kind of Love O my Soul is expressed by thy Redeemer when our sins his treacherous servant and his enraged Enemies were contriving his Death he was designing an excellent benefit for us the stream of his affections was so strong that no baseness or ingratitude could check it we might have expected that the horror of this dismal night should have made him repent of his undertaking and have put him upon reversing all his former favours but lo he adds a greater than ever he had given before and appoints this as a seal to confirm and convey the rest unto us Thy Love was stronger than death and when all the terrors of
is given for you Our Heavenly Physician being about to cure the Diseases of our Souls having thus prepared the Remedy and presented it to us he doth first direct the use of it a Medicus non tantum curat sed etiam monet Sen. ep 94. and Secondly Tell us what it is We are not taught to carry it about to gaze at and to be adored but to Take and Eat it For Christ having made himself a Sin-offering for us desires that Sacrifice may be accepted as ours and would have us to share in the benefits thereof wherefore he hath made this a Peace-offering as the memorial of it and invited us to take and eat our Portion that so he may be one with us and we with him And when we hear him so lovingly call us to feast with God upon the remainders we may very fitly fall into these Contemplations There is indeed a mighty difference between the feeding of my Body and the refreshing of my Soul that which enters in by the mouth cannot of it self reach thither yet I am commanded when I come for spiritual relief to Take and Eat and I will not enquire but obey because he that prescribes this method can work wonders and at once satisfie both Body and Soul wherefore I will perform the outward part and at the same time lift up my Soul above these visible representations and being sensible of my offences against Heaven while my mouth is chewing the holy Bread my Faith b Quod esca est carni hoc animae fides Cypr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil shall feast upon the satisfaction made by my Redeemers Passion until I find my Soul is nourished with the Joy the Peace and the Comfort which it draws from thence As he hath made his Oblation mine by his designing it for me so I will make it mine also by a particular application O strengthen my hand by a lively Faith and open my mouth by fervent desires so will I take and eat this and rejoice in so lively an Emblem which leads me into that within the vail and while I am performing the bodily part let my soul feel the spiritual efficacy of thy grace that I may not eat unworthily or to Condemnation Lord I feed upon thy love I lay hold upon thy Promises I will take and eat these as well as the material part if thou wilt please to enable me so to do Furthermore lest I should be mistaken and either not understand or not believe the true worth of this incomparable gift he is pleased to tell me what it is This is my Body saith he which is given for you and by that word he makes it to be so to every true Believer wherefore the Minister ought to pronounce this so reverently and so deliberately that the Communicants may have time to exercise their Faith because their senses cannot discover any material alteration For the true understanding whereof let me here digress a little for the satisfaction of such as are not prejudiced nor contentious We know how stifly the Roman Church contends for the literal exposition of this Text and what Tragedies have been acted upon those who did not so understand it but we have great reason to believe That our Saviour did not intend by these words to change the substance of the Bread and Wine into his natural Flesh and Blood For I. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This being Neuter cannot agree with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bread which is Masculine and it is very probable that our Lord did herein as in other things imitate that Phrase which the Jews used at the Feast of the Passover This is the Bread of affliction which our Fathers did eat c. and This is the Body of the Paschal Lamb which our Fathers did eat c. as the Talmud tract de Pasch declares For as that was not the very Bread nor the very Lamb yet they called it so because it did represent and continue the memorial of that and was used to the same purpose so in like manner He calls this his own Body who was the true Paschal Lamb because This Action doth signifie and remember it and by this Bread we are partakers thereof Secondly St. Paul the best interpreter of his Master expounds This is my Body and Blood by this is the Communion of my Body and Blood 1 Cor. 10.16 that is most plainly This blessed Bread is that which will make you partakers of Christs Body c. and 1 Cor. 11.26 he calls it no more but Bread even after the Consecration ver 24 25. And the same Apostle c Solet autem res quae significat ejus rei nomine quam significat nuncupari ut Petra erat Christus Hebraeis non signum Christi dicit Apostolus Aug. in Levit. Quaest 57. saith That Rock was Christ d 1 Cor. 10.4 not intending to make us believe the Rock was Transubstantiate but only that it was the figure and symbol of Christ and so might be called by his name Thirdly Nor did the most antient Fathers thus apprehend our Saviours meaning when they called this the Antitype of his Body the Type of a great Mystery the Figure of his Body and a Symbol called by the name of his Body e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazianzen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Mys cat 5. Hoc est corpus meum i. e. figura corporis mei Tertul. in Marc. l. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. Ego sum panis vitae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. Hoc est corpus meum Theod. Dial. cap. 8. and much more to this purpose Fourthly Nor will this opinion of Transubstantiation agree with the most antient Liturgies for in the most genuine part of them the Prayer of Consecration all those forms called from St. James St. Clement St. Basil and St. Chrysostome do pray after they have pronounced the words of Christ This is my Body that the Holy Spirit may descend and make that Bread so they still call it the Body and that Cup the Blood of Christ Yea in the Roman Church it self one of the most authentick parts of the Canon of the Mass hath these words That this Oblation may be made Vnto us the body and blood of thy most beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ Which doubtless may be done without any real change in the Elements themselves Yea and in the last part of the Canon long after the Priest hath said Hâ—c est Corpus meum by which they suppose the substances to be changed they say Through Jesus Christ our Lord by whom thou dost always create sanctifie quicken bless and give us these good things Which words being only applicable to the Bread and Wine do shew f Haeretici hujus seculi rident hanc Canonis particulam eò quod post Consecrationem adjecta sit quasi ea verba intelligi nequeunt nisi de pane vino nam Corpus sanguinem Christi non
to you consider the sound of his Masters feet is behind him wherefore labour to express the same reverence both in Soul and Body as you would do if Jesus were visibly present with a train of glorious Angels say as the Primitive Christians did g Porro moris erat Communicaturis dum accipiebant Eucharistiam dicere Domine non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum Authore Origine hom 6. in divers ap Durant Lord I am not worthy thou shouldst come under my roof and at the sound of his words let you heart leap within you for joy and say whence is it that my Lord himself should come unto me and then according as you have opportunity you may from these very words be furnished with most pertinent Meditations Meditations before the receiving of the Bread §. 4. The Body of our Lord Iesus Christ An Act of Faith O Eternal word of God by whose power all things were made I will not ask how thou canst give me thy flesh to Eat because I am abundantly satisfyed in thy saying This is my Body since thou canst make it become to me whatsoever thou sayst it is h Oportet igitur non in sumptionibus Divinorum mysteriorum indubitatam retinere fidem non quaerere quo modo D. Bernar. I believe Lord help my unbelief What though my senses assure me the outward substance and its accidents still remain i Corporalis substantiae retinet speciem sed virtutis divinae invisibili efficientiâ probat adesse praesentiam Cypr. de coen Dom. Yet my Faith and my Experience tell me there is an efficacy therein beyond the power of any other thing Alas the flâ—sh would profit me nothing John 6.63 for he that is joined to thee must be one spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 O let these sacred Symbols therefore make me partaker of thy nature and a partner in thy merits let them unite me to thee ingraft me in thee and make that body mine which did suffer Death for me and then I shall seek no further but be more happy than if I could understand all mysteries Sure I am This is thy body in Sacrament it communicates to us the blessings and benefit thereof and though presented in a figure and by a holy Rite yet it is to all its purposes that which it doth represent I will therefore receive it as thy Body and esteem it infinitely above all other food that I may not be judged for not discerning thy Body O let it be unto me according to my Faith Amen An Act of Humility I am a sinful wretch O Lord and yet if I bid thee depart from me I banish all true happiness from my Soul I long for thy presence but how shall I entertain thee thou wast born of a pure Virgin wrapped in clean linnen laid in a new Tomb and dwellest now where nothing defiled can enter but never was there so unworthy an Apartment prepared for thee as my polluted heart into which I durst not presume to bring thee but that I know thou canst make it clean However when by Faith I see that Body which all the Angels of Heaven worship I cannot but abhor myself in Dust and Ashes I am amazed to see such a Majesty come to visit a Sin-sick Soul in so poor a Cottage yea I cannot but tremble at thy presence O thou King of Glory because I am so overspread with the filth of sin But I will lament those corruptions which I cannot fully purge away and beseech thee not to despise me though I do deserve it I do profess my self unworthy but thy condescension in stooping to me will be the more illustrious k Majoris enim pretii beneficium est quod praestatur indignis Salvian and if thou hast less delight in me for the present thou shalt have more glory by me afterwards when thou hast changed my vile body and made it like to thy glorious Body according to thy mighty Power Amen §. 5. Which was given for thee An Act of Love Holy Jesus I am not worthy to touch this blessed Body as it is thine yet I presume to approach because thy Love hath made it mine This is the Sacrifice for my Sins the price of my Redemption and that by which my Soul was ransomed from Hell and rescued from a dreadful Execution it was given for me and it shall now be given to me And hast thou prepared such a propitiation for me and offered it unto me which is dearer to thee than thousands of Gold and Silver Lord I am even ravished with thy Love and transported with affection to thee who hast regarded me a forlorn Creature and disappointed my Enemies that waited to see my fall Dear Saviour I will love thee with all my Powers and strive and pray that I may love thee more and more as fervently as ever any of thy Saints have done I will give my self unto thee and despise all other things in comparison of thee and when I have once tasted of this all-saving Sacrifice which was given for me I am perswaded that neither Life nor Death pleasure nor pain things prâ—sent or things to come shall ever be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Amen §. 6. Preserve thy Body and Soul to Everlasting Life An Act of Desire O my Coelestial food the Bread that came down from Heaven how doth thy sweetness and my own necessities invite me My body alas is liable to temporal my Soul to Eternal Death and behold here is the Medicine of immortality which will remove the sting of the first and destroy the power of the second Death which will fill me with the graces which I want fit me for the glory which I desire and advance my Soul and Body above the power of Corruption I feel a mighty hunger created in me an Appetite kindled after these incomparable dainties which nothing but this Heavenly Manna can satisfie Behold I despise the meat which perisheth and feedeth for destruction and I long with a great impatience to taste of this Body of Christ of which I may eat and live for ever which will make the Grave unable to hold me and Hell not to dare to shut its mouth upon me O make no long tarrying but give me now and ever this Bread for I desire nothing but Christ and if I want this repast I shall faint or die before I come to the Mount of God A Meditation when the Bread is offered to us §. 7. Take and Eat this An Act of Admiration Whence is it that my Lord himself should come to me No sooner doth his voice sound in my ears but my heart within me leaps for joy Oh blessed tidings to my poor Soul almost famished with feeding on husks and vanity faint and languishing with grief and fear and behold thou sayst Take and Eat thou offerest thy self unto me and commandest me to feast upon thy own flesh
forth the Death of Christ and that homage and service which thou commandest us to perform Wherefore Dear Lord be thou pleased with this so sincere though poor acknowledgment not weighing or considering our merits by which we cannot pretend any right to thy acceptance but pardoning our offences which might cause thee to reject us Oh do thou deal thus with us through the Merits and Intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom as our Mediator and with whom as thy only Son in the unity of and together with the Holy Ghost we desire all honour and glory may be given unto thee O Father Almighty both now in this World and for ever in the World which is without end Amen SECT III. Of the second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 1. WHen we communicate often it may be very grateful and sometimes very helpful to our devotion to vary the form for which cause the Church hath supplyed us with an other Prayer that so according to the temper of our spirit we may make our choice This being more full of praises and acknowledgments will be most fit when our minds have a joyful sense of the benefits received in this Sacrament as the former consisting chiefly of Vows and resolutions is more proper when we would express our selves in love or duty And yet we may use either of them at any time because neither doth the former want Thanksgivings nor this Petitions for Grace The Composition of this also is regular and judicious pious and extracted out of antient forms and as the former Prayer it will not only serve to close our Devotions within the Temple a Non est vera Religio quae cum templo relinquitur Lactantius but it offers very useful Meditations for the Closet also after we return home as the ensuing method will demonstrate The Analysis of the Second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 2. This Second Prayer consists of Four Parts 1. A hearty Thanksgiving for the present Favour describing 1. The Object of our Praise Almighty and everlasting God we most heartily thank thee 2. The Subject thereof for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual Food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ 2. A free Confession of the Benefits assured thereby 1. In possession 1. The Love of God And dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us 2. Union with the Saints and that we are very Members incorporate into the mystical Body of thy Son which is the blessed Company of all faithful People 2. In reversion Eternal Life And are also Heirs through hope of thy everlasting Kingdom by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy dear Son 3. An humble Petition that we may retain them shewing 1. The Thing requested And we most humbly beseech thee O heavenly Father so to assist us with thy Grace 2. The Ends why we do request it viz. for 1. Perseverance that we may continue in that holy Fellowship 2. Fruitfulness and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in 3. The Motive to obtain it Through Iesus Christ our Lord 4. A concluding Doxologie to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory world without end Amen A Practical Discourse upon the second Prayer with Meditations after the Communion § 3. Almighty and everliving God we most heartily thank thee for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ This Act of Thanksgiving may be expressed in various words but it must not be omitted after the Communion and therefore it is put into both these forms We ought not at any time rudely to ask for blessings from God until we have prepared the way by Praises b Arrogans oratio si ab homine quid petiturus dicas statim da mihi hoc Peto Debet inchoari oratio à laude Dei ut sequatur supplicatio Ambr. de Sacr. l. 6. c. 5. But having so lately received so great mercy it would be unsufferable to pray for more till we have acknowledged that which is already bestowed on us And by confessing the former mercy in the very entrance of this Prayer we do both encourage our selves to ask and expect further blessings c Sequentium rerum certitudo est praeteritorum exhibitio Greg. in Evang. hom 1. and we do also by our gratitude engage the Almighty to give us more d Ascensus gratiarum descensus gratias Cassiod Efficacissimum genus est rogandi gratias agere Plin. Paneg. Indignus est dandis qui ingratus est pro datis Aug. de temp 112. Besides the very gift it self now imparted to us is the greatest and the best the most sweet and most necessary for us in the World we bless God for our daily Bread our common food how much more then ought we to praise him for this spiritual food which nourisheth our Souls unto life everlasting True it is that carnal and unworthy Receivers have little cause of joy e Sacrificia non sanctificant hominem non enim indiget Deus sacrificio sed conscientia ejus qui offert sanctificat hominem pura existens Irenae l. 4. c. 34. for they have eat the Bread and drank the Wine not discerning the Lords Body and Blood but those that prepared themselves by Repentance and received by Faith those I say have fed upon the spiritual part and therefore they have the most reason with all their powers to bless the Lord in this wise An Act of Thanksgiving It is a mighty favour to me O my God that thou hast made bread to grow out of the Earth to nourish my mortal body but O how far hast thou transcended that mercy in giving me the Bread of Life from Heaven to feed my immortal Soul Whom was there in Heaven or Earth that I could have wished for in comparison of Jesus Christ and now thou hast given him to me whom my Soul longed for and in him thou hast given me all for he is all in all He is the fairest of ten thousand for whose sake I will trample upon all that this World accounts desirable O my Soul bless thou the Lord I came not to gaze at or taste of the outward part but to satisfie the longings of my sin-sick Soul by laying hold of the merits of a Crucified Saviour yet I have received the Sacred Elements and thou hast made them to me that which I needed and desired even the Body and Blood of thy Son I have received his flesh in Sacrament but his grace in reality f Ideo in similitudine quidem accipis sacramentum sed verae naturae gratiam virtutemque consequeâ—is Ambr. de sacr l. 6. And O how it fills my Soul with joy to behold thy Majesty
have another opportunity but that thy next Inditement may be in another World And in the mean time that an All-seeing God will come in at this Feast to inquire how faithfully thou hast performed this Duty And then fifthly Set your self seriously to look over all the Records of your Memory and Conscience Call to mind all Places you have been in all Companies and Persons with which you have conversed Reflect upon your designs your business your pleasure and divertisements with all those circumstances which may represent unto you all your evil thoughts words and actions and may set before you all the good which you have omitted And if any seem dubious Quo praetergressus quid factum in tempore quid non Offensus pravis date palmam praemia rectis you must prove and try them Lam. 3.40 That you may condemn them in your judgment as well as recollect them by your memory And do this as impartially as is possible judging the same of your own Actions as you would if they were done by the worst of your Enemies For your better help wherein the following Table is contrived Sect. 6. Brief heads of Self-Examination upon every one of the Commandments I. Commandment § Though I have not Atheistically denied the Being of God or wickedly renounced him by Apostasie Yet § Have I not loved desired and delighted in other things more than God § Have I not feared Men more than God and sinned against him to avoid their displeasure or outward Sufferings § Have I not trusted in Man and relyed on outward means more than on God in my wants dangers and distresses § Have I neither neglected lawful means nor used unlawful means to bring me out of them § Have I not despaired of Gods mercy so as to neglect my duty or by presuming upon it incouraged my self to go on in Sin § Have I not been fearless of the divine threatnings And yet discontented with impatient under and unreformed by Gods Corrections § Have I not been unthankful for goods things or ascribed the praise of what I am have or can do to fortune my self or any other Creature Lord have mercy c. And encline c. II. Commandment Though I have not worshipped God by Images Yet § Have I not entertained gross and false Conceptions of God and worshipped him so as is unbecoming his Divine Nature § Have I not failed in any of the parts of Religious Worship § Have I not either omitted or sleightly performed Morning and Evening Prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures § Have I not been indifferent and customary as to my coming to the Publick Worship § Have I not behaved my self there without Reverence or Devotion forgetting the Presence of the Invisible God whom I serve § Have I not by design or carelesness neglected the Lords Supper or come to it ignorantly rashly and without preparation § Have I not received it irreverently and without spiritual affection or broken the vows and promises I then made Lord have mercy c. And encline c. III. Commandment If I have not openly blasphemed the Holy Name of God § Have I not sleightly or irreverently mentioned his Holy Name or Attributes § Have I not prophanely jested upon or abused his holy Word § Have I not violated holy Places Persons Ordinances or any thing peculiarly dedicated to God § Have I not taken Gods name in vain by common Swearing or by Cursing my self or others § Have I not taken false or unlawful Oaths Or broken my lawful Oaths or Vows Especially my Baptismal Vow Lord have mercy c. And encline c. IV. Commandment § Have I not neglected the publick worship of God on the Sabbath Day § Have I not mispent any part thereof in vain sports idle discourses complemental visits or unnecessary business § Have I not permitted those under my charge to prophane it § Have I not forgotten to praise God for the Creation and Resurrection especially on this Day § Or for his other Mercies in his Son or his Servants upon the Festivals of the Church § Have I not sleighted these solemnities or abused them by debauchery Lord have mercy c. And encline c. V. Commandment § Have I not omitted or acted contrary to my Duty in those Relations wherein I stand § Have I not censured envyed or railed against my Domestical Ecclesiastical or civil Governours instead of honouring imitating and praying for them § Have I not been undutiful to my Parents disloyal to my Prince stubborn or unfaithful to my Master fractory and unthankful to my Minister peevish and unkind to my Yokefellow § Have I been careful to instruct and incourage in well doing To reprove and chastise for ill doing those under my charge Lord have mercy c. And encline c. VI. Commandment If I have not actually taken away the life of any person Yet § Have I not made my Neighbours life grievous concealed designs against it or willingly hastned his death or wished it § Have I not by fighting or quarrelling wounded or maimed him or drawn him to any vice which might destroy his health or shorten his life § Have I not been rashly and immoderately angry or used reviling and quarrelsom speeches or harboured thoughts and purposes of Malice and Revenge § Have I not been intemperate in meat or drink or any other ways prejudiced my own health or indangered my life Lord have mercy c. And encline c. VII Commandment If I have escaped the grosser acts of Adultery and Fornication Yet § Have I not neglected to use the means to preserve my own and others Chastity § Have I not by gluttony and drunkenness pampered my body or by cherishing unclean thoughts purposes and desires defiled my Soul § Have I not run into any occasions or used any provocations of wantonness § Have I not used or listened to filthy talking or been guilty of immodest Garbs or unchast behaviour Lord have mercy c. And encline c. VIII Commandment If I have not been guilty of notorious Felony or Robbery Yet § Have I not by negligence in my particular Calling run into debt without hopes or purposes of repayment § Have I not wasted my own Estate and ruin'd my Family by idleness or prodigality § Have I not cheated my neighbour in buying or selling breaking my Covenants fraudulent writings or falsifying my word § Have I not by violence or oppression exacted of my inferiours or by unreasonable usury taken advantage of others necessity § Have I not wasted or imbezeled that which was committed to my trust refused to restore the pledge abused what was lent or denied that which was found by me Lord have mercy c. And encline c. IX Commandment If I have not before a Magistrate directly sworn falsly Yet § Have I not accustomed my self to lying in my common discourse § Have I not maliciously and uncharitably raised or spread abroad evil and false
them in their want He shall receive an hundred fold for it He may be confident it shall be paid him again with large interest both on Earth and in Heaven Mark 10.29 30. And who would not wish for such a Creditor § 20. Psalm 41.1 Finally let us only be liberal and we are here assured that we shall not stay for our reward till the next World but that we shall find the benefit of our Charity as soon as ever we begin to need it Paraphrase Blessed and happy shall be te Man that out of a charitable heart z Vatab. marg Qui prospicit agroto provideth for the necessities of the sick and weak in body and considereth and relieveth the wants of the Poor and needy in Estate As his bounty delivereth those poor Creatures in their Calamity so The Lord of Heaven who sees and remembers all such Deeds shall deliver him most readily when he also shall be poor or sick or fallen into any straits in the time of trouble a Visitatio aegrotorum liberat à gehennà RR. God will then think of him and be his surest Comfort *** If the Congregation be large and the Alms long in gathering thou mayst profitably read all or most of these Sentences to enlarge thy heart and quicken thy Charity if the offering be short yet read some of them before it come to your turn and then prepare your own Oblation and the next Section will teach you how to present it § 5. As these Divine Parcels of Holy Writ do move us to Charity and Alms-deeds at all times so especially at the receiving of this blessed Sacrament for which I will now suppose thou hast prepared a large gift according to thy ability and art ready to offer the same with a chearfui countenance and a joyful heart b Offertorium enim olim cantari notant Rupert de divin off c 2. Isidor de Eccl. offic l. 1. c. 14. ut â—im in esse vide 1 Chron. 29 9. 2 Chron. 29.27 28 29. As an acknowledgment of the bounty of the Father who gave thee all that thou hast c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Liturg. S. Chrysost 1 Paral. 29. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo. and of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who though he was rich became poor that thou through his Poverty mightest be rich Look not therefore on the By-standers but lifting up thy Soul to God and bowing down thy head cast in thy mite into this Treasury with these or the like thoughts O Lord I give thee a small part of thine own who hast given me all my Earthly Comforts yea thy own Son out of thy bosom to become my Salvation and hast not disdained to adopt me an heir of thy Glories Oh that I could give a thousand times more thy love deserves it but this alas I give not as a requital of thy favour but a testimony how much more I owe unto thee but my Charities cannot extend to thee who needest nothing only sweetest Jesus I do gladly embrace my poor Brethren thy Friends whose Souls thou hast purchased with thy dearest blood and made them with me Heirs of the same glory I rejoice that thou accepted so small a matter to them as done to thy own self Behold therefore I beseech thee a Soul so sick and leprous poor and naked that it needs thy mercy more than the miserablest Creature in the World my Charity Oh how many and how earnest Prayers do I need Could I engage all the poor on Earth whose Prayers soonest pierce the Clouds I need all this and much more to make way for mine acceptance But O my Saviour this is a Day of grace in which thou scatterest thy bounties Wherefore remember my Soul which is undone without thy pitty and since thy mercies are infinitely greater than ours Lord do not pass me by Far be it from me to think so meanly of thy love as to esteem my Alms the purchase of it No no I do only by this small token give thee the Livery and Seisin of me and all mine and having vowed to pursue a more plorious interest and to seek thy Kingdom I do renounce the riches of this World which I will never value more than as they may serve to relieve thy members and mak me friends that I may be received into everlasting habitations Oh happy exchange and admirable way of Gain But so thou art wont to deal with us O God to accept trifles from us and give glories to us great and endless and inexpressible I adore thee O my Lord and I love thee infinitely and because no Earthly gift can bear proportion to such unspeakable goodness I will give my Soul also and it shall be thine for ever Amen SECT VII Of the Prayer for the whole Church § 1. AS the people of Israel were wont to bring their gifts and Sacrifices to the Temple and by the hands of the Priest to present them to Almighty God So are we appointed to give our Oblations into the hands of the Minister of Christ who by vertue of his Office may best recommend them with Prayers and Praises to the Majesty of Heaven and yet we must not neglect to join with him in these Supplications both to beg the acceptance of our offering and to shew that our Charity extendeth further than our Alms can reach for the benefit of these is received only by a few of our Neighbours but we ought to love all the World especially our Christian Brethren a Sapientes sapientibus etiam ignotis Amicos esse dixerunt Stoici ap Cicer even those who do not need or cannot have profit by our gifts And how can we express this better than by recommending them all to the mercies of God who is able to relieve them all and of whose bounty all have need Which excellent Duty though it be to be done daily yet at this Holy Sacrament it is most proper because we here behold the Universal love of Jesus and are declared lively Members of his Mystical body and conjoined in the strictest bonds of Union with all our fellow Christians Besides when can we more effectually intercede with God for the whole Church than when we represent and shew forth that most meritorious Passion on Earth b Eucharistia est commemoratio sola quae propitium facit Deum hominibus Orig. Hom. in Lev. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dionys Ep. ad Demoph by the vertue whereof our great High-Priest did once redeem and doth ever plead for his whole Church even now that he is in Heaven This Sacrament therefore hath been accounted the great Intercession and accordingly all the antient Liturgies did use such universal Intercessions and Supplications while this Mystery was in hand and in the time of St. Cyril there was a Prayer used c Super illa propitiationis hostia obsecramus Deum pro communi Ecclesiarum pace pro tranquillitate Mundi pro Regibus pro
the Custom when any Persons brought their Offerings to the Altar for the Priest and the Pious By-standers to say The Lord accept thee Psal 20.3 4. 2 Sam. 24.23 in imitation whereof we do here beg the Divine acceptance both of our Charity and Devotion And that we may do it heartily let us consider how much they need to be accepted with favourable allowances for first If Alms and Prayers both be offered as it is pitty they should ever be parted though they do assist and recommend each other yet we do not think our gift hath obliged God to hear our Petitions nor our Petitions given such priviledge to our gift as that we may boldly challenge God upon the account of either wherefore we desire him with favourable and gracious acceptance to entertain them both Secondly If we respect the Alms alone which we have given though it be owned by Gods goodness to be offered to himself Prov. 19.17 and Math. 25.40 yet it were an arrogance not to be endured to think so Universal and excellent blessings were the purchase of our contemptible oblation which hath no proportion in its own value to them only if we present it humbly our gracious father will accept it as our acknowledgment of his goodness and a testimony of our Love Thus therefore we pray that he would accept our Alms viz. in mercy esteeming them not by their own worth but by the affection of the Givers Thirdly If we do only regard our Prayers we may soon discover how little they will avail unless the Lord accept them with grace As to those we have hitherto made if we look back upon the many wandrings and interruptions the coldness and indifferency the sin and infirmity that did mingle with them all we shall see we had need heartily to beseech God to accept them with benign interpretations and to excuse the imperfections of them But if these our Prayers be meant of those Petitions which we are now about to make in this Form let us remember how great a presumption it seems for us to ask for others nay for all people when as we are not worthy to pray for our selves yet let us humbly beg a candid acceptance of these Petitions which we offer not as if we were fit Advocates for all the World but in obedience to his Command who hath bid us thus to express our Charity § 5. Beseeching thee to inspire continually the Vniversal Church with the Spirit of Truth Vnity and Concord Among the several Prayers which were made at the Holy Table it was particularly enjoined that they should pray for The Holy Catholick Church extended from one end of the Earth to the other which the Lord had redeemed veith the precious blood of Christ saith the Author of the Apostolical Constitutions for the Sacrifice here commemorated was offered for the Church Acts 20.28 which is called the body of Christ Ephes 5.23 Colos 1.24 but because the body without the spirit is dead we therefore beg that as he once quickened the lump of Earth into a living Spirit by breathing into it the breath of Life so he will please to inspire his Holy Spirit into his mystical body according as he hath promised John 14.16 and that not only once John 20.22 but that it may continually be supplyed with vital influences by its Union with its Divine Head the Lord Jesus the blessed success whereof is noted in the three happy effects of this Heavenly Inspiration First That the Church will be directed into all Truth by the Spirit of Truth John 14.17 and 16.13 1 Epist 2.27 and so be preserved from Heresie Secondly That all the Members thereof shall agree in the same judgment and combine in the Unity of the Spirit Ephes 4.3 and so be secured from Schism 1 Cor. 1.10 Thirdly That the affections of all persons in this body shall be joined in perfect Concord and tied in the Bonds of Love and Peace Ephes 4.3 for the prevention of hatred wrath and emulation How passionately therefore is this blessed Spirit to be prayed for and how necessary are all and every one of these Truth without Unity is weak and troublesome Unity without Truth is dangerous and mischievous e Vnitas sine veritate proditio est D. Cypr. and both without Charity are insignifcant and cannot last long Let us consider the mischiefs which the Church hath endured by false Principles divided Judgments and opposite affections that in the apprehension of our want of this comprehensive Blessing we may most vigorously beg this continual inspiration which may make the Church happy by Unity in its Doctrine Harmony in its Discipline and Charity in the affections of all the parts and members thereof § 6. And grant that all they that do confess thy Holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word and live in Vnity and godly Love This Petition is but a further confirmation of the former for when the several Members of the Church live in Unity Peace and Love it is the best demonstration that the whole body is acted by the Divine Spirit John 13.35 Josh 22.31 for these universal mercies are to be obtained by induction of particulars and rhe internal inspiration ought to be manifested by Acts of a visible Charity Now if we want affections wherewith to make this request let us but view the miferable effects which differences in opinions and affections have produced in the Christian World consider how thereby Religion hath been disgraced and God dishonoured and all outrages have been committed the Heathens are scandalized and kept out and the Christians who are within are hindred in their Piety and our differences are made wider by arguing the more we dispute f Disputando de sacris accenditur tantùm contentio Sisin in Eccl. Hist the less we agree and while we contend for the Faith we lose our Charity But this is the fault of the men and not of the Religion for Jesus hath left us an impartial judge which is his holy Word and is Truth it self John 17.17 by which if we would without prejudice or interest suffer our Opinions to be tryed g Expellentes igitur hostile certamen ex verbis divinitùs inspiratis solutionem quaestionum mente percipiamus Constan Mag. ad Patres Nicaenos Hist trip l. 2. c. 5. it would happily compose all our controversies or where a determination is needless teach several Churches to dissent with more moderation and direct particular persons to submit in such things to their proper spiritual guides and to live in godly and Religious love with their fellow Christians h Maneat moralis benevolentia inter discordes sententiâ Lemma Cardin. Rachel If any say that there is little hope that this still voice of Gods word should be heard in the hurry of our contentions or no likelyhood of so sweet a composure I answer That however it is highly desirable and therefore ought to be prayed for and which is considerable
such as shall be religiously c. 3. The Matter to be done the most comfortable Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ 4. The manner how it is to be done 1. In Commmemoration to be by them received in remembrance of his c. 2. With thanksgiving both for 1. Christs death Wherefore it is our duty to render most humble c. 2. This Sacrament But also to be our spiritual food and sustenance c. 2. Exhortation in which note 1. The ground of this Exhortation viz. 1. The benefit of doing it well Which being so divine and comfortable a thing to them c. 2. The danger of doing it ill and so dangerous to them that will presume c. 2. The Paâ—ts of it which are 1. To consider of 1. The Dignity of this Sacrament My duty is to exhort you in the mean season to consider c. 2. The danger of profaning it and the great peril of the unworthy receiving thereof 2. To examine directing 1. In what manner and so to search and examine your own c. 2. To what end 1. Purity but so that ye may come holy and clean c. 2. Acceptance and be received as worthy Partakers 3. Directions unto 1. The Penitent to come fitly who must 1. Examine himself The way and means thereto is first to examine your lives c. 2. Confess to God and whereinsoever there to bewail your own sinfulness and to confess c. 3. Satisfie the wronged And if ye shall perceive your offences but also against your Neighbour c. 4. Forgive his enemies and being likewise ready to forgive others that have offended c. 2 The Impenitent that they may not come so shewing 1. The reason of this Warning For otherwise the receiving of this holy Communion c. 2. The Persons warned Therefore if any of you be a blasphemer c. 3. The Warning it self Repent you of your sins or else come not c. 4. The danger of despising it Lest after the taking of that Holy Sacrament the Devil c. 3. The doubting that they may come with comfort 1. Why this Advice is given And because it is requisite that no Man should come but c. 2. To whom it is given Therefore if there be any of you who by this means cannot c. 3. The Couâ—sel it self directing them 1. Whither to go Let him come to me or some other c. 2. What to do and open his grief 3. For what benefit 1. Absolution that by the Ministry of Gods holy Word c. 2. Direction together with ghostly counsel c. 3. Comfort to the quitting c. A Practical Discourse upon this Warning § 3. Dearly Beloved on next I purpose through Gods assistance to Administer to all such as shall be religiously and devoutly disposed the most comfortable Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ It is the manner of mighty Princes whose entertainment requires extraordinary preparation to give notice by their Harbingers to those places where they intend to lodge and thus our Lord Jesus when he came in the flesh had St. John Baptist for his Herald to bid the World prepare Math. 3. and sent his Disciples as his Harbingers before his face to every City whither he intended to come Luke 10.1 thus also his Messengers do now proclaim his approach in this Sacrament wherein he comes in the Spirit to Feast with us Revel 3.20 and to dwell in us John 6.56 And oh how should this awaken us to prepare a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo lib. de Cherub for what provision is sufficient to make for the King of Kings who comes from Heaven in pure love to visit us and to do us good Why should we not receive the news with the same joy that Zachaeus expressed when he heard that Jesus purposed to be his Guest since wheresoever he is well received he brings Salvation to that House Luke 19.6 7 c. The Minister who hath appointed it in love to you seems by his courteous salutation to be well-pleased that he hath so good tidings to tell you and lest by ignorance or surprize you should lose the benefit of this blessed opportunity he gives you this timely intimation and fixes the very time as positively as Man can or ought to do we have not the time to come in our own power and so should always add if God please viz. that our life or health shall last so long b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Graeca Versio Liturg. Angl. James 4.15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Socr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato in Alcibiade and by his assistance viz. if he vouchsafe to afford us grace since we do but Administer the outward part Which short Parenthesis should also mind us how dangerous it is to neglect wilfully this next Sacrament because either we may not live to have another opportunity or not have the like grace and assistance from God if we despise this offer This warning is given to all but yet in the very first clause is signified that we would not willingly cast our Pearls before Swine c Sancta Sanctis ut Diac. clamat in Litur Graec. Math. 7.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. nor give this Sacrament to any but such as are religiously and devoutly disposed and for those who are so they need not be pressed or urged to come to the Holy Table since this most comfortable Ordinance doth attract them sufficiently by its own sweetness it is most comfortable to pious Souls and they who have found it so long for it and this very warning is to them a great pleasure and a sufficient invitation But if filthly wretches who relish nothing but Swinish pleasures and are full of Earthly things loath this Honey-Comb or despise this Manna it is no wonder let it be no prejudice to the mystery nor no hindrance to our preparation for if we upon this Summons do immediately endeavour to procure religious and devout dispositions we shall taste the comfort of it more fully than any words can express § 4. To be by them received in remembrance of his meritorious Cross and Passion whereby alone we obtain remission of our Sins and are made Partakers of the Kingdom of Heaven The necessity of this early and serious Warning is here further shewed from the two great Duties which all Christians are here to perform First We are not to be idle Spectators of the Mystery as they are in the Roman Church where if the people Communicate but once a year it is thought sufficient by the Lateran Council and at other times they only look on while the Priest alone Communicates Conc. Trident. Sess 22. Can. 8. a practice unknown to all Antiquity But we are commanded to receive the Symbols our selves in Remembrance as St. Paul speaks 1 Cor. 11.24 25. of that one offering once for all Hebr. 9.26.28 whereby Jesus hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified
blessed to us to approach the terror is not to affright us from this Heavenly Feast but from impenitence and an angry spirit which turn this food of life into very poison § 11. Thereâ—ore if any of you be a Blasphemer of God an hinderer or slanderer of his Word an Adulterer or be in Malice or Envy or in any other grievous Crimes Repent you of your sins or else come not to that holy Table lest after the taking of that holy Sacrament the Devil enter into you as he entred into Judas and fill you full of all iniquities and bâ—ing you to destruction both of Body and Soul The first Ages of Christianity considered how positively our Saviour had forbidden us to give that which is holy to the malicious and to cast this Pearl as they interpreted it of the Lords Body to those that wallow in Swinish pleasures Math. 7.6 and observed how plainly St. Paul had described the danger of such if they should receive it 1 Cor. 11.29 Wherefore they did very strictly forbid all such to approach these Mysteries and by Canons of Councils and the Sentence of Excommunication did keep back all notorious sinners And if any such presumed to come the Jewish Priests did not more zealously oppose the Kings offering Incense 2 Chron. 26.17 than the Christian Bishops did the prophane accesses even of the Emperours themselves to whom in all things else they submitted Thus was Philippus the Emperour placed among the Poenitentes before he might be Communicated a Euseb hist Eccles l. 6 cap. 25. Anno 246. And Theodosius was resolutely kept back by the famous St. Ambrose b Theodor. in hist Tripaâ—titâ l. 9. c. 30. till he had bitterly lamented the slaughter of the Thessalonians St. Chrysostome also protested he would dye rather than Administer this Sacrament to the Unworthy But besides all this when the Celebration was to begin then did the Deacon stand up and proclaim that all unbaptized Infidels Hereticks c. c Nullus Catechumenus nullus auditor nullus infidelis nullus haereticus Qui primam orationem perfecistis Discedite pueros Recipite Matres Ne Quis contra aliquem Const Apost should depart and none to stay that had any quarrel nor any to come in Hypocrisie which custom is imitated by our Church in this Denunciation wherein we most plainly shew obstinate sinners their danger as St. Peter did to Simon Magus Acts 8.21 22 23. we appeal to their own Consciences charging them to examine faithfully and if they find themselves guilty we warn them as they love their Souls not to come till they have repented We do not finally bid them not to come at all but only to stay till they have repented because it may be useful as St. Augustine notes for such notorious offenders to stay till another Communion and to meditate that their being excluded here on Earth whilst others enter in to have Communion with Christ is the sad Emblem of that Day when if they do not now repent they shall see many holy Persons go in and sit down with Abraham c. in the Kingdom of God while they themselves are cast out So that whether by Excommunication or by this Warning they are excluded for the present it is the Ministers love to them and is intended only for their Souls health d Quid prodest non ejici è coetu piorum nam ejici remedium est gradus ad recuperandam sanitatem ejectionem meruisse summa malorum est Cypr. de dupl Martyr to bring them to repentance that they may be fit against another opportunity As to the sins enumerated they are the most scandalous and heinous both against God and Man viz. Swearing and Blasphemy Opposing or despising Gods Word Adultery and Fornication Malice and Envy with other grievous Crimes such as Murder or Theft Drunkenness or Oppression of which whosoever is guilty St. Paul affirms they shall not enter into the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 10. and therefore how can they be received to this Holy Table It were easie to shew out of Tertullian St. Cyprian and the ancient Councils that every one of these offenders were of old rejected and not suffered ever to come into these Mysteries unless upon a very great Repentance and publick humiliation after five or seven years separation Which pious Custom did make very much for the honour of this Sacrament and for the bringing such to repentance that so they might escape everlasting vengeance The very Heathens would not offer their Sacrifice until the Herald had warned all unhallowed persons to depart nor might the Sacrificer proceed till he were assured there were none present but such as were duly prepared e Hostis Vinctus Mulier Virgo Exesto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Stuckius Apud Graecos Sacerdos quaerit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Resp populi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sard. de Mor. Gent. l. 3. c. 15. Have we not then much more reason to enjoin the absence of all wicked wretches from this Heavenly Mystery And yet we imitate our Master herein who did not by force drive out the Jews John 8. but set their own Conscience upon them Even so f Nos à Communione quenquam prohibere non possumus nisi aut sponte confessum aut in aliquo judicio Ecclesiastico vel seculari nominatum atque convictum Aug. Homil. 50. we violently cast out none unless publick and convicted Criminals But we appeal to every Mans Conscience and set before them the danger of coming with wicked purposes for so they imitate Judas who notwithstanding that plain Caution Math. 26.24 sat down with a heart full of Treachery and Covetousness John 13.26 27. but instead of being a partaker of Christ Satan did enter into him and confirmed his wicked purposes so that he came to destruction of Body and Soul Repent therefore Oh you prophane Wretches being warned by so terrible an Example or else your judgment is inevitable for if you continue in these damnable sins you die and if you think to find favour by laying hold of Christs Body you are mistaken g Jerem. 11.15 Nunquid carnes Sanctae auferent à te malitias tuas Vulg. Lat. Vide Math. 12.45 Heb. 10.26 for you prophane the mystery violate Gods Covenant trample on the Blood of Christ to which you have no right so long as you live in open defiance to his Laws and if you will come thus you give Satan more power over you both to corrupt you and to ruine you yet if you stay away you cannot escape unless you do repent and if you would do that after a while you might be received However we have delivered our Souls by giving you this warning do not you cast away yours by despising it § 12. And because it is requisite that no man should come to the Holy Communion but with a full trust in Gods Mercy and with a quiet Conscience therefore if there be any of you
1. ALthough it be a great satisfaction to him that Ministers to see Gods Table well furnished yet because he seeks the profit of the Communicants as well as his own pleasure he not only endeavours by the former Exhortation to encrease their numbers but by this to rectifie their dispositions that they may be not only many but good And howsoever this hath been done before they came to the Feast it will seem necessary to do it again now they are come if we consider either the danger of unworthy receiving or the dignity of this Ordinance which is made more reverend by being veiled with many Coverings The Aegyptians admitted none to converse with their Priests and to know the secrets of their mysteries till they had been initiated by abstinence patience and many labours a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porphyr de abst l. 4. supposing they would learn to value them by the difficulty of access And so those who entred into the Persian Rites of Mithra b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greg. Naz. Orat. 1. in Jul. were to be first approved by 80. degrees of Tryal to be unpassionate and holy Persons c Nonnus Synag hist c. 5. The like difficulty of acceptance was practised in the entertainment of Scholars into Pythagoras his School d Jamblic l. 1. c. 17. and in the admission of Novices into the Monastical Societies of old e Cassian instit l. 4. c. 3. And can we then think it too much to pass one Exhortation more before we eat of this Celestial Banquet We derive this necessary part of the Office from the Greek Church where the Guests being placed the Priest standing on the steps to be seen of all stretched out his hand and lifted up his voice in the midst of that profound silence inviting the worthy and warning the unworthy to forbear f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost hom in 9. ad Heb. Ethic. Which if it were necessary in those blessed days how much more requisite is it in our looser Age wherein men have learnt to trample upon Church Discipline and to come out of Custom at set times whether they be prepared or no Every one hopes to pass in the Croud but knowing the terror of the Lord we do again and again beseech our people diligently to prepare themselves before he come to try them And that this Exhortation may be effectual to this purpose this following Account may assist our devout improvement thereof The Analysis of the Exhortation at the Communion § 2. In this Exhortation we are incited to Two general Duties 1. Self-examination by 1. Propounding it more largely and shewing 1. The Persons enjoyned Dearly beloved in the Lord ye that mind to come c. 2. The Authority enjoyning it must consider how S. Paul c. 3. The Duty to be done diligently to try and examine themselves 4. The Time of doing it before they presume to eat c. 2. Pressing it with reasons taken from 1. The Benefits â—f worthy Receiving viz. 1. Participation of Christ For as the benefit is great if- c for then we spiritually eat the flâ—sh of Christ c. 2. Union with him then we dwell in Christ we are one with Christ and c. 2. The danger of unworthy Receiving as to 1. The Sin of it so is the danger great if we for then we are guilty of the body and c. 2. The Punishment following upon it we eat and drink our own damnation we kindle Gods wrath against us c. 3. Parting it by an Exhortation unto the special Duties of 1. Repentance Iudge therefore your selves Brethren Repent you truly for your sins c. 2. Faith Have a lively and stedfast faith c. 3. Reformation Amend your lives 4. Charity and be in perfect charity with all men So shall ye be meet c. 2. Giving of Thanks assisting us 1. By way of Consideration declaring 1. The Necessity of it And above all things ye must give most humble and hearty thanks 2. The Object of it to God the Father the Son c. 3. The Subject of it for the Redemption of the world by c. 4. The Particular Reasons as well 1. Why for this Redemption because of 1. The difficulty of the Work who did humble himself even unto the death c. 2. The Persons for whom for us miserable sinners who lay in darkness c. 3. The Ends for which it was wrought that he might make us the children of God and exalt us c. 2. Why in this Sacrament because of 1. The Reasons of its Institution And to the end that we should always remember 1. the exceeding great Love c. 2. and the innumerable Benefits which c. 2. The Author He hath instituted c. 3. His Design therein as pledges of his Love and for to our great and endless comfort 2. By way of Practice in a Form shewing 1. The Object of our Praise To him therefore with the Father and the Holy Ghost 2. The Manner how to offer it both 1. In Word let us give as we are most bounden continual thanks 2. In Deed by 1. Resignation submitting our selves wholly to his holy Will c. 2. Obedience and studying to serve him in true holiness all the days of our life Amen A Practical Discourse upon this Exhortation § 3. Dearly beloved in the Lord ye that mind to come to the holy Communion of the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Christ must consider how St. Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves before they presume to eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. When the Guests of this blessed Feast are now drawing near and the King of Heaven is approaching to survey them The Minister out of a peculiar affection to those who have obeyed his Masters invitation salutes them in St. Pauls phrase Rom. 16.8 with Dearly beloved in the Lord and in the stile of the same Apostle minds them of the greatness of that work which they go about even to share in the Communion of Christs body and blood 1 Cor. 10.16 Their intentions are commendable and it is pitty but such pious purposes should have their desired success Wherefore he doth once more warn them to examine themselves before they eat a duty enjoined not by humane Authority nor prescribed meerly as the advice of a Friend but bound upon all by St. Paul himself and by the Spirit of God in him 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man c. saith he that is every man examine himself and so let him eat c. intimating that none might eat without this renewed Examination and because the Discipline of the Corinthian Church was much impaired by the Schisms then within it the Apostle obligeth every man to do it to himself and that not with a slight inquiry but so throughly to search his own heart that he might be able to judge g Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
means to accomplish all these desires Do but examine into thy own heart till thou relentest for thy sins and search into Gods Mercy till thou art perswaded of his love And with this penitent believing heart come and partake of this spiritual Banquet and though thou dost not press thy Saviours flesh with thy Teeth which would do thee no good yet thou shalt really partake of all the benefits of his Death and become one with him and receive all from him that thy Soul doth either need or desire § 5. So is the danger great if we receive the same unworthily for then we are guilty of the body and blood of Christ our Saviour we Eat and Drink our own Damnation not considering the Lords Body we kindle Gods wrath against us we provoke him to plague us with divers Diseases and sundry kinds of Death The fear of losing the former benefits will be a sufficient motive to an ingenuous temper to prepare yet many are so obdurate as to rush upon this Ordinance without any preceeding care But that we may deliver our Souls the Church enjoins not only in the former but in this present Exhortation also that the Minister shall warn them not to come in so rude a manner the Heathen Man allows not that any should worship their Gods en passant o 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutar. nor unless they had first prepared themselves at home and can such addresses be endured in the highest mystery of the best Religion Let such from the mouth of St. Paul hear and consider First The greatness of their sin 1 Cor. 11.27 29. Secondly The severity of their punishment ver 30.1 Their sin who come hither as to an ordinary solemnity and eat of this as common food not considering that the Lords Body and blood here p Nec se judicant nec sacramenta dijudicant sed sicut cibis communibus irreverentèr sacris utuntur lib. de Card. op Christi ap Cypr. is in Scripture q Hebr. 6.6 Chap. 10.29 accounted Crucifying the Son of God again as much as in them lyeth r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 putting him to an open shame trampling upon him and accounting the blood of his Covenant as an unholy thing they use him as his Murtherers did shedding his blood not with design to be saved by it Å¿ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophil in 11 1 Cor. but suffering it to be spilt in vain They receive no benefit by it and yet they make a memorial of it which wounds Christ deeper than all the Cruelty of his Crucifiers did from them he expected no other but from these he doth t Quid est autem reos esse nisi dare poenas mortis Domini occisus est enim ab iis qui beneficium ejus irritum ducunt Ambros in loc so that they are guilty of his Body and Blood and shall be proceeded against as those that offer violence to the Lord Jesus By eating and drinking of this memorial of his Sacrifice they own he hath died for them but by their impenitence and perseverance in evil they declare that they will not be saved thereby And thus this sacred and salutary Rite which in its own nature would assure their Salvation and is designed by Christ to convey his benefits unto them u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac ut supr is by their unpreparedness and iniquity turned into poison and a Curse and they being before fit for Condemnation by adding this Act of presumption they do accelerate and confirm it Secondly Their punishment will be answerable for they may be sure it will enflame the wrath of God to behold men so stupid and insolent to his dear Son and their Redeemer perhaps this wrath may only be expressed in temporal punishments shorter sicknesses lingring Diseases or sudden Death so it was at Corinth x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl ut supr Febribus infirmitatibus corripiebantur multi moriebantur Ambros in loc so were the Jews cut off who profaned the Passover Exod. 12.15 and thus many Apostates in the Primitive times were possest by the Devil for coming to the Eucharist before their reconciliation to the Church but if the Lord forbear shewing these visible judgments he hath ways enow and an Eternity coming on to chastise this presumption Wherefore ye bold and careless sinners who come in ignorance or in malice without Faith or Devotion sorrow for former or purposes against future iniquities consider what you do and what you must suffer for coming in this unfitness we tremble at the danger you run upon yet who shall pity those who might have escaped all the evil and gained infinite blessings only by a small preparation § 6. Iudge therefore your selves Brethren that ye be not judged of the Lord repent you truly of your sins past have a lively and stedfast Faith in Christ our Saviour amend your lives and be in perfect Charity with all men so shall ye be meet partakers of these holy mysteries That which God and his Church intend as caution to all that they may come better prepared is by the slothful and unbelieving made a pretence for their total abstaining but these dangers as St. Paul shews ver 31. might soon be avoided if we would judge our selves for then we should not be judged of the Lord Let us therefore set up a Tribunal in our own Breast y 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac Bonum judicium quod divinum praevenit quod divino subducit volo praesentari vultui irae tuae judicatus non judicandus Bern. in Cantic 55. and laying Gods Law before us let our memory read the Indictment and our penitential thoughts urge the accusation and that till we be convinced and plead guilty so shall our Conscience pronounce the same sentence upon us which otherwise would more dreadfully have issued out against us from the Divine Judicature It will condemn us as foolish base ungrateful wretches deserving the wrath of God and Eternal Damnation And when we are thus convicted we shall see it necessary by Faith to lay hold of Gods Mercy and further this will most effectually move us to amend our lives z Deprehendas te oportet antequam emendes Sen. Ep. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Simplic ad Epic. and discover what need we have to forgive all Men who our selves have so much to be forgiven so that it appears if we duly judge our selves all the other duties will follow in order let the danger of unworthy receiving therefore only make us more strict in our Examination for there is danger also if we do wholly stay away a Vtrobique grande periculum ideo magâ—â— necessitas instat ne indigni inveniamur Bern. de ordin vitae But the lesser hazard is on their side who set themselves to do their duty in the best manner they are able If we have by due process condemned our selves before it will
thy mercy These are thy words O Christ for thou hast spoken them and they are mine because thou hast spoken them for my Salvation O sweet and amiable words in the Ears of a poor Sinner by which thou invitest an indigent starved wretch to partake of thy holy body But who am I O Lord that I should dare to come the Angels and Archangels reverence thee thy Saints and holy ones fear before thee and yet thou sayst unto me Come c. unless thou hadst said it who could have believed it to be true unless thou hadst commanded it who durst have attempted this approach T. à Kempis de imitat Chris l. 4. c. 1. The Paraphrase O ye of contrite hearts Hear with joy and wonder what comfortable words he whose love you so much long for even our Saviour Christ himself saith to all such as you that truly grieving for your sins do turn to him to find mercy Lo he pities you and most affectionately calls upon you saying Come unto me with a perswasion that I am able and desirous to help you O all ye that travel with much grief and pains for your sins and are heavy laden with the apprehensions of my anger against you for them be not discouraged for I will bear this burden my self and I will by my sufferings make your peace with my Father and so refresh you according to your hearts desire § 3. So God loved the World that he gave his only-begotten Son to the end that all that believe in him should not perish but have Everlasting Life S. John 3.16 The second Assertion in the Absolution is confirmed by this Sentence viz. that Almighty God will forgive all that with true Faith turn unto him If he were willing to grant pardon on easier terms yet a man void of Faith could not receive it It was an absurd practice in some places of old to give the Sacrament to the Dead who had been surprized by mortal sickness and prevented to receive it living but an antient Council condemned this h Placuit ut corporibus defunctorum Eucharistia non detur Dictum est enim à Domino Accipite c. Conc. 3. Carthag Can. 6. because the Dead could not as Christ commands Take and eat it And for the same reason a Man without Faith cannot receive Absolution because he is dead i Vnde mors in animâ quia non est fides unde mors in corpore quia non est anima ergo animae tuae anima fides est Aug. in Johan void of all spiritual life and power to apprehend the benefit thereof Therefore if our sins and sorrows have wrapt us in such mists that we can scarce discern the light of Gods countenance let us throughly meditate of this one Sentence and the glories of it will dispel them all For here it doth appear that he first loved us and gave the noblest testimony of the biggest affection to us for he gave not a Creature nor a Servant a Prophet nor an Angel for us but he gave up his Son his only Son to a cruel Death for the World his Enemies and liable to his justice and all this for no other end but that we and the rest of this miserable World might be freed from the Damnation which we had deserved and be advanced to that glory which we could never have expected And do we still question his willingness to save us Did he give such a price to purchase our Salvation when we were Enemies and shall we think he will cast us into those flames out of which we were so dearly rescued now when we beg his mercy Did he send his Son on purpose to preserve us and will he lose his end in so glorious a work Away ye misgiving thoughts dishonour not the incomparable goodness of God hath he not given more when he gave his own Son for all than to grant life to a few for his sake Oh do not question that Love which is sealed with such an Evidence but believe admire embrace it and be thankful The Paraphrase Dost thou fear O my Soul that God will not have mercy on thee behold he that best knew his Fathers mind affirms that So wonderfully God loved his miserable Enemies even all the Sinners in the World that he when none else could help them freely gave up not some of his noblest Servants but his only-begotten and intirely beloved Son to die for them And this he did to the end that we and such like poor Sinners even all that believe this Jesus is able and willing to save them and so trust in him might be delivered from the wrath to come for all this was done on purpose that we should not perish in endless Torments but have everlasting life in his Heavenly Kingdom Doubt not then but this design shall be accomplished in thy Salvation § 4. This is a true saying and worthy of all men to be received that Iesus Christ came into the World to save Sinners 1 Timoth. 1.15 Although there needs nothing to confirm what Jesus saith yet since he himself was pleased to take his Apostles for his Witnesses we have here brought in two of the principal of them to avouch this excellent truth viz. That there is mercy for Penitent Sinners And first the certainty thereof is averred by Saint Paul who had found the experience of it and was himself so great an instance thereof that he thinks ver 16. no sinner will ever despair that can but consider how great an offender he was and yet that he found mercy whereupon he doth with great confidence assert this as a tried and infallible Maxim and because all men have sinned he propounds it as a Truth which every man is concerned to receive as unquestionably and believe as firmly as the Cabala l Cabala fig. receptam doctrinam qui docet enim apud Judaeos tradere dicitur qui discit recipere Vid. Ham. annot in 1 Tim. 1. Drus praeterit l. 8. was amongst the Scholars of Jewish Rabbins And he urgeth this the more vigorously because we are so apt to object what such as we shall we ever partake of such a happiness Yes such as you for our Lord Jesus had no other errand into this World no other design in putting on our nature no other end in dying than to save Sinners He came not to call the Righteous Math. 9.13 but to seek and save those which were lost Chap. 18.11 and he assures us there is more joy in Heaven at the difficult and unexpected Salvation of a Sinner than at the more likely and more looked for glorification of many righteous Luke 15.7 But you say you are grievous Sinners Are not all the World so if there had been no Sinners there had needed no Saviour if Sinners cannot be saved no man did ever enter Heaven if sin be unpardonable Jesus hath died in vain Do not argue against your own felicity but be assured if you
reply We lift them up n Chrysos homil de encoeniis c. The heart of holy men is daily directed to Heaven and therefore when the Priest admonisheth them to lift it up thither they may safely answer We lift c. p Corda fidelium coelum sunt quia in coelum quotidiè diriguntur dicente sacerdote Sursum corda securè Respondent Habemus ad Dominum Aug. de tempor ser 44. for where our Treasure is there will our heart be also And he that requires q Id. de ver Relig. c. 16. this duty of us will enable us to perform it O happy agreement when Priest and people are raised up above this sublunary World and ascended into the Holy Mount to converse with Jesus with whom it is good to dwell for ever § 4. Priest Let us give thanks unto our Lord God Answ It is meet and right so to do When the Soul is thus lifted up and enlarged by contemplating the glories of God it is then in right frame to celebrate his Praise wherefore the Priest improves the opportunity and invites us while we are thus disposed to give thanks c. Thus the Praecentor of the Jewish Choir was wont to call upon the rest to join with him in the divine Praises as appears by several of the Psalms Psal 34.3 81.1 95.1 96.1 And it may be from thence this excellent Exhortation was taken at first which hath been retained ever since Verbatim both in the Churches of the East and West as appears both from the Liturgies r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Liturg. Basilii ap Cyril Hieros Ad haec inter sacra mysteria ad gratiarum actiones convertitur Cypr. de coen In ipso verissimo singulari sacrificio gratias agere admonemur Aug. de spir lit 11. and the observations of the ancients upon these words The Priest saith Let us give thanks unto the Lord And surely saith St. Cyril Å¿ Cyril Hierosol catech mystag 5. We ought to give thanks unto him who hath admitted us that are so unworthy unto such mighty favours that being Enemies he hath reconciled us and honoured us with the Spirit of Adoption And then you answer It is meet and right for when we give thanks to God we verily do a work that is just and due But when he granted so great a benefit and gave us such good things it was not an Act of his Justice but infinitely more than of right belonged to us thus he St. Augustine applies it somewhat otherwise but very well in this manner In the Sacrament of the faithful it is said that we should Lift up our hearts which is done by the gift of God for which gift we are admonished by the Priest to give thanks to the Lord our God and the people answer It is just and right so to do Å¿ Aug. de bon perseverant l. 2. And elsewhere t Idem de bon Viduit cap. 16. We do not attribute unto our selves the glory of this great good viz. the lifting up of our hearts But we give thanks unto the Lord God as we are presently warned because it is just and right so to do Let us then give thanks now for that which is past the gracious promise of Absolution Let us praise him for that which is present the Grace that elevates our hearts And bless him for that which is at hand the Banquet of his Sons most precious Body and Blood for nothing is more agreeable to this Office more fit for us to give nor more due for him to receive And if you do from your heart confess that the Lord deserves all honour and glory the Priest may rejoice in the success of his Exhortation for that very acknowledgment is it self an Act of Praise in which both Priest and People are now agreed to join with all possible Devotion § 5. It is very meet right and our bounden duty that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee O Lord holy Father Almighty and Everlasting God These are still the words of Pious Antiquity the dependence whereof we learn from St. Chrysostom for the Priest saith he u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys Hom. 18. in 2. ad Cor. having received their suffrage doth gather their Confessions together and then begin the Sacrifice of praise Most joyful it is to the Holy Man to hear such an acknowledgment from the Congregation and that he may promote it as much as possible he doth confirm the truth of so pious an Assertion with many words much of the same signification saith Florus x Repetitio sermonis est confirmatio veritatis Flor. Magister Or as others y Dignum est quantum ad Dominum quia ipse Dominus Deus noster Justum est quantum ad nos quia nos sumus populus ejus Innocent Mist miss l. 2. in general it is very meet that is most fit and reasonable to praise God And as to him who is the object of it it is Just and Right because he deserves it as to our selves who are the offerers thereof it is our bounden duty because we are so infinitely indebted to him If it were possible we should rejoice in him evermore 1 Thess 5.16 and bless him in all places in private as well as publick for he bestows mercy on us at all times and in all places night and day at home and abroad in retirement and Company in sickness and health we are indebted to him for our Creation and preservation for our Bodies and our Souls for our Redemption for the means of Grace and the hopes of Glory so that we ought to give him thanks every moment But at this great Solemnity we must unite all our Powers and as the Christians were wont of old Bless him here for all together If the most ordinary single mercy challenges â—n Act of praise how should we raise our gratitude to the highest pitch now when we survey them all at once § 6. Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all the Company of Heaven we laud and magnify thy glorious Name That the Angels were present at the performance of divine mysteries hath been the opinion of both Heathens and of Christians z 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 esse dicit Plutar. lib. de Orac. Angelo orationis adhuc adstante Tertul de orat but that they are especially present at the Lords Supper is generally received Flesh and blood saith St. Chrysost a Chrys in Math. hom 10. is here made a part of the Angelick Choir And again b Idem Homil. de non contem Eccles Consider O man near whom thou standest in these terrible mysteries with whom thou art about to worship God with Cherubins and Seraphins and all the Heavenly Powers And surely it will mightily exalt our affections and stir us up to the most vigorous devotion to consider with whom we are to bear a part not
the Tenth concerning the Virgin Mary not till the year 1095. But our prudent Reformers have retained only five of the most ancient which are concerning the principal Acts of Christ His Incarnation Resurrection Ascension and sending of the Holy Ghost all which we may very properly bless God for over this Commemoration of his Passion because they are either the Precedents to his Death or the consequents thereof only that of the Holy Trinity is added both as it is a fundamental Article of our Faith and a great mystery and because many Sundays are reckoned by it Now for the use of these we must note that as the greater Feasts of the Jews continued seven or eight days so these Prefaces are to be repeated some days after the great day to which they principally belong both that the mercy may be better remembred by often repetition and also that all the people who in many places cannot Communicate in one day may join in praising God for it Which being the great end of them the best method to promote that and fit the receivers with peculiar praises for these solemnities will be to ground a devout Meditation upon every one of these Prefaces proper for those who do partake of the mysteries at any of these Times A Meditation for the Communion at Christmas § 9. Welcome thrice blessed Day the desire of all Nations whose distant glories made the Father of the faithful to rejoice and whose approaches fill'd the World with wonder and expectation thou wert ushered in with Angelick Hymns and celebrated ever since with Anthems of praise because thou didst bring forth joy and a Redeemer to Mankind Happy am I that I have a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving in my hand to express the delight which my heart doth feel This holy Table is the Altar upon which I offer my acknowledgments for all mercies and oh how many how great are those which this day brings to my remembrance so infinite they cannot be expressed and yet so excellent they must not be forgotten This day hath reconciled Heaven and Earth and made contradictions friends to find a way to help us as if nothing might disagree when man was at peace with God O my Soul summon all thy powers to admire and worship for all is Miracle and the height of Wonder Eternity begins to be the Maker of all is made himself an infinite Majesty is shrunk into the dimensions of a span The word is made flesh and God becomes Man yet remains God still Here is a Mother who knew no man a Son that had no Father on Earth a Child of Adam untainted with the Cantagion that infects all his Posterity an Infant honoured with a new and glorious Star adored by Kings worshipped by Angels yet born in the condition of the meanest fortune All hail sweetest Saviour how lovely is thy condescension how honourable thy abasement thou hast more splendor in the Rags of thy Humility than all the Grandeurs of this World could give thee thou art more a King because thou wouldst be like a slave for our sakes and conquerest more hearts by thy stupendious love and unparallel'd self-denyal O how shall I celebrate this great Solemnity wherewithal shall I set forth my gratitude for this most auspicious Day I will receive the Cup of Salvation and with ravishments of delight feast upon that precious Body and Blood which Jesus did this day assume for me It is not enough dearest Lord that thou wast born for me unless thou art also born again in me and as it were become incarnate in my heart In thy Birth thou wast made one with us thou didst put on flesh and wert a partaker of our humanity And thou hast appointed this holy Sacrament that I might be one with thee be replenished with thy Spirit and a partaker of thy divine nature Nor is it any incongruity if I remember thy Passion and praise thee for thy Incarnation at once for as soon as thou wast born thou didst begin to die and the life which was here begun compared to that glorious life which thou didst leave was it self a very Death but therefore thou wast born that thou mightest be capable to suffer that death for us which thy Divinity could not feel and thus thy Nativity was the first Scene of thy Passion for it introduced thy Death and that effected our Salvation so that I will remember both together For in both thou hast most admirably humbled thy self to the depth of misery and yet I doubt not but thou wouldst have stooped lower if it had been either necessary or possible But there needs no more testimonies of thy love Blessed Jesus I am already overwhelmed with these which are so strange and undeserved so sweet and ravishing that my Soul could not contain if it did not vent it self in thy Praises Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion at Easter § 10. O my soul adorn thy self with the garments of gladness prepare thy most triumphant Hymns to go forth and meet this great returning Conqueror Thou didst rejoice when he was pleased to undertake the Combate and didst celebrate his entrance into the lists with Praises how then will it ravish thee to behold him come off with such success and honour His warfare is now accomplished and he hath passed through the scorn and cruelty of Men the malice and rage of Devils the just but severe anger of God yea the shaddow of Death and the Regions of Eternal horror and after all this thy Surety is set at liberty for he hath paid all thy Debts and cancelled all those dismal Bonds by which thou wert forfeited to eternal Ruine Thy Champion is Victorious and as the Trophees of his Conquest he hath the Keys of Death and Hell and leads them both in triumph vanquished and disarmed Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord We receive thee dearest Saviour as born to us a second time and this shall be thy Birth-day also the Nativity though not of our Emperor yet of thy Empire thy Restauration to a state of immortality Thy former Birth did shew thee to be the Son of Man but this declares thee to be the Son of God and now we know that our Redeemer liveth he that loved us so infinitely as to dye for us doth now ever live to interceed on our behalf he that expressed such kindness to us in his Passion hath so fully demonstrated his own Power in his Resurrection that we are sure he is as able as willing to deliver us Let the Heavens rejoice and the Earth be glad for this is the Day that the Lord hath made a day to be had in everlasting remembrance a Time destined to jubilee and rejoicing Behold how nature is raising it self from the grave of Winter and seems annually to celebrate the memory of her Lords Resurrection in her green and fresh attire A season chosen by God for Festival 3000. years ago and observed
sight to see servants riding and Princes beside them walking on foot Eccles 10.7 But how much more abominable is it to see such evil and base servants as we are with proud hearts pretending to celebrate the memorial of the greatest and best Master who humbled himself to the death of the Cross if we are righteous why did he suffer if we be sinners why are we bold and puffed up be assured that this sin alone if there were no other would turn this Banquet into Poison or make us at least incapable to receive any benefit from it 2. Consider the great dignity of these terrible mysteries had we the purity of an Angel and the affections of a Seraphin we could scarce be worthy to come so near to a most holy and All-seeing God to lay such claim to the blessed Jesus and all his Merits and to be so wholly united to him as we are designing in this admirable Communion But thirdly We are so far from such excellencies that our late Confession is yet fresh in our memories wherein we did most truly accuse our selves of many and grievous offences and our own Conscience will check the vanity of all proud imaginations of our own merit by discovering to us that we have done very little good and that very imperfectly yet even that also by the grace of God and not by our own Power d Debetur enim merces si fiant sed gratia quae non debetur praecedit ut fiant Aug. in Julian How then can we fancy our selves worthy to make this approach Especially if we remember Fourthly That our preparation it self the only remaining suppletory hath been very imperfect if not deficient and who is there that can shew such a tender heart such strong desires so lively affections and so vigorous a Faith as this Ordinance doth require Upon all which accounts we have no reason to come presumptuously trusting in our own Righteousness We should be more likely to fly from this holy Table with shame and fear but only that we hear our God is merciful 1 King 20.31 and that Jesus will in no wise cast out those who come unto him John 6.37 We have manifold and great miseries and he hath manifold and great mercies and by these we are invited Our own righteousness is nothing the merits of others are insufficient for themselves but the compassions of God can never fail to these we fly for refuge and oh happy venture to take sanctuary in the divine mercy where there is no hazard e Pulchrum periculum confugere ad Deum D. Bern. but that he who is mercy it self should not pity us Wherefore behold O Lord we come unto thee thou mightest indeed justly censure this approach of such wretched Creatures to be the most daring presumption but we beseech thee condemn not the action but behold the motives that drew us hither even our own miseries and thy mercies and help us to supply in humility what we want in worthiness let our mean and just opinion of our selves our bended knees and broken hearts shew that we durst not have adventured so nigh if thy mercy had not held out the golden Scepter to us § 4. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the Crumbs under thy Table but thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy Our Saviour adviseth us even at an ordinary Feast to take the lowest room Luke 14.10 and Solomon warneth us not to put our selves too forward in the presence of a King Prov. 25.6 How much more then is it our duty to think the meanest place too good for us at this Heavenly Feast of the King of Kings How scornfully do the great ones of this World sometimes look upon their poor Brethren thinking their footstool f Jam. 2.3 Populus terrae scabellum pedûm Pharisaeorum Proverb Hebr. or a place among their Dogs good enough for them Job 30.1 and is there not a much greater distance between God and us When Mephibosheth was admitted to King Davids Table he in great humility compares himself to a dead Dog 2 Sam. 9.7 8. but we have much more reason to esteem our selves as such before the Majesty of Heaven Had we always been dutiful and obedient Children we might then have expected to have been fed at our Fathers Table but we have been Rebels and therefore with Adonibezeks Captives might justly be made to gather up the Crumbs Jud. 1.7 under the feet of our great Lord Nay by our Anger Luxury Intemperance and especially by falling back into our old sins g Canis ad vomitum rediens Prov. 26.11 2 Pet. 2.22 we have behaved our selves like unto Dogs and therefore how dare we challenge the Childrens Bread We may well confess with the poor Canaanitish Woman that the Crumbs and Reliques h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eurip Cress 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist 2. de gen which are the part of Dogs are too good for us That is the common mercies of food and raiment health and habitations and the least measures of grace and comfort which are but small i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl in Math. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazianz ep 45. considering the Power of God and his bounty to his own Children but very great considering our unworthiness If the Lord will please but to give us these necessary things and to bestow so much grace and comfort on us as will support us and encourage us in our Repentance we will be very thankful although we be not filled with extasies and assurance It is true this Heavenly bread is too good for us but only that our merciful Father is admirable in his condescensions he looks at our necessities but weigheth not our merits and doth most graciously receive us wherefore we will lie down in the dust and be as vile as may be before so good a God our acknowledgments shall lay us as low as ever our sins have done we will profess we are unworthy of the least favours that so we may the better set out the divine goodness which vouchsafeth to give us the greatest And no doubt they that thus humble themselves sincerely shall certainly be exalted Luke 14.11 For our God is always gracious and ever the same whose property it is to have mercy upon humble and contrite ones § 5. Grant us therefore gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Iesus Christ and to drink his blood that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our Souls washed through his most precious blood and that we may evermore dwell in him and be in us Amen In the midst of these our acknowledgments of our own unworthiness we are seasonably minded that we have a gracious Lord who is apt to pitty us even when we are justly miserable He sees our bodies are defiled and our Souls polluted and both empty and void of Christ and he hath appointed this
Oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole World As we have declared the bounty of the Father so now we must acknowledge the merit of the Son before we did set forth the admirable love of the giver and next we magnifie the incomparable worth of the gift for God did not evidence his love to us by any insignificant testimony but by giving us the most real and inestimable benefit in the World The Death of this Saviour which he gave us though suffered but once was so infinitely meritorious as that it was sufficient to satisfie for the sins of all Mankind And where is it more proper to set forth that one all-sufficient Sacrifice in all its glories than here where we come peculiarly to celebrate it with our highest Praises and to make an everlasting memorial thereof If we regard the persons for whom this was done it is a Sacrifice if we respect him that did offer it it is a free Oblation if we consider him to whom it was offered it is a satisfaction and in every one of these respects it is full perfect and sufficient or particularly it is a full satisfaction a perfect Oblation and a sufficient Sacrifice not like the legal Offerings for the sins of one kind or the offences of one Nation or of one Person but for the sins of all the World Let none therefore mistake or imagine we are about to Sacrifice Christ again as the Roman Church falsly teacheth for that is not only needless and impossible but a plain contradiction to St. Paul who affirms that Jesus was to be offered but only once Heb. 9.26 Chap. 10.10 12. and by that one oblation h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theop. in 10 Hebr. v. 12. Illo sacrificio singulari à peccatis omnibus mundaremur Aug. de Civ Dei l. 7. c 31. he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctifyed ver 14. so that there needs no more offering for sin ver 18. And besides if we think that in this Sacrament Christ is daily offered up it seems we do not believe that which he did on the Cross to have been sufficient and so we should exceedingly derogate from that most meritorious Sacrifice to which we pretend to do honour by this Commemoration nor shall we make any difference between the all-saving Death of our Saviour and the daily offerings of Mosaick Institution if this also be continually to be reiterated Wherefore we do deny this Communion to be any new sacrificing of Christ For there is but one Sacrifice saith S. Ambrose not many and this is but the exemplar of that i Ambr. in 10. ad Hebr. This is only a memorial which the Lord hath delivered to us instead of a Sacrifice saith Eusebius k Euseb praep Evang. l. 1. c. 10. The Sacrifice need not be reiterated it is sufficient to remember it with Eucharist and Thanksgiving Rejoyce ye poor repentant Sinners for the price is paid by Christ and accepted by his Father already Acknowledge it gratefully and believe it firmly express it with all the honour you can devise since you came to this Heavenly Feast on purpose to glorifie the compleat and absolute satisfaction which your Redeemer hath made Let no man deceive you for Christ on th◠Cross assured you that the work of expiation was then finished there is nothing left for you now to do but only to pray that these outward Elements may be so blessed as to convey unto you the benefit thereof § 5. And did institute and in his holy Gospel command us to continue a perpetual memory of that his precious Death until his coming again The work of our Redemption is so very excellent in it self that it deserves a perpetual memorial and who so fit to direct the particular manner of remembring it as he that did so nobly accomplish it and this is that very way which he himself hath instituted so that we have a most direct and powerful Argument to move our Lord to sanctifie these Elements because we celebrate this mystery in obedience to his own Commands Do this saith he in remembrance of me Luke 22.19 and we are bid to shew forth the Lords Death till he come 1 Cor. 11.25 26. And surely he will make these Symbols to be his Body and Blood to us because we are about to receive them purely by his Order no doubt he will establish that which he hath wrought for us l Grandis in rebus humanis est praerogativae ut aliquis operibus beneficiis faveat suis Amb. ser 10. in Ps 119. Psal 68.28 for otherwise he would seem saith S. Ambrose to abrogate that which he hath appointed We are desirous as much as in us lyeth to be partakers of his precious Body and Blood and according to his command we are come thus far but we can only strike the Rock it is he must bring forth the Water we must now stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord for till he have blessed the Bread and Wine we can go no farther Now if this Holy Rite were a meer humane device we could hardly expect to have so great a grace and power shewed for its ratification they that invocate God for those that are falsly called Sacraments cannot so rationally hope to be heard as we who only desire him to be favourable to the work of his Hands and to prosper us in that which we undertake by express Commission from the blessed Jesus O let us then revere this Ordinance which hath so divine an Author on which the Image of God is so plainly stamped let us with a mighty affection embrace our dying Saviours love who was so much afraid we should forget him and so desirous to be ever with us let us chearfully go on without doubts or fears knowing that he who hath bid us Do this is able to make it whatsoever he will or whatsoever we need let us not startle at the difficulty of this Sacramental change but rest satisfied in the power of the Author and Enjoyner let us call on him earnestly and then believe that he will so be present by his Spirit and his Grace as that we shall feel the virtue and efficacy thereof from time to time from one Communion to another even till we come to see him unvailed and face to face at his coming again in glory § 6. Hear us O merciful Father we most humbly beseech thee and grant that we receiving these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine according to thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christs most holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood We have now made a sufficient Introduction to this great Request by acknowledging the mercy and merit of Christs Death as also by declaring the divine Original of this Sacrament wherefore in the next place we come to the Petition it self which is the very Grace before this Coelestial food and herein
shew his all-sufficiency for the life of our Souls And of all kinds of drink he hath chose Wine to represent his most precious blood for this is called the blood of the Grape m Deut. 32.14 1 Macc. 6.34 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem Alex. paed l. 2. and in colour comes the nearest to it this minds us of Jesus who is the true Vine John 15.1 and of the Wine-Press of his Fathers wrath Isai 63.2 3. wherein he was grievously pressed till all his holy blood yea and his Soul was exhausted And as Wine was given to chear mans heart n Jud. 9.13 Psal 104.15 Duo sunt liquores corporibus humanis gratissimi intus vini foris olei Plin. l. 4 c. 22. item ap Homer Il. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Odyss β. and raise his decaying spirits so was the blood of Jesus shed to revive poor disconsolate sinners with the hopes of the divine favour It was the Custom among the Jews for the Master of the Family after Supper to take a Cup of Wine in both hands and giving thanks to him that created the fruit of the Vine to drink to all the Guests as a Symbol of Charity Fag in Deut. 8.10 and among the Gentiles also their Feasts were concluded o Postremo Graeci Mercurio litabant bono daemoni cui gratias agebant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alex. ab Alex. l. 5. c. 21. Schol. Aristop Mos erat cum mensa auferenda sit bono genio litare Hoc hoc mensa claudatur scypho Sen. with a Cup offered to their good genius But our Lord hath spiritualized these usages and here we may behold him with hands and eyes lift up to Heaven Consecrating this Cup for an Excellent Mystery that it may be a Cup of Salvation and of Charity and may be offered up with praise to the most high when therefore we see the holy Man beginning to bless the Wine also let us say within our selves Oh what preparations is our gracious Master making for us he thinks it not enough to give us his blessed body with the merit of all those torments which he suffered in the flesh but he is pleased to pour out his blood and his life together with it that we might drink thereof and so take as it were his very Soul into us p 〈◊〉 â—7 14 ita 〈…〉 llud Virgil. 〈…〉 vomit ille â—â—â—â—tam Secundum eâ—s inquit qui sanguinem animam dicunt Alas we are faint and feeble ready to die and languish and he hath made us a Cordial with his own hearts blood miserable wretches as we are that nothing less will help us but oh how gracious a Redeemer have we that will not deny us this behold O Lord we thirst and this Wine of joy makes us more q Non facile esuriens positâ retinebere mensâ Et multum saliens incitat unda sitim Ovid. impatient to tast of this Cup of Salvation and Thanksgiving thou that hast prepared it for us make it thy holy blood and then it shall cleanse our Souls and make us thine for ever § 12. He gave it to them saying Drink ye all of this for this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for you and for many for the Remission of Sins Since our Saviour did give the Cup to every one of his Disciples and plainly commands both them and us all to drink of it r Math. 26.27 1 Cor. 12.13 Et Vulg. Editio Pontificiis Authentica 1 Cor. 10.17 addit Et de uno calice we have cause to bless God that we are not of that Church which hath lately Å¿ Secundum antiquam Ecclesiae consuetudinem omnes tam corpori quam sanguini communicabant quod etiam adhuc in quibusdam Ecclesiis servatur Aquin. in Johan 6. robbed the people of half the Sacrament and I wish that as the Legacy is preserved to us intire and a double portion provided for us that we would endeavour to receive with twice as much devotion as they do Furthermore when we hear the most efficacious words of Christ pronounced we must exercise our Faith and not only join our desires that this Wine may become the Blood of Christ but with our hearts say Amen for it is unto us according to our Faith if we believe it is to us the Blood of Christ and that which makes us partakers t 1 Cor. 10.16 communicatio sanguinis Christi Vatab. idem in Margin annotae vel participatio Graec. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the benefits thereof And although it be still Wine unto our senses because we naturally abhor to drink humane blood u Similitudinem pretiâ—si sanguinis bibis ut nullus horror cruoris sit pretium tamen operetur Redemptionis Ambros de sacr lâ—b 4 cap. 4. yet by the power of Jesus and the mercy of God it shall make our attonement be accepted as fully for our expiation as if our own lives had been laid down or our own blood spilt in a Sin-offering For it is now to be esteemed as the blood of the New Covenant or Testament w Math. 26.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 h. e. propriè â—â—â—guis novi foederis 〈◊〉 Grot. Ham. annâ—â— in Titul Beza in lâ—cum Latini autem Testamentum vertunt Grotius For the Original word signifies both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the first and common sense it is used for a Covenant and those of old were confirmed with blood x Exod. 24.8 Haustu mutui sanguinis foedus faciunt de Scythis Herodot l. 4. Quod idem refert etiam de Medis ut Solinus Cap. 20. but this New-Covenant between God and Man could not be made without it because God could not in justice grant remission unless some blood were spilt the visible Soul being given as a ransom for the invisible and this most precious Blood of Christ is that which was shed to appease the divine anger and so to engage God to enter into this Covenant with us wherefore it may be called the Blood of the New Covenant Secondly This word also is used for a Testament or Will y Heb. 9.16 17. Testamentum est voluntas defuncti Quintil. Viventis nulla est haereditas Digest Roman J. C. dicunt Testamentum morte confirmatur Grot. by this account we call the Gospel the New-Testament because it contains our Lords Will and therein he hath left us as Legacies his Merits and Graces his Spirit and his Peace and secured them to us by his Promise wherefore when we see this holy Blood it is to us as it were the Seal of the New-Testament because it shews us that the Testator hath dyed and consequently assures us that all those promises shall be made good unto us especially that of the pardon of our Sins for since we and many had deserved Eternal Death by our offences this Blood was poured forth to procure a Pardon not for us alone but for
as many as had sinned even for all the World for all saith St. Chrysostom are many When therefore we see this so plainly represented in the pouring forth of the Holy Chalice let us not only shew a high estimation of that most meritorious Blood which saves so many Souls effectually and hath virtue enough to redeem all the World but also actuate our devotion in some pertinent Soliloquies after this or the like form Methinks O my dear Redeemer while thou art pouring forth thy most precious blood thou lookest on me with a Countenance mixed of pity and upbraiding that I should take so little care to save this Soul which thou hast bought at such a rate Do I not behold those drops and streams to trickle down that have sealed the Covenant of Peace and confirmed all the Promises of the Gospel why then am I not swallowed up with admiration why do I not breath and pant after it I came not to quench my bodily thirst but to wash my Soul in this salutary Fountain oh how freely it flows how perfectly it cures Lord let me tast thereof Make it unto me the blood of Jesus for it is that my Soul thirsteth after And now that thy powerful word hath hallowed it let me not by evil thoughts or unbelief malice or impenitence make it to my self an unhallowed thing but as thou hast fitted it for the mystery oh fit me also to receive it I cannot now have any more low or common thoughts about it I will by Faith esteem it as my Saviours blood and though I am unworthy of so divine a Cordial yet my Soul gaspeth for it and without it alas I must die and perish § 13. Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me Amen We have here again a renewed injunction to Do this and if we have any sense of our Redeemers love or any care of our own Souls we shall not need to be pressed to it but shall desire to Do it often and yet always to Do it well not Drinking it as common Wine but as the memorial of his blood-shedding in remembrance of him and his inestimable kindness but of this we have spoken before § 10. Only we must note that this Amen in the end of this Prayer was antiently spoken z 1 Cor. 14.16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Atque ubi Praeses orationes gratiarum actiones absolvit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just Mart. Ap. 2. by the people with a loud voice not only to shew their joining in the desire that the Elements may become truly Consecrated but also to declare their firm belief that they are now to be esteemed as the very Body and Blood of Christ Let us therefore here most devoutly seal all that the Priest hath done and unfeignedly testifie our Faith by a hearty Amen Lord it is done as thou hast commanded and I doubt not but the mystery is rightly accomplished I am perswaded that here is that which my Soul longeth after a Crucifyed Saviour communicating himself to poor penitent Sinners Oh let me be reckoned among that number and then I shall assuredly receive thee holy Jesus Amen The Paraphrase of the Prayer of Consecration § 14. O Almighty God infinite in Power and wonderful in thy goodness Thou art our Heavenly Father who to save us from Eternal Misery of thy tender mercy and free Compassion didst give thy only and well-beloved Son Iesus Christ not only to be born in our nature but also to suffer a most grievous and bitter death upon the Cross that his life might be for our Redemption from everlasting Torments to which we were forfeited We believe and confess it was this thy Son who made there on the Cross by his own voluntary oblation of himsel◠to that accursed Death though he was but once offered in this manner a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and satisfaction to thy offended Justice not only for the sins of some times or some Persons but for the sins of all men that are were or shall be throughout the whole World so that there is none but might upon their Faith and Repentance be forgiven by the vertue thereof And because there needs no other Sacrifice for sin now therefore our Lord Jesus appointed and did institute this holy Sacrament to represent it And in his holy Gospel he doth accordingly plainly command us to observe this Rite thereby to continue a perpetual and lively memory of that his most meritorious and most precious Death So that his love may be fresh in our hearts until his coming again to judgment in the end of the World In obedience to this command we are now about to make this memorial of his Passion and that we may do it effectually Hear us O most merciful Father Consider our need of this Heavenly food We most humbly beseech thee in whose power it is alone to feed our Souls And grant that we receiving with a true repentance and lively Faith these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine which thou hast chosen to express this mystery and partaking of them according to thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christs gracious intention and most holy Institution namely in remembrance of his bitter Death and bloody Passion Let them Communicate him unto us that we by them may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood and of all the benefits of his Incarnation and his sufferings But it is not in us to make these Creatures to be a Sacrament wherefore we will do as our Lord did and say as he said And be thou pleased to grant that the Words of Jesus pronounced by thy Servant may have the same effect upon these Elements which they had when spoken with his blessed mouth Who in the same night that he was betrayed to his Crucifyers as one of the last tokens of his love Took Bread the staff of life as we now take this into our hands to resemble his taking our nature and when he had begged thy blessing as we do also thereon and given thanks shewing how chearfully he suffered for us He brake it as we this Bread into many pieces an Emblem of his broken and wounded Body and gave it to his Disciples to whom he designed the benefits of his Passion Saying Take this pledge of your Redemption most thankfully and by Faith Eat that you may be nourished by my Love for This is the Communion of my Body and shall make you partakers of it as it is a Sacrifice which is given to God to satisfie for you Provided you Do this in a most thankful remembrance of me and my all-sufficient Oblation Likewise also after the Paschal Supper that he might give himself wholly to us He took the Cup of Wine which maketh glad the heart of Man even as we take this And when he had begged thy blessing on it as we now do and also given thanks that his blood was accepted for the life of the World He
gave it to his Disciples to declare he would freely pour out his blood for them saying Drink ye all who desire a part in me of this Cup and apply to your selves the benefits of my blood-shedding For this is the Communion of my Blood which sealeth the New Covenant and is the Confirmation of the New-Testament with the promises thereof And it shall give you a right unto them for this is it which is shed to make Attonement for you in particular and for as many as believe it to be sufficient for the Remission of Sins Wherefore I charge you Do this as oft as may be and whensoever ye shall drink it let it be with great devotion in remembrance of me and of my love in laying down my life for you Amen It is finished according to thy will So be it and let all the people say Amen SECT III. Of the form of Administration § 1. WHen the time of distribution is come the Guests must not rudely and disorderly take every one his own part 1 Cor. 11.14 because God is the Master of the Feast and according to the Eastern Custom he hath provided Officers to divide to every one their portion a Gen. 42.34 1 Sam. 9.24 Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Esth 2.9 fercula singulis apposita secundum morem Orientalem Vide Ham. Annot. Luke 8. a. Wherefore the people are to receive this from the Minister as from the hands of God himself and accordingly they ought to kneel in the most lowly manner as those do who are to receive a favour even from an Earthly Prince For it is now the Custom of the Eastern and Greek Churches of the Latine Church and Lutherans also yea of all the World saith Erasmus to receive kneeling and which is most considerable to us our own Church which hath power to determine these circumstances hath prescribed this posture and withal declared it is only for order and comeliness and to express our humility to God not to give any worship to the Elements * Non enim inclinaverunt carni sanguini sed tibi terribili domino Lit. S. Chrysos and it is a wonder any should refuse to receive kneeling meerly because the Church enjoins it since every considering and humble Christian would chuse that way if it were left indifferent The whole time of Communicating is spent in Prayers and Praises and therefore sure we ought to be upon our b Nemo carnem illam manducat nisi prius adoraverit August in Psal 98. knees if it were only that we might be ready to offer up our Prayers to God It is highly probable that this gesture hath obtained in the Western Church at least 1200. years and although of Old in the East they did stand c Stemus benè stemus in timore Lit. Basil yet it was with fear and trembling with silence and down-cast eyes for they groaned in spirit and kept their joy within saith St. d Chrysost homil de encoeniis Chrysost They came near saith St. Cyril c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. Mystag 5. versus finem bowing themselves in the posture of Worship and Adoration As for the Words of Administration some think they contain a double form Both the Old Roman form and that which Calvin did prescribe both united by the Revisors of the Liturgy under Queen Elizabeth It is most certain that the Antient Church did use the first words The Body of our Lord Iesus Christ in the Administration To which the people answered Amen f Dicit tibi Sacerdos Corpus Christi tu dicis Amen h. e. verum quod confitetur Lingua teneat affectus Ambros de Sacram l. 4. c. 5. Vniversa Ecclesia accepto Christi sanguine dicit Amen Aug. Resp ad Oros qu. 49 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. myst 5. both to express their desire it might be Christs Body unto them and their firm belief that it was so The next words Preserve thy Body and Soul unto everlasting life as we are told by Durantus de Rit Eccles Cathol l. 2. c. 55. were added in St. Gregory lib. de Sacram. although the modern Missals have altered this now The other part Take and Eat c. have for their Author Christ himself who did Administer in these words and if we should leave them out as the Roman Church doth we should have but half his form And if we do well consider the whole frame it appears to be nothing else but a necessary Paraphrase upon our Saviours Words which doth expound and sit them for every ones private Meditation for therefore the Church appoints all these words to be repeated to each partaker that every one may have time and subject matter afforded for his own particular Meditations yet because all are not able themselves to fix and to enlarge their thoughts so as to deduce suitable Soliloquies and Devotions to entertain themselves within the time of Administration we judge the most practical handling of this rare Composure will be to draw proper Meditations from all the parts thereof when we have first discovered the method in this Analysis The Analysis of the form of Administration Sect. 2. The form of Administration hath three parts 1. A Commemoration declaring what it is The Body Blood of our Lord Iesus Christ Which was given shed for thee 2. A Petition that we may partake of the benefits thâ—â—eof Preserve thy Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life 3. A direction how to receive it 1. Externally Take and Eat this Drink this 2. Internally 1. In remembrance that Christ died Christs blood was shed for thee 2. And feed on him in thy heart by Faith with thanksgiving Be thankful Discourses and Meditations upon the Administration § 3. We must now lay by all other thoughts and diligently compose our Souls for the Acts of holy Communion remembring that we must feast with God by silence and Heavenly Contemplation Let us now therefore consider how great a work we are about to perform let us think what benefits we shall lose and what evil we shall fall into if we do it unworthily what Comforts and advantages we shall receive if we do it acceptably let us call to mind what need we have of the divine assistance and pray with Sampson Strengthen us O Lord only this once Jud. 16.28 Let us remember our sins afresh to humble us and review our wants Both that we may have them ready to spread before our Lord and that we may thereby stir up in our selves most fervent desires after his Grace and Mercy And let nothing divert us from these thoughts unless our Charity to our Brethren For when we hear the Minister use these words to the rest of the Congregation we shall do well most heartily to wish this holy Communion may be life to every Soul so that all who sit together at this blessed Feast may also meet in life everlasting And as the Minister is drawing near
not sustained your fury ye had delivered me over to Everlasting Burnings I do abhor and detest ye all how dear soever you have been to me the sight of my bleeding Saviour hath stirred up my indignation against you and I will revenge his blood upon you by sacrificing you all at this Altar How can my Eyes but drop down tears of Contrition when they behold thee pouring forth Rivers of thy Blood but while I grieve to see thy bleeding wounds I must not forget for whom thou didst sustain them thy Blood was shed for me because my life was forfeited why art thou then so cast down O my Soul wilt thou dishonour that price by thy doubts and fears which God hath accepted for all the World cannot that Sacrifice which appeaseth the divine wrath satisfie thy Faith Be not afraid only believe and be assured he will not cast away those whom he hath bought at so dear a rate for thee it was shed for thee it is prepared open thy mouth wide and he will fill it §. 12. Preserve thy Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life An Act of Supplication O Lord I tremble at the apprehension of all those Evils that stand between me and thy glory behold the Grave gapeth for my Body the Infernal Pit threatens to swallow my Soul and Satan is ready were he permitted every moment to devour me wherefore I beseech thee sprinkle me with thy all-saving blood that the destroying Angel may pass over me let me drink of this Cup of Life and so shall my Body be free from Corruption and my Soul from Condemnation Death shall be defeated the Grave dismantled and Satan disappointed Let me drink of thy precious Blood that I may receive thereby abundance of thy Spirit so shall my Body be hallowed into a sacred Temple and my Soul shall be replenished with such Graces that I can never perish Sweetest Jesus how desireable are thy Provisions oh let us not always languish without them but pitty our dry and parched Souls and water them we intreat thee with these living streams for behold we thirst and long with a mighty Passion to drink of this Fountain of Life that we may not faint in our journey to those Rivers of pleasures which are at thy right hand Oh give us this divine Cordial at present and make it to us a Preservative for Body and Soul to everlasting life Amen A Meditation in the receiving of the Cup. §. 13. Drink this in remembrance that Christs blood was shed for thee An Act of Commemoration How chearing is this Cup to me Blessed Jesus which was so dreadful unto thee it was thy Agonies and thy Wounds which afforded me this Wine of Joy Thou didst find how bitter it was when thou wert appeasing an offended God but I tast how sweet it is now that thou hast made him a tender and reconciled Father I receive this Cup O my Saviour as a new plâ—dge of thy dearest love for from those pits whence these Rivulets did flow I can discern thy heart bleeding in pity to my misery and sick of Love And since thou dost here give me a right to that great expiation which thou hast made I do most humbly commemorate the same before the Father of Heaven as the full satisfaction for my innumerable debts and I will remember the dolours of thy Cross with a brisker sense than ever because thou hast made me drink of thy blood and given me thy Soul thy Life and thy Spirit so that now I will live no more but thou shalt live in me because we have mingled Souls and thou hast joined me to thy self by the Communications of thy Spirit O let nothing separate that which thou hast so graciously joined together A Meditation after the receiving of the Cup. §. 14. And be thankful An Act of Thankfulness and Resolution Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name for now I find the Mercy and the Peace the Comfort and the Grace which flows from the Death of Christ let all the World know what he hath done for my Soul he hath rescued me and many of my poor Brethren round about me from the nethermost Hell wherefore I will love thee holy Jesus more than I can express and I will love them for thy sake And since thou hast given thy self thy merits and graces to me and sealed a New Covenant with me in thy own blood I do here bind my self by this sacred Cup to be sincerely thine m Mos est regibus quoties in societatem coeant implicare dextras pollicesque inter se vincire Mâ—x levi ictu cruorem eliciunt atque invicem lambunt id foedus arcanum habetur quasi mutuo cruore sancitum Tacit. Annal. lib. 12. I will spend my time and strength in thy service yea and Sacrifice my blood to bear witness to thy truth if ever thou callest me thereunto I will never betray nor forsake thee but live and die with thee for I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments Oh let me never unhallow that body nor defile that Soul in which the Lord Jesus delights to dwell let no Oaths or lying prophane those lips no Obscenity or Intemperance pollute that mouth by which those holy Symbols have passed And methinks I feel new desires and new hopes my nature seems râ—newed my blood refined my Soul full of holy vigour blessed be thy name for it let thy mercy keep me in this happy temper till I have accomplished all my resolutions Amen § 15. By these and such like contemplations you must keep your minds imployed all the time that the Heavenly Banquet doth continue and if the Congregation be numerous and there be further opportunity the devout Soul will easily find more fuel to nourish these flames viz. by considering the necessities of all Mankind the Calamities of the Church the Miseries of the Sick the wants of the Poor the condition of our Relations Friends and Acquaintance and recommending them all with an effectual Charity to Almighty God through Christ Jesus As also by lamenting its own unworthiness and indispositions by recollecting all its present wants both spiritual and temporal by surveying the difficulties and dangers of that pious course now undertaken and by calling upon the Father of Mercies for grace and relief for courage and strength for support and protection in order to each of these So likewise by doing Acts of mental Charity to be put in Execution afterwards viz. Resolving for the sake of Jesus to forgive and do good to our Enemies to reprove Sinners instruct the ignorant help those that are in need And finally by contemplating of the wisdom and advantage of a holy Life the comfort and peace of a happy Death the joys and felicities of the life of Glory with the pleasures of those Souls that behold Jesus face to face these and many more which the good Spirit will offer we must improve
as much as the time will give us leave because to look about us or to unbend our thoughts while the Celebration is in hand is a sign of a carnal heart and a base spirit that is weary of conversing with God it is an affront to the blood of Christ it exposeth us to Satans malice and prepares us for evil suggestions which unguarded Souls fall into sooner here than elsewhere and to conclude it will make our Lord abhor us the Spirit forsake us and turn the Cup of Blessing into poison and a Curse Wherefore be very watchful that no evil or impertinent cogitation do divert you till the Post-Communion doth begin and then you must have no other imployment but to join with the Minister in that part of this holy Office also PARTITION IV. Of the Post-Communion SECT I. Of the Post-Communion in general and in particular of the Lords-Prayer § 1. IT is a rudeness in manners to depart from the House of our Friend as soon as the Tables are removed and an Act of Irreligion to rise from our common meals a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porphyr de Essenis de abst lib. 4. Sect. 12. Gratias agere debent cum hymno à mensâ devenire Chrysos hom 83. in Math. without Prayer Thanksgiving How much more absurd and impious then were it for us to depart so abruptly from the Lords Table Our Church hath therefore here provided this concluding Banquet of Prayers and Praises imitating our Saviours Pattern who concluded his last Supper with that excellent Prayer John 17. as well as with that Hymn Math. 26.30 which is supposed to have been the Paschal Hallelujah and all Churches do finish this Heavenly Feast in like manner as the following particulars will demonstrate It is our part therefore to take care that the vigour of our devotion do not remit for we ought to perform these duties also with the same affections It is the first Testimony which we give of that Piety that we have vowed and if well done will be like the digestion and turning this Heavenly food into spiritual nourishment We do not eat our common meat only to please our palate but to support and strengthen our nature and to make us more fit for our imployment in like manner we do not partake of the Blessed Eucharist to put us into holy raptures at present only but to strengthen our Souls and put them into better frame for all Duties which we owe to Almighty God so that now we must give the first experiment of our having worthily received § 2. The Lords Prayer is placed in the first entrance upon this part of the Office both in imitation of Antiquity b Docuit Apostolos ut quotidiè in Corporis illius sacrificio credentes audeant loqui Pater noster Hieron in Pelag l. 3. Vid. Aug. ep 59. Greg l. 7. ep 63. and because it cannot any where be used more properly For having now been made partakers of Jesus and his Spirit it is fit the first words which we speak should be his as if not we but he lived and spake in us and surely these divine words can never be more effectual than when we have the blessed Author of them so fresh in our memories and have so lately set forth his most meritorious Death We have in this Sacrament received him and we know that unto as many as receives him he gives them power to become the Sons of God so that we may all with one heart and voice now say most chearfully Our Father and apply every Petition to the present occasion in this or the like manner The Paraphrase of the Lords-Prayer O Lord who hast now sealed our Adoption and made us Members of Christ we make bold to call thee Our Father and do lift up our hearts to thee which art in Heaven to bless thee for this mighty favour wishing that Hallowed and for ever blessed may be thy Name throughout all the World Thou hast made us thy servants now by grace therefore O let thy Kingdom of glory Come as soon as thou pleasest In the mean time since we have been fed with Angels food we pray that thy Will may be done by us thy servants in Earth as readily and as constantly as it is ever done by those blessed Spirits in Heaven We cannot distrust thy Providence for Earthly things since thou hast given us thy own Son and fed us with his Body and Blood wherefore we will only beseech thee to Give us this day so much as is necessary for our subsistence even our daily Bread to enable us to serve thee And â—orgive us by the merits of that prevailing Sacrifice now commemorated all our trespasses by which we have deserved that wrath which Jesus hath endured Lord pardon us therefore as we by thy Example in this Feast of love do freely forgive them that have done any trespass against us And do thou not only remit what is past but lest we lose our comfort and break our Vows O Lead us not neither suffer us to fall into temptation which we expect with more violence now that we have renounced the bondage of Satan But we trust in thee O Lord and call upon thee to deliver us from all Evâ—l temporal spiritual and Eternal * Note that the Doxology is here used because this part of the office is Eucharistical For thine is the Kingdom over all especially over us who have now sworn Allegiance unto thee Thou only hast the might and the Power to secure us And therefore to thee shall all the Praise and the Glory be given by Men and Angels for ever and ever O do thou therefore to these our requests say Amen that we may also join in thy Praises So be it SECT II. Of the first Prayer in the Post-Communion § 1. THat the Eucharist was always concluded with a Hymn is observed by all but we affirm there were Prayers also made after it as appears by that Prayer of our Saviour John 17. and also from the Custom of the Jews who finished the Paschal Solemnity with Prayers as well as Hymns a Hoc ita gesto pater familias precationes mensarias ad finem precari pergit Buxt Synag Cap. de Pasch 13. And for the Christians St. Cyril warns them b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Cyril Mystag cat 5. not to depart till the last Prayer be done Besides the joint consent of all the antient Liturgies shew that all Churches had such Prayers As for this form the principal clause thereof of offering up our Bodies and Souls is taken from St. Paul Rom. 12.1 and it is a main end of this Sacrament though the Roman Mass is wholly silent in it the rest of this Prayer although the words be modern in sense agrees with many of the antient forms and is so well contrived as it may not only serve to exercise our devotion at present but teach how to demean our selves
stedfast and unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord. And I beseech thee give me constant and continual supplies of thy Grace that I may be able to perform whatsoever I have promised and let not forgetfulness or indevotion seize upon me hereafter Let me hold fast that which I have and daily strive to gain more and finally make me faithful to the Death so shall I receive the Crown of Life for he that endureth to the end shall be saved Amen § 8. Through Iesus Christ our Lord to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory World without end Amen There is a mighty efficacy in the name of Jesus used by a devout Soul that hath lately beheld the Commemoration of his great Attonement Through him we beg this Grace therefore And to him together with the Father and the blessed Spirit we offer up all honour and glory for the favours imparted to us in this Communion which but just now we did acknowledge and these Prayers and Praises we have cause to sign with an unfeigned Amen For we need the grace desired and the blessed Trinity deserves the glory ascribed wherefore we say Amen So be it But of this we have spoken before The Paraphrase of the second Prayer O Lord who art ever able and always ready to help thy servants being an Almighty and everliving God whose power and mercy can never fail We thy poor Creatures according to our bounden duty do most heartily thank and most unfeignedly praise thee for that of thy infinite pitty and bounty thou dost vouchsafe at this thy holy Table to feed us who have with penitence and Faith devoutly and duly received these holy Mysteries For therein thou hast refreshed our Souls with the spiritual and most desirable food of life thou hast made us Partakers by Faith of the most precious Body and of the most holy blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ which was offered for the Redemption of the whole World We acknowledge O Lord that besides the present comfort of this inestimable gift thou hast convinced us And dost assure us thereby of that which though we do not deserve yet we esteem above all things even thy favour thy gracious designs and goodness towards us poor Sinners And further by this holy Rite thou hast declared us thy Children and that we are very certainly living Members incorporate in and united unto the mystical Body of thy Son even thy Holy Church which is the blessed Company which are redeemed reconciled and sanctifyed by Jesus consisting of all faithful People in whose Prayers Priviledges and hopes we have now a happy interest And are also together with those thy servants by this Seal of thy Covenant made Heirs through hope already of thy Everlasting Kingdom which was purchased by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy Dear Son whose sufferings are set forth and the benefits of them conveyed to us in this Sacrament And now lest we should lose these blessings again by relapsing to folly as we have formerly done We most humbly and earnestly beseech thee O Heavenly Father for thy mercy sake so constantly and powerfully to assist us with thy grace in all our endeavours to perform our Obligations and our Vows that we may continue for ever in that holy fellowship with thy Son and thy Saints to which thou hast admitted us And do all such good works of Mercy Piety and Vertue as thou hast by the direction of thy holy Word prepared for us to walk in who have professed our selves to be thy Servants All which we beg through the most powerful intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom we have received these and all other Mercies To whom therefore with thee O Father Almighty and the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God let there be all honour and glory ascribed both now and World without end Amen Be it so SECT IV. Of the Gloria in Excelsis or the Angelick Hymn § 1. TO conclude this Office with an Hymn is so direct an imitation of our Saviours practice Math. 26.30 that it is observed in all Churches and hath been used in all Ages And although the forms may differ yet this is as Antient as any now Extant The former part of it is of an Heavenly Original and was sung by the Angels at our Lords Nativity Luke 2.14 and it seems from thence it was transcribed into the Oriental Liturgies for it is thrice repeated in that of St. James The latter part is by Hug. de S. Victor l. 2. said to be composed by St. Hilary Bishop of Poictiers but by Rabanus Maurus who lived 200. years before the said Hugo it is ascribed to Telesphorus about the year of Christ 139. Certain it is that it was added by the Ecclesiastical Doctors as we are informed by the fourth Council of Toledo a Concil Tolet. IV. Can. XII celebrated about 1000. years ago and yet those are accursed by that Council who shall reject this or the Gloria Patri or other Hymns because they are not verbatim in the Scripture for as is there well noted upon that pretence we might reject the most part of the Church Offices It is also to be noted that with very little difference we find this Hymn in Clement's Constitutions l. 17. cap. 48. so that it is likely to have been of very antient use in the Western Church And whereas in the present Roman Missal it stands in the beginning of this Office it is much more properly placed by our Liturgy here in the end of the Communion for every devout Communicant is now even full of gratitude and longeth for an opportunity to pour out his Soul in the praises of God and how fit this Hymn is for that purpose the Analysis and following discourse will shew The Analysis of the Angelick Hymn or Gloria in Excelsis § 2. The Angelick Hymn hath Two Parts 1. The Angels Song acknowledging 1. The Effect of Christs Death 1. Above Glory be to God on High and 2. Below in Earth Peace 2. The moving Cause of it good will towards Men. 2. A Descant upon it by 1. A Glorification of the Father expressing 1. The Manner how we offer this Praise We praise thee we bless thee we worship thee we glorifie thee we give thanks unto thee 2. The Reason why for thy great Glory 3. The Person to whom O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty 2. A Supplication to the Son who is 1. Confessed in his Titles O Lord the only begotten Son Iesu Christ O Lord God Lamb of God Son of the Father 2. Invocated by his 1. Office to 1. Pardon that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon us Thou that takest away c. have mercy c. 2. Hear us Thou that takest away the sins of the World receive our Prayer 2. By his Glory also to pardon us Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father
may fitly be used when we fear or feel any Temptation to Sin as the other when we apprehended any danger For so long as our hearts and bodies are kept in the ways of Righteousness we may be assured of universal and continual safety The Paraphrase of the Second Prayer O Almighty Lord Eternal and Everlasting God whose Power is infinite and always the same Remember the frailty of us thy finite Creatures and vouchsafe we beseech thee to keep us wholly and throughout h 1 Thessal 5.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl Direct by thy Wisdom sanctifie by thy grace and govern by thy Providence both the affections of our hearts where sin is wont to begin i Spiritus enim dominatur caro famulatur Tertul. de Bapt. and the members of our Bodies by which it is too often accomplished Keeping them both in the right and pleasant ways of thy Laws assisting them in the duties and in the holy and good works of thy Commandments Let us never stray from thy sure paths so that through thy most mighty Protection which is always over those that are exercised in well-doing Both here in this present life and ever hereafter We may be preserved from all sin and danger and kept safe both in Body and Soul until we come to thy Kingdom Which we beg through his merits who is our Lord to govern us and our Saviour to deliver us even for Iesus Christ his sake Amen III. A Prayer for a Blessing upon the Word of God § 4. This short Collect is of excellent use after the Sermon or Lessons in publick as also when the Scripture hath been read in private And because it is not the hearing of Gods word with our Ears but the engrafting it in our hearts James 1.21 which makes it powerful to our Salvation we ought always after it to pray as here 1. That it may take root in our hearts 2. That it may spring forth in our lives The Paraphrase of the third Prayer O Lord we have brought forth little fruit of all the excellent things which we have hitherto heard Grant we beseech thee therefore O Almighty God who only givest increase to this spiritual Seed k 1 Corinth 3.6 Cathedram in coelo habet qui corda docet Aug. in Ep. Johan That the words which we have heard this day Preached or read out of holy Scripture with our outward Ears which are so apt to let good things slip l Nec retinent patulae commissa fidelitèr aures Pauci illam quam conceperunt mentem domum perferre potuerunt Sen. ep 108. even that they may through the working of thy Grace which quickens all things be so grafted and planted m James 1.23 Graec. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Syriac plantatum benè nam Verbum Dei saepe confertur semini Math. 13. c. inwardly in our very hearts and affections that they may never be forgotten but take root there and bring forth in us so plentifully that our whole Conversation may abound in the fruit n Coloss 1.6 James 1.22 of good works Which blessed effect of thy Word we pray for because it will not only tend to our benefit but to the spreading of the Honour and setting forth the Praise of thy Name who hast so happily reformed our ways Do thou therefore thus teach us through the merits and for the sake of Iesus Christ our Lord be it so Amen IV. A Prayer for Success in all our actions § 5. If we acknowledge Gods Providence we must undertake nothing till we have first asked his Counsel to direct us o Ita Scipio referente Plutar. Et ap Platon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Timae and as we go on we must call for his assistance to further us and when we have done we must wait for his blessing to Crown all with success All which we are taught to do in this compendious and pious form which is never unseasonable but very fit to be used especially in the Morning before we begin our work The Paraphrase of the fourth Prayer O God our ways are not in our own Power p Jer. 10.23 wherefore we commit them to thee who art able to bring them to pass q Psal 37.5 And be thou pleased to Prevent r Prevent vex media Psal 88.13 in malo sensu Psal 18.18 in bono 21.3 Psal 59.10 Bonitas tua O Deus meus antevertat Vulg. praeveniet me Vatabl. Psal 79.10 Vulg. Antevertat nos Misericordia tua Vide item Hammond Psal 21. ver 3. Annot. b. us O Lord before we expect it in the beginning of all our doings and come early to meet us before hand with thy most gracious savour so that we may begin things pleasing and then as we go on further us all the way with thy continual help And leave us not till we have accomplished them by thy prospering our endeavours Å¿ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Demosthen Olynth 2. So that in the performance of all our works since they are Begun by thee and thy direction continued through thee and thy assistance and ended t Hinc omne principium huc refer exitum Horat. Carm. l. 3. Od. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato in thee and with thy blessing We may have continual cause to glorifie and speak good of thy holy Name when we find how we prosper by trusting in thee And finally having advanced thy Glory in this short life let us though unworthy and without any merit in our selves yet by thy mercy obtain that everlasting life where we may praise thee for ever through Iesus Christ our Lord for whose sake we beseech thee to hear us Amen V. A Prayer to supply the defects of our other Devotions § 6. When St. Paul had asked all he could for his Ephesians he commits them to him that was able to do more for them than he could ask or think u Ephes 3.20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl And from thence we have taken this suppletory Prayer being very proper for the beginning or ending of publick or private Supplications because it sets before us 1. The incomparable Wisdom of God 2. Our own Imperfections And thence deduceth 1. A general Petition for Compassion as to all the defects of our Prayers 2. A particular request for the adding of that which we omitted The Paraphrase of the fifth Prayer x Note this Prayer is very proper to be said to our selves when we kneel down at our first coming into the Church to Prayers O Almighty God the Original of all Power and the fountain of all Wâ—sâ—om y Proverbs 2.6 We make not our Prayers to instruct thee z Math. 6.32 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl who knowest our necessities and all our wants before we ask of thee to supply them And who discernest our Ignorance and folly in asking hurtful things because we do not well know what is good for ourselves
sins of the World receive our Prayer Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father have mercy upon us As the Father is the Object so the Son is the Subject of the Angelick Praises wherefore in the next place we are to glorifie him who is remembred and represented given by God and received by us in this Mystery It is usual at the Entertainment of great Princes by a Herauld to proclaim their Names Stile and Titles with great solemnity Even so the pious Soul which hath now received her dearest Lord doth with a mighty pleasure repeat all the names belonging to his Person to his Nature and his Offices and thereby declare the Majesty and Glory the Mercy and Goodness of him whom she hath now accepted for her Lord and King And whilst we are setting out his glories we do also invocate him by all these honourable and endearing Names that he will imploy his Power his Interest and Merits to make our Persons and our Prayers acceptable We behold him dying for the sins of all the World and we cannot but beseech him to grant our Pardon We discern him sitting at the right hand of the Father interceeding for us and thereby we are encouraged to beseech him to pitty our miseries and accomplish our desires His glory and our necessity makes us beg this with ingeminated cries and a redoubled importunity saying as he once in his Agony did the very same words And thus we do at once provide for our own relief and do honour to the Blessed Jesus for this part is so contrived that it is a Confession of our Faith an acknowledgment of his Glory a Prayer and a Tanksgiving all in one and thus we may reduce it to a practical Meditation How shall we express thy welcom into our Souls Blessed Jesus or how shall we celebrate thy praise We will remember what thou art in thy self and what thou hast done for us for thou art glorious enough in thy own perfections O thou Eternal and only begotten Son of God equal to the Father who art thy self both Lord and God How lovely art thou O thou innocent Lamb of God encircled with millions of redeemed Souls whom thou hast washed in thy blood O how illustrious a brightness shines round about thee whilst thou art in the midst of all thy happiness interceding for poor Sinners I adore thee and long to do thee honour and I delight to see all the Angels of Heaven worshipping thee my Lord and my God Hast thou merited so much on Earth and hast thou so much glory in Heaven sweetest Saviour then sure I cannot perish Behold how many poor Souls are prostrate before thee admiring and publishing the merits of thy Death and the power of thy intercession hear our importunate Supplications and help us all therefore O Lord that we may be able by experience to proclaim thy goodness Amen § 6. For thou only art holy thou only art the Lord thou only O Christ with the Holy Ghost art most high in the glory of God the Father Amen This Phrase thou only art holy with some others in this Hymn are taken out of the Song of Moses and of the Lamb Revel 15.4 as that thou only art the Lord is from the first Ep. Tim. 6.15 g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apoc. 15.4 Vulg. Solus Pius es 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Timoth. 6.15 Non quod non aliis is titulus aliquo sensu tribuatur sed quia hoc quicquid est à Deo venit Grot. in 1 Tim. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Responsor ad Quaest Graec. There are indeed holy Angels and Saints and there are Lords many 1 Cor. 8.5 Yet none of these have a propriety in this Title because their holiness is imperfect and derived Only Jesus is Holy in and of himself and of his holiness all others do receive He is Holy and Hallowed because he halloweth and sanctifieth us as the Liturgy of St. James paraphraseth it h Solus tu sanctus es qui sanctificas sanctificaris Liturg. S. Jacob. He only is that Lord saith St. Augustine i Solus verus Dominus es qui Dominum non habes Aug. Confes l. 10. c. 36. who hath no other Lord above him For he only with the Holy Ghost is equal to the Father God blessed for ever And this is the reason why we exalt him so highly and pass by the Mediation of Saints and Angels because none is so holy none so mighty none so high in the favour of God nor none so gracious and loving to us as Jesus is This we do acknowledge therefore with all possible joy and triumph and it is a mighty rejoicing to our Spirits that he who hath given himself for us and is come to dwell with us is so High and so Magnificent And while it doth chear our hearts to set forth his glory our Enemies are confounded For while the Church triumphs the powers of darkness tremble at the mention of his perfections Let us then refresh our selves with some such Meditation We have exalted thee O Lord as high as we can and yet scarcely so high as really thou art We will apply our selves to thee only for Holiness for thou only art most Holy we will seek for succour and protection from thee for thou art the supream Lord of Lords and we will not doubt of acceptance with our Heavenly Father because thou art a Partner in his Divinity the highest Favourite of the Coelestial Court Thou art the greatest and the best in Heaven and Earth and to my endless comfort whatsoever thou art thou hast made thy self mine so that the greater thy glory is the greater is my happiness now by Faith hereafter by enjoyment 'T is true I cannot see thee with my bodily Eyes but I admire and bless thee I love thee with ecstasies of affection for thou art my Lord and I am thy servant I feel thy influence and I believe thy excellencies so that I can rejoice in thee with joy unspeakable and full of glory Thou art the highest in thy Fathers favour and in my esteem also to thee therefore with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory now and for ever Amen The Paraphrase of the Angelick Hymn § 7. O come let us join with the Heavenly Host and sing Praises for the Redemption wrought by Jesus which bringeth so much Glory to God who dwells on high from all the Saints and Angels and which makes on Earth such a blessed Peace by reconciling us all to God and to one another and which also declares so great good will in the Almighty towards Men who had perished eternally without his Mercy Holy Father it is we that receive the benefit of this thy goodness wherefore We praise thee for the Power and we bless thee for the mercy of this great Salvation We worship thee with our Bodies and we glorifie thee with our Souls for thou hast redeemed them both We give
thanks unto thee with all our hearts for thy great glory Which is given to thee by all the World O Lord God We acknowledge thou art our Heavenly King who hast subdued our Enemies Thou art God the Father Almighty who hast designed and brought about this marvellous work We do also adore thee O Lord our Saviour remembring with delight and confessing with joy that thou art the only begotten Son of God Iesu Christ the anointed Redeemer And now O Lord God As thou art the most innocent Lamb of God slain and sacrificed for our offences and as thou art the most dearly beloved Son of the Father that by thy holy Passion takest away the sins of the World We entreat thee to Have mercy upon us and pitty us And again we beseech thee Thou that takest away the sins of the whole World since we are Sinners Have mercy upon us and forgive us And once more we pray thee O Thou that takest away the sins of the World take away our sins and receive our Prayer which otherwise might be hindred by them We know thou hast the only interest in Heaven wherefore we do again beseech thee Thou that sittest in great glory at the right hand of the Father that thou wilt have mercy upon us and save our Souls To thee we make this application for pardon and acceptance Blessed Jesus for thou only art holy in and from thy self To thee we seek for succour for thou only art the supream Lord of Lords Thou only O Christ together with the Holy Ghost the Comforter art most high in the favour and a Partner in the glory of God the Father constituting the holy and undivided Trinity which is blessed for ever Amen SECT V. Of the final Blessing § 1. OF the concluding the Ordinary Prayers with a blessing we have discoursed Comp. to the Temple SECT ult But besides it is apparent that the people were always dismissed from this Ordinance with a solemn Benediction pronounced by the Bishop when he was present a Plebs ab Episcopo cum benedictione mittatur Concil Agath can 30. and in his absence by the Priest b Populus non ante discedat quà m Missae solennitas compleatur ubi Episcopus non fuerit Benedictionem accipiat sacerdotis Concil 3. Arelatens yet so as none might depart till this was given by the one or the other Which Custom some would ground upon our Saviours practice who after his last eating with his Disciples Luke 24.43 took his leave with a blessing ver 50. The present form is taken out of holy Scripture the first part is from Philip. 4.7 The latter part is a Christian Paraphrase upon the old form of Moses Numb 6.24 25 26. for whereas the name of the Lord is thrice repeated there to note the Mystery of the Trinity we have explained it by the Father Son and Holy Ghost And what is further observable the following method will declare The Analysis of the final Blessing Sect. 2. This Blessing containeth a twofold wish 1. For the Peace of God to be in us shewing 1. The Excellency thereof The Peace of God which passeth all understanding 2. The end for which it is desired Keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Iesus Christ our Lord. 2. For the Blessing of God to be upon us intimating 1. Whence it must proceed And the blessing of God Almâ—ghty the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost 2. How it is to be imparted be amongst you and remain with you always Amen A Practical Discourse upon the final Blessing § 3. The Peace of God which passeth all understanding Keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Iesus Christ our Lord. When St. Paul had directed us to make our addresses to God by Prayers Supplications and Thanksgivings Philip. 4.6 he immediately adds And the Peace of God shall keep your hearts c. ver 7. So that he may seem to have designed this to be a Conclusion for this very office For we have now by Prayers Letany and Eucharist c Graec. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. 4.7 made our applications to the Divine Majesty Wherefore the holy man by this method ought now to give us the Peace of God We have begun in Piety and therefore we shall certainly end in Peace Hence all Liturgies generally conclude with the mention of Peace d In pace Christi eamus Lit. S. Jacob Reg. MS. enim lâ—git 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. 4.7 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysos hom de jejun in Pasch In pace procedamus in nomine Domini Lit. S. Basil And there is not a more comprehensive blessing than Peace nor a more seasonable valediction after this Sacrament whether we understand it of the Peace which God hath made with us or of that which he requires of us 1. If we take it for the Peace which God hath made with us viz. for our Reconciliation to him by Jesus Christ Rom. 5.1 e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac in loc Philip. and the internal Peace of Conscience following thereupon It is so admirable in it self and it brings such comforts to the Soul which enjoys it that it not only surpasseth all the gifts of Wisdom and Knowledge but passeth the capacity of the highest Understanding to comprehend it And whereas we do now all pretend to know and to love God and our Lord Jesus Christ the Minister prays that we may find such comfort and delight in our Peace and Reconciliation with God that it may keep us firm and constant to this Knowledge and Love that it may win the affections of our hearts and gratifie the powers of our Mind so as to attract us to a further progress in the knowledge of so gracious a God and in the love of so dear a Saviour He prays that this Peace may make us despise all the friendships of Sin and engage us to seek after a further acquaintance with God and a nearer Union with Jesus Christ so that we may fall off no more to vanity when we have tasted these divine pleasures 2. If we take it for the Peace which God requires of us viz. that Peace which by his command we here make with our Brethren which sense Theophylact also mentions it is very proper to wish that this Peace may keep our hearts also For we are all here joined in the Unity of the Spirit and the Bond of Peace and Amity as a token whereof the Antients finished these Mysteries with a kiss of Peace f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justin M. Apol. 2. Osculum Pacis quod est signaculum orationis Tertul. de Or. Roman 16.16 and supposed they had not received aright unless they all departed in mutual Peace and Charity g Quale sacrificium est à quo sine Pace receditur idem Tertul. ibid. And this blessed Peace is both better than