beauty All my services are a due Tribute to the most perfect of Beings and yet thou rewardest them with infinite happiness Teach me therefore to love thee for thy Excellencies to worship and obey thee for thy Bounty and to consecrate my powers and faculties my strength and time to my Saviours honour give me that true love that casts out fear that tramples upon dangers and rescues from despair that is the fulfilling of the Law and stronger than death it self that I may taste and see how good the Lord is and that there is no unrighteousness in him that the greatest difficulties may not lessen my affection nor fear nor flattery separate me from thy favour but that I may maintain a Holy Communion with thee till I come to dwell with thee in the habitations of Love and Peace Amen The Anthem The Life of Jesus I. WHen Jesus first appear'd abroad The Divine Man th' Incarnate God In whom both Natures were entwin'd Say my Soul was he not design'd T' eclipse th' accomplishments of all mankind II. A Virgin Mother could lye in Of nothing but what was Divine Destin'd a Miracle from the Womb From his warm Cradle to 's cold Tomb From his first smiles unto his sorrowful Doom III. The beauteous Youth had not yet seen The day that bad him write Thirteen When all the Scribes and Doctors gaz'd And the Pharisees stood amaz'd 〈◊〉 his worst Enemies his acuteness prais'd IV. Such Wisdom shone in his Discourse In all his Arguments such force Such the charms of 's sprightly face So smart his Words so smooth his Grace Moses himself ne're so became the place V. This Essay past he humbly staid Labouring hard at 's Fathers Trade Where mindful in whose stead he stood With sweat he earn'd his daily Food And learn't th' obliging art of doing good VI. Till he unto the age attain'd VVhen Priests before the Altar stand Then at his Baptism th' holy Dove In State descended from above To crown him with the marks of 's Fathers love VII Jordan thy streams that smoothly flow Till now were never hallowed so Not when Joshua travell'd through The fertile Canaan to subdue Jordan thy streams are sacramental now VIII Jesus next to the desert goes To combat there the worst of 's Foes There Satan us'd his utmost skill To stoop our Saviour to his will But the lov'd Jesus is victorious still IX He to th' Infernal Powers gives law Nature of him too stands in awe At his command water turns wine Wild Tempests do their rage resign And winds and seas to peaceful calm encline X. He cures the blind recalls the dead Feeds thousands with celestial Bread What can oppose his word or will VVho multplies by Miracle Five Loaves till th' Fragments do twelve Baskets fill XI How useful was he and how good Yet never was well understood Not when his sacred Lips dispence Strong Reason urg'd with Eloquence And every word does Oracle commence XII Not when his time and strength were spent To rescue man from punishment Nor when his beauteous Eyes and meen Powerful incentives should have been T' endear him unto all that had him seen XIII Despis'd but useful Virtue how Durst profligate man treat thee so Must scorn and torture be thy meed My soul 't is often thus decreed The innocent do for the guilty bleed XIV Jesus by Judas is betray'd Whom Jesus an Apostle made Seiz'd by the rabble of the Jews Who this great Prince with scorn do use While perjur'd Witnesses the truth abuse XV. Pilate tho much inur'd to blood Rapine and fraud the Jews withstood Till tir'd with noise and aw'd with fear Lest his ill menage should appear Condemns the Saint and quits the Murtherer XVI Thus this illustrious Sun did rise With Beams that dazled weaker eyes Did sometimes shine and sometimes shrowd His bright Rays in a gloomy cloud Setting long ere his course was done in blood Thursday before EASTER THe Day on which our Blessed Master was apprehended was justly stiled the great and holy fifth day of the Passion-Week on which the Saviour of the World having his Crucifixion in view preach'd his last most Passionate and Heavenly Sermon to his Disciples in which he earnestly recommends them to God's Love Protection and Favour and as earnestly recommends to them the Love of God and of one another And because this was the Day when the Son of God was seized on in order to his paying a Ransom for our Offences * P. Innoc. Ep 1. ad Decent c. 7. Ambr. li. 5. Ep. 33. Hier. Epit. Fabiol and compleating our Redemption therefore did hte Church on this day solemnly reconcile Penitents not all that were under censures for some were never admitted to intire Communion till after Twelve Fourteen or Twenty Years Penance and some not till they lay on their Death-beds But such who having past through those methods of Repentance which the Church prescribed were thought fit to be admitted to the Sacrament of God's Table whereas now on the contrary in the Church of Rome on this day they anathematize and ourse all the Enemies either of their Faith or Grandeur and among them not only the Protestant Hereticks as they call them but even the King of Spain himself And whereas the Holy Eucharist was on the Evening of this Day instituted to be a lasting Rite in the Christian Church therefore the Day was stiled by way of Excellency * Aag Ep. 118. Caena Domini the Lord's Supper the day of mysteries and the birth-day of the holy Chalice to denoto besides the Original Appointment of the Sacrament the Mystical Sacrifice that is made on the Altar of our Blessed Saviour who was the Prince of the Martyrs the days of whofe sufferings were called their birth-Birth-days for the sufferings of our Lord began the Evening of the Thursday tho they were not compleated till the Evening of the Friday and for this reason this day is called the day before the Preparation and the Evening is called the Vigil of the Passion which among ‖ Dr. Smyth of the Gr. Ch. p. 42. the Greeks is wholly spent in reading the History of Christs sufferings and meditating thereon in severe Fastings intense Devotion watching all night in the Church and other acts of mortification no one unless in case of absolute necessity eating or drinking any thing till after Sunset on Friday others not till Easter Eve after midnight ‖ Euseb hist li. 2. c. 17. and this acccording to the Primitive Practice It was of old time observed ‖ Chrys to 5. p. 547. that those indevout and careless Persons who slighted the Holy Eucharist all the rest of the Year would in great numbers on this day when that Holy Ordinance was first instituted come to the Holy Table And then the Church contrary to her usual Custom of receiving these My steries in the Morning did every ‖ Chrys Aug. ub supra c. where communicate in the Evening because
* Buxtorf Synag Jud. c. 13. Jew who could not possibly go up to Jerusalem at the Passover had the allowance to kill a Lamb at Home and to call upon the Name of the Lord praising him for the deliverance out of Egypt § 4. But if by any means he can go to Church he chuses to be there some time before the Holy Offices begin that he may the better compose himself recollect his Thoughts and review his Vows for he who wilfully slips the opportunity of being at the beginning of the Prayers is in the way to lose all the advantages of his coming thither for he who does not confess heartily cannot communicate worthily Early therefore the good man goes to Church and he takes care to come fasting that nothing may enter into his mouth before the Body of God for for this cause the Ancients transferr'd their Love-feasts from being eaten before the Sacrament to be eaten after it not only to prevent excess but to do Honour to this Heavenly Food by preserring it to all our temporal necessaries And yet the good man is not so scrupulous to believe that if while he washes his mouth a drop of water casually trickle down his Throat that that breaks his Fast and disables him to communicate that day § 5. The spare time before the service begins is spent in holy reflections and renewed vows of obedience such as these In the name of Jesus who loved me and was crucified for me I renounce my self and all my own desires that I may love my Saviour and do him service May his Cross and Passiion save me may his Grace keep and direct me in the paths of Peace world without end Be glad and rejoice O my soul and give Honour to the Lord God Omnipotent for the Marriage of the Lamb is come Blessed are all they who are called to the marriage-Marriage-Supper of the Lamb These are the true sayings of God Nothing in this world can be comparable to it nothing but the vision of God above it To which is subjoined this Meditation § 6 I am come into the Temple of God to receive his Injunctions and to partake of his Blessings I entertain the tidings with Joy and the Exultations of a glad heart this is the day which the Lord hath made I will tejoice and be glad in it this is the Lords day and this his Habitation where it pleaseth him to dwell O how amiable are thy dwellings O thou Lord of Hosts Here the Angels wait and worship and if they veil their faces being ravished at the Transporting and Majestick Sight how cold and negligent am I in my preparations to entertain the lover of Souls my comforter in this world and my bliss in that which is to come the guide of those vvho travel to Zion and the revvard of vvhoever attains to the Heavenly country Had I the Meekness of Moses and the Patience of Job the Zeal of Elijah and the Purities of the Man after Gods ovvn heart yet vvere I not meet to approach Gods Holy Table Could the Seraphim transfer to me their ardours or the bright Angels cloath me with their innocency yet it would be infinite Condescention in my God to admit me Lord What then shall I do If I come I am afraid of presumption but if I refuse to come I slight thy invitation I contemn thy Ordinances and affront thy Goodness I break thy Commandments and throw off my subjection I will therefore come tho I bring not with me the intire preparation which the Sanctuary requires for he who despiseth thy Table is as guilty in thy sight as he who eats and drinks unworthily Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof and yet thon biddest thy self to be my Guest and intreatest to be admitted into my Bosom the greatest Prince condescends to visit his meanest subject and the Holiest God to dwell with the most sinful Wretch Lord I have sinned and done exceeding wickedly And can my God look savourably on such an abominable Transgressor as I am Can thy Mercy incline thee to take the Childrens Bread and to give it to such a Dog I acknowledg I am an Intruder but Mary Magdalene whom thou lovedst and to whom thon forgavest much when she made her first Addresses to thee O Blessed Jesu came unbidden to the house of a supercilious Pharisee when the Meat was on the Table and without taking notice of any body else laid hold of thee whom she earnestly sought at thy feet she throws her self and washes them with her penitential Tears she was ashamed of her sins but not of her approaches to her Saviour and so am I Oh! how am I grieved that I am yet so far from the power of Godliness so intangled with the love of vanity so fond of the world and so negligent of Heaven so prodigal of my time and such a niggard of my Charity so vain in my imagination so inconsiderate in my discourses so indevotional in the most solemn acts of Religion but so intent to things of no moment so concern'd about my daily Bread but so careless of getting the Bread of Angels so inclinable to be angry with others while I want that indignation that becomes me against my own transgressions May the good Lord be merciful to me and to every one who prepareth his heart to seek the Lord God the God of our Fathers altho he be not cleansed according to the Purification of the Sanctuary § 7. After this it is taken for granted that the good Man who is Gods Minister and the Peoples Priest is come to Church and hath begun the Divine Service at which the devout Christian earnestly attends praying with all fervency o Receiving the Absolution with all Contrition and Humility praising God with all heartiness repeating the Creed with his utmost vigour because it is a confirmation of the truth of his profession and tho he takes all occasions when there is any pause as frequently there is in the Celebration of the Eucharist to put up his own private Prayers to God yet he never dares suffer them to interfere with the publick worship for ¶ 1 Cor. 14.26 when the Apostle reproves the men of Corinth that at their solemn Meetings every man had his Psalm and every one his Doctrine i.e. one was preaching while another was praying and a third singing and tells them that this could not edifie he looks upon that reproof as a lesson of advice and duty to the whole Church and a general Rule of demeanour in the House of God § 8. When the devout Christian observes the Holy Man of God for such is every Priest or such he ought to be standing at the Altar he looks on him with Reverence because he ministers in Holy Things and represents Jesus consecrating at the first Institution And for him thus he prays Lord let thy Priests be cloath'd with righteousness and let thy Saints sing with joyfulness Hosannah
Appetites to mortifie no Lusts to conquer no Doubts to be resolved his Understanding was clear and his Will regular and there was need of nothing but an external Law to guide him and the two Trees to be his instructors And when Paradise was lost Adam and his followers still retain'd their peculiar Ceremonies they had their set places and times of Divine Worship and the eldest of the Family was deputed to the Priesthood till the generality of Mankind corrupting themselves the Divine Vengeance swept them away drowning the Old World and sealing a Covenant of Mercy with the New ratified by the Sacramental Sign of the Rainbow that God would no more bring a Deluge on the Earth Out of this new Race of Men did God select the Jews among whom he was resolved more solemnly and in an extraordinary manner to fix his dwelling the Divine Majesty refiding over the Mercy-Seat This Seed of Jacob he singled out to be a Holy Nation and mark'd them as his own People by Circumcision which was a Character of Genealogical Sanctity and having united them into one numerous brotherhood instituted the Passover which was a publick Foederal Rite of their Union with their Maker And to this purpose he required them to furnish him continually with a Table whereon should be Bread and Salt and the Flesh of the Morning and Evening Sacrifices with the Drink-Offerings which they were obliged to tender him Not that God did either need or actually devour these Oblations or lived on the steam of the Blood or the souls of slain beasts as the Gentiles imagined nor that hereby a contrivance might be made for the easier maintenance of his Priests this was the custom of the Temple of Baal but because eating and drinking together was look'd on as a Confirmation of Friendship and one of the strongest engagements to love and kindness as to trespass the Laws of Hospitality to eat of a Man's bread and then to lift up his Heel against him was accounted the Character of a most profligate and vile person But this was only a temporary institution and to last no longer than till the true Passover came till the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World should be offered on the Cross for the Sacraments of the Jews were only Emblems of the Christian Sacraments which were ancienter than that Polity for the Fathers speak a great truth when they assert that the Evangelical Sacraments began under Melchisedech who brought out Bread and Wine to Abraham the Father of the Faithful in whose Seed all the Nations of the Earth were to be blest to inform us that the Christian institutions as they were to last longer so they began sooner than those of the Jews And it is very observable that tho our great Master came into the world to institute a new Religion and in pursuance of that design to abolish all the typical ceremonies yet he was pleased to adopt almost all the other Rites of the Jews and to make them free of the Christian Church thus he chose to complete his most excellent prayer out of the usual forms of the Synagogue and as he establisht the government and jurisdiction which he left behind him according to the different Orders of the Priesthood So especially he ordain'd that as they Baptized their proselites so all that were admitted into the Society that he purchased with his Blood should be washed in the Laver of Regeneration and as after the Paschal Lamb was eaten the Master of the Family took Bread into his hands and lifting it up from the Table that all who were in the House might see it blessed it by calling upon the name of the Lord and when that was distributed took the Cup in like manner so did our blessed Saviour And whereas the Jewish Masters did not only allow the people when they did eat the Passover to mix and dilute their rich and generous Wines thereby to correct the strength and heat of them ‡ Misch Beracoth c. 7. but would not permit them to bless the Wine till they had put Water to it our Master probably did so in the Eucharist as all the Ancients believed and according to that example practised and when the Office was over he sang the great Thanksgiving as their Rubricks required condescending in all things to the Jewish customs that by these methods he might the more easily induce them to become Christians and to correct the scrupulous squeemishness of some of his followers who he knew would take unjust offence at the conforming the Ecclesiastical ceremonies to forreign observances This was the institution of this tremendous mystery nor was it only a temporary institution for our Saviour being willing that his Disciples should always carry about with them the marks of his love and always have in remembrance the benefits of his crucifixion not only gave this Sacrament to his Apostles but enjoyned them himself to take Bread to bless it break it and distribute it as their Master did to the worlds end and obliged also the Laity by the mouth of St. Paul to take eat and drink the Body and Blood of their Saviour until his second coming for as often as they did it the whole action was a remembrance of the dying Jesus a commemoration of his sufferings for an undone world and of his sacrificing himself to the Divine justice The first Sacrifice that our blessed Master made was the Eucharist but that was but a type of what was to be done the next day when himself was offered on the Cross on a new and unheard of Altar And there ought to have been an Altar erected such as the world never knew of because the Sacrifice was such as was never before heard of for himself was the Sacrifice and the Priest too He was not therefore to be offered at the Temple but without the Gates because to be number'd among the Transgressors and the Altar was erected on high that he might purge the Air and drive the Prince of it thence and that his Blood streaming from him to the Ground might wash and cleanse the Earth also polluted with the sins of its inhabitants Had this Sacrifice been offered at the Temple in Jerusalem the Jews might have pretended a sole claim to it but it was offered without the City that all the world might partake of its benefits This was the primary sacrifice to which we owe our Peace and our hopes of Salvation and this Sacrifice is again slain and offered when the Holy Man stands at the Lords Table for the Eucharist is not only an Emblem of spiritual refreshments how much the soul is nourish'd by Grace and good resolves nor is it only a representation of the joys of Heaven when we shall feast on the everlasting Supper of the Lamb but it is truly a Feast in which we make a Covenant with God by Sacrifice it is a Feast upon that Sacrifice and that a Sacrifice for sin a Sacrifice
the morning break wilt me deny With execrations and with perjury Weak was th' attempt and impotent the hand That did my resolutions countermand While an impertinent Girl me kept in awe Who singly durst before the rabble draw How easily when the criminal does begin Does time engage him to grow bold in Sin Till what at first is but a single lye At the next act commences blasphemy Of all my Master's sufferings tho accurst Ill treated and contemn'd this was the worst Of only twelve Disciples one betray'd him Ten more deserted him and I deny'd him Leaving the Innocent to dye alone VVhile we deserv'd the crucifixion Thus down the stream I went and on had swom Forgetting Jesus and his Martyrdom Had not my dearest Saviour lookt about When the shrill voice advis'd me to go out The Cock that calls the early Lark to sing Mattens to th' praise of the eternal King All cheerfulness does from my Soul expel As if his voice had been my Passing-bell Had I a full swoln River in each eye I 'd mourn till I had wept the Fountains dry Can man be unconcern'd when God must dye Ingratitude is here a Prodigy But to assist thee were but to affront The Martyr Jesus does no seconds want Conquer by suffering and when thou art gone Carryed by brightest Angels to thy Throne Poor Peter arm'd with courage will defy The next temptation and thy Martyr dye Inverted on his Cross that there may be An humble difference betwixt him and thee GOOD-FRYDAY ON this day was the greatest act of Villany and injustice committed that ever the Sun beheld for on this day was the Son of God Crucified and therefore it is called the Paschal Solemnity of the Crucifixion the great and holy Preparation the day of the most holy Passion and the day on which our blessed Saviour suffered but this day also was the happiest time that ever mankind could enjoy or long for because our Redeemers sufferings were the cause of our freedom from Sin and Death and Hell and therefore we call it Good-Friday of old the Great Friday because it was the day on which the World received all that was good all that God could bestow or the World want in a dying Saviour who by his once offering of himself put an end to the numerous diverse and ineffectual Sacrifices required by the old Law On this day of the Week Adam was created cloathed with the Image of God and constituted the Lord of the World and on this day too sadly he fell and was driven out of Paradise but on this day also the same Adam and all his Children were redeemed and the sorrow for the Fall was out done by the joy of the Restoration and yet because the Sins of men were the only cause of our blessed Masters sufferings who knew no sin himself therefore ‡ Chrys to 5. p. 907. this day was indispensably made a day of Fasting through the whole Christian Church * Aug. cont Epist Fund c. 8. the Manichees being for this among many other their wicked practises condemn'd that they observed the day of the Martyrdom as they called it of their Master Manes but neglected the observation of Good-Friday and tho all the Lent was properly a Fast before Easter yet this day and the Saturday that followed it were called the ‖ Tert. â—d Vx l. 2. Cypr. Ep. 53. v. Chrys to 5. p. 940. solemn days before Easter i.e. the more eminent times of Fasting upon which days as our Saviour was Crucified and Buried so his Apostles who were then his Church were covered with sorrow and hid themselves for fear of Persecution and for this Reason it is called by the Germans Still-Friday and by the Saxons Long-Friday because the Fast was extended beyond the usual hour And as our Master lay three days in the Grave so did the Church think fit to Fast three days till the time of his Resurrection for if the Sun then lost its light and the Rocks were rent was there not greater reason that the Church of Christ his Spouse and his mystical Body should be concern'd at his Crucifixion And tho the blessed Eucharist were usually given on every day through the rest of the year yet on Good-Friday and the Great Saturday it was probably omitted From ⸫ De brat c. 14. Tertullian it is plain that they omitted the Kiss of Peace and Charity which was always given at the Sacrament and * Capit. Lothar l. 4. tit 46. l. 7. tit 371. in after Ages the celebration of the Eucharist was expresly forbidden And now in the Romish ‡ Durand Rat. l. 6. c. 72 77. Church they ring no Bells but knock with a Wooden Mallet on a Table-board to give notice of the hours of Prayer they omit several parts of the office particularly the Doxology and the Salutation The Lord be with you they read the Lesson of the New-Testament in a faint low voice and the Priest who reads the History of the Passion does it barefoot their Altars are hid for then there is no Sacrament celebrated and the Lights are put out to represent the obscurity of the night in which our blessed Saviour was apprehended and the wondrous darkness that attended his Crucifixion from whence the time is called Tenebrae or the days of darkness and in the Greek Church they by an Image represent our blessed Saviour's sufferings and his taking down from the Cross on this day also did the ‖ Constit Apost l. 5. c. 12 14. Primitive Church as does the Church of England pray for all Jews and Infidels c. in imitation of our dear Redeemer who wept over Jerusalem because they knew not the day of their Visitation and on the Cross prayed for his enemies The observation of the day was very * Orig. Cont. Cels l. 4. Ancient and I believe Apostolical By ‡ Eas Vit. Const l. 4. c. 18. p. 534. Constantine the Great it was commanded to be observed with as much respect as the Lord's-day The ⸫ Aug. Ep. 118. Fathers call this day the Saturday following and Easter day the Most holy three days of our Saviour's Crucifixion continuance in the Grave and Resurrection and sometimes the ‖ Chrys to 5. p. 940. Passover And in the †Conc. Tolet. 4. c. 6 7. Western Church on Good-Friday the Holy Priests were obliged to Preach to the people the Mysteries of Christ's sufferings all people except Children old and sick persons being bound under the penalty of being kept from the Lord's Table at Easter to tarry at Church and to Fast till the Priest toward evening with a loud voice did pronounce the publick Absolution that by such a testimony of their true repentance for their sins and by the assistance of the Priestly Absolution the people might be the better fitted to keep the Feast of Easter and to eat the Christian Passover * Theod. Lect. lib. 2. Collect. On this day
the Bishop in person if present was obliged to Catechise those who were Candidates for Baptism and on this day was the Nicene Creed solemnly recited in defiance to all Hereticks which Creed till the time of Timotheus Patriarch of Constantinople was never used as a part of the Eastern Liturgy but on this one day only in the year In which Church also according to an Ancient Constitution ‡ Chrys to 5. p. 563 Pallad vid. Chrys p. 82. they were wont on Good-Friday to celebrate all the holy Offices in some particular Church and that commonly in some Oratory erected over the Grave of some eminent Martyr without the Walls of the City because our blessed Saviour suffered without the Gates In some of the Churches ⸫ Sozom. l. 7. c. 19. p. 100. of Palestine they used to read the Apocryphal Book called the Revelation of St. Peter but in other Churches of the East they read out of the Old-Testament the History of Job the liveliest Type of Christ's Sufferings and Triumphs and out of the New in the * Rupert de Divin offic l. 6. c. 6. Western Churches the Gospel of St. John because St. John was an eye-witness of our blessed Master's Sufferings but in the African ‡ Aug. Ser. 141. de temp Church they read St. Matthew's Gospel Thus did the good men of old spend this day calling themselves to an account for their offences and humbling themselves in the sight of God and is it not even in this Age very requisite that every Christian should call himself to an account for those sins which brought the Son of God to so much shame and torture and should mourn and fast and pray earnestly for that forgiveness which was purchas'd thereby I take it therefore for granted that on this day it is requisite to use more than ordinary severity because on this day our Plessed Saviour was murther'd and to this purpose besides the usual Prayers reading and Meditations which are parts of the preparation for other days on Good-Friday it will be necessary to subjoin some acts of the deepest Humiliation and Sorrow for sin To which purpose every good man ought strictly to examine himself of which sort of Examen I have subjoined a Specimen after which the use of the Penitential Psalms is very proper particularly Ps 38. or 51. with this Caution That I understand by my Enemies not my worldly adversaries for they are my Brethren and them I must bless and pray for but the Devil and my own Lusts and by blood-guiltiness c. my new crucifying my Saviour my murthering of my own Soul and being accessary to the destruction of what ever good and vertuous thoughts the Spirit of God hath put in my mind To which Penitentials the 22d Ps will very fitly be added because it is an intire Prophecy of the sufferings of the Son of God and cannot but raise in me a deep sense of his Sorrows and the cause of them when I remember they are some of the last words which our Blessed Saviour spoke before his Death when we are infallibly assured that he begun and probably convinc'd that he went through the whole Psalm The most proper posture to repeat these Psalms in is Kneeling or prostration because they are solemn and humble acknowledgments of my hainous Offences which have undone my self and Crucified my Redeemer The Examen I Am this day to examine my self and to adjust the Accounts between God and my own Soul it is easie to be another mans flatterer but it is natural to be my own and therefore I am resolved impartially to state my affairs and to rejoice or mourn proportionable to the condition in which I find my self And tho the enquiry be terrible and affrighting yet I had rather pass this private scrutiny than have my Offences exposed to the view of Men and Angels It is the greatest of happiness to be innocent and never to offend but the next instance of Felicity is to be penitent I am conscious to my self that I have been a Criminal but I am resolved not to continue in my Crimes I will call my Transgressions to remembrance that God may blot them out of his Memory and I will judg my self in this World that I may escape in the day of the Lord To this End therefore that I may put my self into a capacity to obtain God's Pardon for my sins whose number is unaccountable whose burthen is intolerable and whose remembrance is very grievous to me and that I may not approach the tremendous Feast without the Wedding Garment I thus interrogate my self with all severity and exactness ' Say O my Soul art thou in God's Favour or hast thou merited thy Saviours Frowns What Proficiency hast thou made in thy Christian Calling since thy last accounting with thy Master VVhat Temptations hast thou conquer'd What Passions mortified What holy Opportunities improved What Virtues gotten or increased How conformable hast thou been to Jesus and what progress hast thou made in the way to Heaven If I find any of these beautiful Lineaments in my mind I will rejoice with joy unspeakable and be exceeding glad as men rejoice when they divide the spoil But if I have been an Apostate from my vows and broken the Covenant of my Youth If I have prostituted my Soul to Satan defacing the Image of God and defiling his Holy Temple let my heart within me mourn and refuse to be comforted let it make lamentation as one that is grieved for his only Son and is in bitterness for his First-born let my head be waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I may weep day and night over my sin and my shame that I may wash my bed and water my Couch with my tears because it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God For who can dwell with everlasting burnings and a consuming Fire Now to help forward and make easie this work that I may diligently inspect all my offences with all their aggravating circumstances since my last renewal of my vows on the day of my last solemn Humiliation a memorial of all my actions in Writing is very useful that what is there recorded may be a help to my Memory which is most apt to forget my offences Upon the inspection of which the most regular Examination will be made according to the method of our Church Catechism wherein are included the Principles and fundamentals of Faith and Manners which I have engaged to observe and from which if I have swerv'd I cannot without a true Repentance expect God's Pardon and Mercy Now the Catechism being an Explanation of the Doctrine of Repentance Faith Obedience Prayer and of the due receiving of the Holy Sacraments the Examination must be proportionate and the inquiries strict What wandrings from the rule of Repentance What sins against the Creed Commandments Lords Prayer or the Sacraments have I been guilty of since my last Account An
putting Words in a wrong Letter in making some unnecessary Repetitions and mis-accenting the Greek and other obvious Mistakes and to Correct the following ERRATA Part I. P. 9. l. 20. ad the Bible the Liturgy c. p. 16. l. 2. r. Prescriptions p. 21. l. 10. f. such r. many p. 30. l. 9. f. for r. because p. 47. l. 18. f. anger r. malice p. 80. l. 15. f. Rhetorick r. reason p. 82. l. 1. r who l. 23. r. celebrating l. 26. r. adapted p. 115. l. 4. del and. l. 23. r. say it p. 158. l. 19. r. brighter p. 196. l. 3. f. so r. to be p. 199. l. 6. r. Legate p. 75. del but left to discretion Part II. p. 2. l. 10. r. embleme p. 4. l. 11. del for ever p. 35. l. 18. r. but are p. 42. l. 8 r. cram p 69 l. 14. r. conquer hearts p. 103. l. 6. del only p. 107. l. 15. r. is in p. 136 l. 22. r. not my p. 179 l. 18. f. some r. also the. p. 193. del without all doubt p. 198. l. 3. r. the prayers were p. 242. Marg. Lib. 8. c. 14 15. PART I. Containing GENERAL RULES FOR THE Worthy Receiving OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE LORDS SUPPER 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 77. The more any man Loves God the more is he inwardly made partaker of the Divine Nature PART I. THE INTRODUCTION Of the Circumstances of Religious Worship in private IT is fit that every man who intends to live well should set himself Rules how to spend every portion of his time as usefully and as much to Gods and his own honour as he can And because the Reputation of Religion is secured and its Interests fenc'd by Ceremonies and Circumstances and holy Offices require a fit place and select opportunities wherein they may be performed it will be necessary first to speak of those Circumstantials which are so conducive to the advantageous discharge of this duty And First That it is requisite that the considerate Christian should have a place of Retirement is I suppose disputed by none but the rash the vicious and ungovernable If therefore a mans worldly concerns will afford it him the devoutly inclined should allow himself a Closet which Room tho not by a solemn consecration yet by designation and use should be deputed to the private discharge of the duties of Piety Now a Closet is an Oratory and therefore whensoever I go thither I ought to be free from worldly considerations and wholly intent upon the business of eternity for who ever turned a Chappel into a Counting-house or a Shop And this also brings a new advantage with it For whenever I go there again the view of the place brings to my mind the good thoughts devotions and resolves that when I was last there took up my time and consequently with ease puts me afresh upon the same performances And therefore whenever I go tho but occasionally into my Closet I am bound to say a short Collect before I leave it as he who by chance only goes through a Church looks on himself obliged to make an halt and to say his prayers For let the apartment seem what it will to others it is to me the house of God it is no place for sport or society for loose thoughts or vain words it is a place of retirement and not of company and therefore should be most remote from noise and the disturbances of the house and because it is the place I first go to after I am out of my bed and the last that I take my leave of before I go to sleep this course not only secures Gods blessing on my undertakings since I begin nothing without begging his help nor end any thing without giving him thanks but withal it makes me careful and devout since I must do nothing upon which I dare not desire Gods blessing The situation of the Closet should be properly if conveniently toward the East and that way the Window should look not only because it is the pleasantest situation and introduces the early light one of the best of Gods temporal Largesses but because in that part of Heaven probably my Mediator and Advocate sits at the Right Hand of his Father for in his Humane Nature he must be confin'd to some certain place and toward that part the ancient Christians and to them I must always pay a deep veneration used to direct their prayers This place should be furnisht either for Necessity or Ornament Some things are necessary for the discharge of the duties of reading praying and meditating which every good mans prudence will dictate to him And here for my self I profess That I think my self always bound to pray on my knees or in the more humble posture of prostration and to read standing if my health will give leave because then I hear the Commands of my dearest Master and Saviour but I would meditate sitting if walking be not more acceptable to me because the man who would meditate to advantage should be no way discomposed by any thing of uneasiness that may disturb the mind or body The ornamental furniture should be plain but so ordered that it may appear like an Oratory and be a representation in little of the house of God For that some Ornament is necessary I am convinc'd because our blessed Saviour in the time of his lowest humiliation would not celebrate the Passeover but * Mar. 14.15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a room that was furnisht and adorn'd and fit for such a Sacred Office To the Window there should be fixt a little Table and that should be my Altar whereon I may offer my God a broken and a contrite heart pierc'd through with the Darts of Divine Love and the Ardors of Zeal for the honour of my Saviour A little remote from it should be a Desk whereon the Book of God should be always plac'd and always open which very sight is an intimation of my duty Nearer the door and that in the Church was the place of Penitents should be a space where I may prostrate my self in the time of my sorrow and my humiliations and there also should be a little Treasury like the Treasury of the Temple or the Poor Mans Box in our Churches where on every day in which I fast and on other occasions as God shall enable me especially when I have received some signal deliverance from danger or other testimony of Gods love and favour I may lay up something for the poor by which means I shall have a stock of Charity always by me whenever I see a fit Object for it And no necessity shall make me alienate what hath been so devoted for it is Corban consecrated to God and his service tho perhaps I meet not the same day with some indigent person to bestow it on For how poor and naked are my Humiliations or Thanksgivings without Alms On the days of my humiliation I would have no other
depriving my self of the means to make me a true and perfect Christian For it is an excellent Maxim in Religion He who is not fit to receive to day will be less fit to morrow and he who is not fit to communicate every day will be fit to communicate no day and in a small time will throw off all fear of God For if the end of the institution be to renew our Covenant made with our Saviour of taking him for our Master which is the true Notion of Religion then the withdrawing our selves from this Sacrament can be accounted nothing else but a Virtual slighting of Christianity and renouncing our Obedience to our Saviour For do I not put an Affront upon God when I say the Table of the Lord is contemptible For not communicating says a devout person is the next sin to apostatizing for it is an actual disowning our communion with our Head and his Members and a cutting off of our selves from the body of Christ And if unworthiness may hinder me from receiving the Eucharist am I not as unworthy to pray or to hear as to communicate And does not this plea tend to supercede all duty May I not hear to my prejudice and pray to my ruin May not the word that I have heard rise in Judgment against me and my prayer be turned into sin And is it not as expresly required of me to do as my * Luke 22.19 1 Cor. 11.24 Redeemer did in remembrance of his Passion as it is to frequent any other of his Ordinances But what if God should make that my fate which is now my choice and deprive me by his Judgments of the liberty of enjoying those Ordinances which I now contemn Wouldst not thou O my soul look on it as an astonishing Judgment and such a Decree as thou wouldest give part of thy blood to reverse And must I be my own Executioner And have I not enemies enough in the World and Hell that I must be my own most imbitter'd Adversary 3. Another hinderance is that the preparation required is very difficult and that it is no easie thing to be a Christian But this also is an unreasonable suggestion For tho the severities of Mortification and Self-denial appear in a formidable dress yet in themselves they are true satisfactions For nothing can equal the Joy of that soul that is rescued from eternal horrors And I should rejoice to be pull'd out of a Dungeon where else I must inevitably perish tho it were by the hair and to be saved tho so as by fire Men are possest before-hand with needless fears and take characters of the ways of godliness from the sensual and debauch'd as if we should put a deaf man to give an account of harmony But to those who have enter'd seriously upon the profession of holiness and made themselves proselites to Wisdom her ways appear to be ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace Besides the sinner draws himself a Scheme of Vertue that is not correspondent to the dictates of Reason or Holy Scriptures For Vertue is a Borderer upon our Natural Habits and our evil inclinations may be made subservient to piety either 1. by correcting the Excesses of Nature and altering the degree of our Passions So Grace turns Choler into a well-regulated Zeal Melancholly into inclinations to Devotion Abstinence and Mortification it makes the Flegmatick cautious and fearful to offend his God and ready to be a penitent whenever he hath offended and it makes the Sanguine apt to rejoice in God and in the light of his countenance to be easie to forgive and willing to be reconciled it warms the cold and careless into a religious and devout temper it abates the eagerness of Covetousness till it become frugality and easily changes the prodigal into a man of a liberal and generous mind 2. Our evil Passions are without difficulty devoted to God by altering the Object of our pursuits For would the Voluptuous person pursue after Eternity as he hath done after the gratifications of his sensual Appetites would the Miser transfer his love from his unrighteous Mammon to the living and true God and were the revengeful thoughts of the angry man no longer fixt upon his offending brother but employed against his own Vices how smooth would the path of Vertue appear and how free from Thorns and Incumbrances 4. Another Excuse is I am deterr'd from approaching to this Feast of fat things because I am not in Charity But what should hinder why I should not love all Mankind Did not my blessed Saviour pray for his enemies at his Death And is not the Sacrament a commemoration of that his Death Now as I cannot call that man a Mariner that never learnt his Compass nor that man a Souldier that never fought how much less can I call my self a Christian who never conform to my Master's pattern What man but one of an impudent forehead and most obdurate heart can dare to pray his heavenly Lord to forgive him ten thousand Talents who will not forgive his fellow-servant an hundred pence And perhaps at last I think many actions uncharitable which are not so * Vid. Injunct 21. of Qu. Eliz. For I do not believe that if my Neighbour causelesly quarrels with me the day before I am to communicate or I am without design engaged in the heat of talk which is not sinful or a man forces me to go to Law with him to recover my just right that these things shall deprive me of the benefits of the Sacrament For these things are my Afflictions and I suffer them patiently and still am in Charity As I do not think that if I am bidden to a Feast sometime before or have allowed my self any innocent Recreation that this shall unfit me for the Christian Passeover But withal I must say that were it put to my choice I would rather omit those Civilities and deny my self those Pleasures at that time than lose my spiritual Advantages And I would avoid all occasions of being angry or doing any thing that might but give suspicion that I were not thorowly reconciled to all the world rather than at such a critical time to make my self an Offender For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God And when I pray as I always do when I communicate I am enjoin'd to lift up pure hands without wrath or doubting No worldly care therefore nor the entertainment of friends nor a small fit of sickness that does not confine me to my bed or chamber shall ever hinder my approaches to God's Altar nor every little quarrel which against my will I am engaged in when I am ready to make satisfaction if I have given Offence and to forgive if I have taken any For shall I rob my self of Gods be ssing because another man is froward stubborn and untractable The case therefore of * Pallad vit Chrysost p. 126 127 128. St. Chrysostome did deserve
And these were the Subjects of all the Sermons of those days And there was nothing expresly required from the person who came to the Font but a solemn profession of the Articles of the Creed And upon this profession the Catechumen was baptized and after his Baptism immediately admitted to the Lord's Supper When therefore I know and understand that our blessed Saviour by his precious Death sealed a Covenant with God in the behalf of Mankind and that I have solemnly in my Baptism ratified my part of that agreement resolving no further to depend on his Merits than I obey his Laws When I understand that I must be truly penitent for my former Offences and ought to live better for the future when I believe all Gods promises of Mercy and Salvation made to me in Christ Jesus and am convinc'd that I ought to be thankful for that Mercy to God and charitable to all Mankind then I suppose I have knowledg enough to intitle me to this Ordinance For if my search after knowledg should engage me in the Labyrinths of the Schools and I must not receive till I am able to demonstrate how Christ were present there and to comprehend all the Arguments that are brought for and against Transubstantiation I might perhaps be always seeking but I should never come to the knowledg of the truth And if I happen'd to understand what I enquired after should probably be never the better For what advance hath that man made in Christianity that hath spent his days in the little questions of the School men how one body can be hid under the accidents of another body * Suarez to 3. disp 51. how the whole body can be so present as that what was cut off in his circumcision should not be wanting Or whether a Rat when he nibbles a Consecrated Host doth communicate and truly eat the substantial Body and Blood of Christ with many other such Impertinencies to give them the softest Name Whereas one day spent in the due consideration how I shall receive worthily and how I shall live more piously gives me more useful knowledg than an Age of controversal studies That God is present in the Sacrament I have infallible Authority to assure me Thy Word O my Saviour is sufficient to command my belief but the mystery is enough to stifle my curiosity And to seek to know more than thou art willing to reveal were to derogate from the Reverence due to thy Oracles and Authority For how can I pretend to describe so transcendent an Institution which the Angels themselves stoop to look into This Sacrament was ordain'd for better purposes than to puzzle and confound It was design'd to strengthen and confirm to bind us to remember God and our selves to remember his love and our Returns of gratitude For the deepest speculations seldom make a man more wise or more holy but the knowledg of Jesus Christ and him crucified I am sure is the true method to endear me to God The business of a good man is not to amuse but to prepare himself to communicate with his Saviour The understanding of a Religious soul is vastly different from that of a great Scholar and the Wisdom that comes down from above consists not in Word but in Power I am resolved therefore not to meddle with the quarrels of the different parties of Christendom While they dispute I will pray while they sacrifice their Charity to the maintenance of their Faith I will pursue after peace and holiness And by that means I doubt not but I shall be fit to communicate here and to see God in Heaven The Collect. TO thee the only wise God from whom comes every good and perfect gift does my soul in her Necessities address her self beseeching thee who givest liberally and without grudging to enlighten my understanding with the beams of truth and to lead me to the Palace of Wisdom Give me less of that Knowledg that swells and makes vain and more of that Charity that edifies Enable me in all my Engagements to contend for Truth and not for Victory in all my Reading to be more in love with the Piety of the discourse than the Eloquence that all my Reasonings may be subdued and every thought brought in captivity to the obedience of Christ And since my proficiency in thy School O my best of Masters is not to be judg'd of by my being honour'd with Visions or enabled to unriddle Mysteries not by the Eminency of Learning or Station but by a transcendent Piety an Angelical Conversation and a profound Humility give me to this end thy Grace and let thy Holy Spirit govern me because without those Assistances all Learning is but Neise all Wisdom Craft and all my Natural Powers Impotence my Virtues but Formality and my Devotions but Pretence so shall my Knowledg no longer consist in empty Notion but shall exert it self into practise And I shall so follow thee my dearest Saviour here as I may live with thee for ever Amen CHAP. VIII Of the Study of the Holy Scriptures IF the most useful wisdom be that which is practical instead of busying my self with Books of Controversie I will be a diligent Reader of the Holy Scriptures For they are the Oracles of God able to make me wise to salvation and perfect unto every good work In those Oracles there is nothing trifling and impertinent nothing doubtful or obscure of the things which belong to my eternal welfare * Dionys Areop Eccl. hierar c. 3. For the whole Book of Holy Scriptures saith the Eloquent Father doth set before us either the creation and disposal of all things by the divine Power or the Polity and Government both of Church and State under the Law or the distribution and possession of the inheritance which God had given to his peculiar people or an account of the wisdom of their sacred Judges their holy Kings and devout Priests or the undaunted courage and bravery of their Patriarchs under all sorts of Affliction or excellent holy Precepts how to govern our Actions or the Songs of heavenly Love and the Idea's of Divinity imprinted on the Mind or the prophecies of future things or the Atchievements of the Son of God in our Humane Nature or the Acts and holy Discourses of the Apostles deliver'd to them from God and done in imitation of him or the mystical and abstruse Visions of his beloved and inspired Disciple In these shall be my delight and in these will I spend my time These Oracles alone can charm my Passions and allay my Griefs And what a dishonour is it to us * Olearii Iâ—iner that the Turks in their Schools should teach their children nothing but to read and write and remember the sentences of the Alcoran which is their Scripture and that the poor * Abudac c. 22. p. 29. Coptite Christians tho under severe and cruel bondage to their Mahometan enemies should take care to instruct their Youth in
Churches commonly in the form of a Cross and for this cause they cover'd the * Bed in 16. S. Matth. Damas P. Epist Altar with a white linnen cloath not so much to denote the purity of the Mysteries or the innocence of the Communicants as our Saviour's being wrap'd in fine linnen at his Funeral On the * Chrys To. 6. p. 360. Altar also they plac'd the Cross and that without superstition that they might direct their eyes and minds toward Heaven where the crucified Jesus sits on his Father's Right Hand They enjoined their Communicants when they pray'd * Tertul. de Orat cap. 11. to stretch out their hands in the form of a Cross and when they received the consecrated Elements * Concil Trull Can. 101. they put themselves into the same posture The elevation of the Elements when taken into the hands of the Priest emblems the lifting up of Christ upon his Cross the breaking of the Bread implies not only that he died but that he was slain that he died a violent death and when the Wine is poured out nothing can more pertinently and plainly represent the shedding of his sacred Blood In the Liturgy of * p. 984 985. Edit Savil. St. Chrysostome which is now used in the Greek Church the Priest is expresly injoin'd to make upon the Bread which is to be consecrated the sign of the Cross with the Holy Launce for so they call the Knife which is then used alluding to the weapon with which our Saviour's side was pierc'd and to say three times In remembrance of our Lord our God and Saviour Jesus Christ after which he is to strike the Launce four times into the extremities of the Cross and to say when he strikes it into the right side He was led as a sheep to the slaughter when into the left side As a lamb without blemish is dumb before the shearer so he opened not his mouth Then he is to strike it into the top of the Cross saying In his humiliation his judgment was taken from him then into the bottom saying And who shall declare his Generation After which the Priest elevates the Bread saying For his life was taken away from the Earth now and for evermore Amen And then lays it in the Patin saying The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is sacrificed for the sins and salvation of the world During every one of which several actions the Deacon says We beseech thee to hear us O Lord. And when the Wine and Water is poured into the Chalice the Deacon says And one of the soldiers pienc'd his side with a launce and there issued out water and blood which mixture they always make the better to represent that part of the Passion And the whole Church hath thought fit to consecrate Red Wine that the colour might mind us of our Saviour's Blood as the Jews in the Passeover used the same coloured Wine in remembrance of the Blood of their predecessors which was spilt in Aegypt The Greeks consecrate no Bread but what is mark'd as above-said and stampt with these Letters IC XC NK i. e. Jesus Christ overcomes which was the Motto of the Cross shown to Constantine the Great And in the Gethick Church in Spain as the Mosarabick Missal mentions they divided the Holy Bread into Nine parts to which they affixt the Names of Incarnation Nativity Circumcision Transfiguration Passion Death Resurrection Glory and Kingdom under which Names they comprehended our Saviour's whole History intimating unto all who were spectators of their proceedings that the design and intention of the Sacrament was only to imprint on their minds the Memorial of our Saviour and his performances for our salvation Thus the whole Church thought themselves obliged to do in remembrance of their dearest Master and Patron who had he been corporeally present under the Accidents had had no need to have bidden us to remember him for we only remember things and persons that are absent And is there any Reason that I should be so often put in mind of that which alone can make me happy Thou hast bid me O my God that as often as this Sacrament is celebrated and what a Reproof is this of my seldom coming to that Ordinance that I should call to mind thy Death Lord how can I forget thee I should sooner forget to eat or to sleep How violent and acute were thy pains and yet how couragiously endured Did not my iniquities cause thy sufferings and are not all the benefits purchas'd thereby transferr'd and made over to me And can I forget such a Friend What therefore shall I do to fit my self to receive the advantages of thy Passion sealed and conveyed to me in this Sacrament I will deface all the Records of Vanity and Folly of sin and iniquity that have found a place in my memory and there will I treasure up the History of my dearest Jesus his Undertakings of his Sufferings and his Victories and thence will I transcribe the Copies of Obedience into my life and conversation till I am perfectly conform'd to his Image The Collect. GRant I beseech thee O my crucified Saviour that I may this day and every day remember thy shame and thy sufferings that I may magnifie thy goodness and imitate thy patience and be conform'd to the pattern of thy Vertues that I may love thy Laws and depend upon thy Merits that after frequent acts of remembring thee and communicating with thee I may be remembred by thee in the Agonies of death and after my death may have a place in my Master's Kingdom Amen CHAP. XII Of Love to my Neighbour NExt to my love to my Maker ought my love to my Neighbur to take place whose welfare is to be as dear to me as my own and to whom I must do good as much as lies in me as I hope to see the Face of God for I must love my Neighbour as my self and every one is my Neighbour who wants my assistance This love therefore engages me to submit to my superiors to walk in peace to prefer others before my self to instruct the ignorant to soften the passionate to reprehend the vicious to reclaim the profligate to counsel the unadvised to speak peace to distrest Consciences to visit the Prisons and to administer to them who are appointed to die to relieve the opprest to clothe the naked and to feed the hungry For these were the employments of our charitable Master who was our great Almoner and who hath commanded us if need be * 1 John 3.16 that we also should lay down our lives for the brethren And this Doctrine was so well understood by Johannes Elecmosynarius that when he met with a modest necessitous person to whom he had been formerly charitable but at last found him inclinable to refuse his Alms he plainly told him That he had not yet arrived to that height of Christian Love to which he was obliged
for the Laws of our Religion oblige me to die for thee And by so doing I make a noble change I barter a few transitory trifles for eternity I give a small pittance of my wealth and with it I purchase the prayers of the poor and indigent who generally pray heartiest and are heard soonest and I gain Heaven by it For it * Acts 20.35 is much more blessed to give than to receive Nor will a narrow and necessitous Fortune make an excuse For tho a man cannot build an Hospital or redeem a number of Captives yet he may deal his bread to the hungry and cover the naked with a Garment Or if this be above his Circumstances and Estate yet he can give good advice and a good example and he can pray for all mankind to that God who gives liberally and without grudging and this is a noble peice of Charity The Collect. O God whose Nature and Property is ever to have Mercy and to do good send down thy Holy Spirit into my Heart that I may love my Neighbour as my self and do unto all men as I would they should do unto me endeavouring as much as lies in me to promote the welfare and salvation of all the world and by earnest Prayers pious Advices and a good Example to advance thi Kingdom of our Holy Saviour till the Number of his Elect be accomplished through the Merits and Mediation of our only Mediator and Advocate Amen CHAP. XIII Of Vnity MY Love to my Neighbour is discovered 1. by my union and peaceableness 2. By my Alms. 1. By my Union for this is one great end of the Sacrament to unite all Christians in the bond of peace For * 1 Cor. 10.17 we are one body says St. Paul because we are partakers of one bread and therefore the primitive Christians had their publick Love-Feasts joyn'd as an Appendix to the Holy Sacrament in which persons of all Sexes Characters and Degrees did promiscuously partake of Gods blessings and made the meeting properly an Eucharist and some old * Glos MS. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Glossaries say that the Lord's Supper in S. Paul is this Love-Feast and to testifie the sincerity of their Love they gave the Holy Kiss each to other before they approacht the Holy Table which they called the sign of Reconciliation * Cyril Catech. Mystag 5. and the ‡ Act. Pass Perpet Faelicit p. 35. solemnities of peace and some learned men affirm that they gave it also a second time just before their departure out of Churh and then they called it * Tert. de Orat. cap. 14. the seal or close of their Devotion tho ‡ Legat. pro. Christ p 41. Athenagoras expresly affirms that it was forbidden by the Canons of the Church that any person should give this Kiss a second time as the * Act. Mart. ubi supr Martyrs also saluted one another before their deaths as a token that they went out of the world in perfect Charity and in the Communion of the Church of God And to this time on Easter-day and a fort-night after the * Olear Itin. l. 2. p. 53. Moscovites wherever they meet use this custom Nor may any person of what condition sex or quality soever dare to refuse this Kiss And in the * Sandy 's Trav. l. 1. p. 62. Greek Church now tho it be an insufferable wrong to kiss a Greek woman at any other time yet between the Feasts of the Resurrection and Ascension it is allowed when they greet one another with these words Christ is risen For it is this Sacrament that does unite us in our holy brotherhood by Vertue of which we are impowered to acknowledg one Father which is God to be made partakers of one and the same spirit of Holiness and to be set free from the powers of darkness and admitted into the only true light For every man who is a believer is a brother and no one else for * Vid. Chrys Hom. 25. in Ep. ad Hebr. the terms are reciprocally used by the Apostle it being also anciently given to those who were called The Faithful * Just M. Apol. 2. as they were distinguisht from the persons under catechizing or penance And therefore in those best days as no man durst travel to any Foreign Church in expectation of admission into their Communion or receiving their Assistance and Relief without Letters Testimonial from the Church which he left so they who were so recommended were acknowledged as Good Catholick and Orthodox Christians by their admission to the participation of the Lords Supper And among the Clergy it was an ancient custom to send pieces of the consecrated bread of the Eucharist * Iren. apud Euseb l. 5. cap. 24. from one Bishop to another as a Symbol and Mark of Communion till the Council of * Can. 14. Laodicea out of reverence to the Sacrament forbad it the Prelates afterwards instead of the consecrated bread sending some parcels of the bread destin'd to and prepared for the Holy Sacrament Now this mutual participation of Sacraments and other Offices of Religion is not unfitly thought by some men to be meant by that Article of the Apostle's Creed The Communion of Saints the Holy Catholick Church being so denominate from those sacred Rites which are in common to all Christians whereby they are not only united to God their Saviour but have fellowship one with another And to this purpose the ancient Church thought fit in the beginning of the Communion-service when none were present but those who were compleat Christians and in intire Communion with the Church in all Ordinances to recite out of the Diptychs which were never read but at the Altar not only the Names of the famous Princes and Bishops who were alive as a testimony that they held communion with them but also of all the Saints departed of the Mother of God the Apostles Martys Confessors and others that they might give a publick testimony to the world that they lived in the profession of the same Orthodoxy for which some of those Saints were martyred and in which they all died magnifying the Name of Christ for his goodness to his Church in calling it out of darkness into marvellous light and making them children of God And whosoever was left out of those Tables was by that Omission excommunicate as is famously known in the case of St. Chrysostom Since therefore all these holy usages are so many lessons of Peace and Union I will avoid all Schism as carefully as I shun the paths of death and I will conscientiously keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace I will honour my superiors and obey their Laws I will reverence my Holy Mother the Church and value her Communion and will study to be quiet and to do my own business The Collect. KEep O Lord thy Universal Church with thy perpetual Mercy in thy true Religion and
in constant peace and godliness that all thy faithful people may do unto thee true and laudable service and through thy protection may be free from all adversities and devoutly given to serve thee in all good works that all who are baptized into the Death of thee O Holy Jesus may die unto sin and rise again unto newness of life Peace and Love hast thou made the sum of the Old Law and injoyned as a new Commandment in the Gospel Thy first Message to the World was peace on Earth and thy last Legacy was peace to thy Disciples Be thou pleas'd therefore to convince all Hereticks to reclaim all Schismaticks and to correct the prophane and irreligious cement our breaches allay our passions pacifie our minds grant that we may all speak the same things and that there be no Divisions among us convince us that tho different Modes of Worship shall not disinherit a man of thy favour yet disobedience to Government is a great sin Let the Holy Dove hover over those waters and allay the tempest and let it teach the world to follow after the things that make for peace that Jerusalem may be as a City at unity with her self and all her children may love and praise thee who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest ever one God world without end Amen CHAP. XIV Of Alms. IT is also another end of this Sacrament to engage all who receive it to pity the poor the Alms of the Communicants being usually called * Vid. Hebr. 13.15 the Sacrifice because rendred by way of Oblation to God and given to the poor as his Bedesmen And canst thou O my soul imagine that thou dost duly observe the Lord's day and reverence his Sacrament when thou comest to Church without thy Oblation Nay such an honour was it in the Primitive Church to give Alms that all men were not thought worthy the honour of being admitted to the Offertory tho permitted to enjoy the other priviledges of Religion * Constit Apost l. 4. c. 5 c. For neither the unjust Publican nor the Usurer nor the Executioner nor any promoter of debauchery and looseness were allowed this liberty For they seriously discountenanced all Fraud and Vice and accounted that man a Reprobate who endowed a Church with the spoils of the poor They would not admit of that Shop-keeper to the Communion who put upon the ignorance of a Customer and made him pay more for what he bought than the thing was really worth nor would they allow that man to give his Estate to pious uses who had gotten it by Extortion and robbing the Fatherless And how should this present Age blush when we consider this especially when we remember that where no Law bound but that of Natural Conscience some Heathens were ashamed to commit such Iniquity Thus * Vit. Isidor apud Phot. cod 242. p. 555. Hermeas of Alexandria when an ignorant person offer'd to sell him a book for less than the value corrected the illiterate man's mistake told him the book was more worth and gave him the full price for it And thus * Knolles Turk Hist S. Selim. p. 561. the great Selim the first of that Name when in the Agonies of death his beloved Bassa Pyrrhus advised him to erect an Hospital with the money which had by his Order been unjustly taken from the Persian Merchants smartly replied ' Wouldest thou O my Pyrrhus that I should bestow the Goods of other men wrongfully taken from them upon works of Charity and Devotion for my own Praise and Vain-glory No see they be again restored to the right Owners and then I may die in peace Where are the Christians who think themselves thus obliged And how few are there of us who do not fall short of these Examples of Heathens and Mahometans And in truth Justice is a duty so sacred that my Alms are Robbery without it the best actions which are founded in injuries being such sacrifices as were offered in Tophet where Murther was the Oblation And to this day it is a * Bava Metz. 59.1 Maxim among the Jews tho the greatest Usurers in the world that when the Sanctuary was destroyed all the gates of prayer were shut up except the gate of fraudulent usages that is that tho God may be deaf to all other prayers yet his ears are always open to the cry of those who have been injured defrauded and rob'd My Alms therefore ought to be of Goods justly gotten and of them must I make my distribution with all chearfulness and as often as God gives me any opportunity Nay it is my duty to seek for occasions of beneficence and to * Rom. 12.13 be given to Hospitality that is to be earnest and unwearied in the pursuit of all opportunities of being charitable Which command was so intirely complied with in the Apostles time that * Acts 4.34 every believer sold his Estate and made one common stock for themselves and their poorer brethren the Apostles being the distributers of that stock to every man as he had need And tho some men affirm that this custom lasted but a little while because in St. Paul's time * 1 Cor. 16.2 the men of Corinth were obliged to lay aside every Lord's-day what they devoted to charitable uses yet this Argument does not prove what it is intended to demonstrate For probably they gave their praedial visible Estate to the Church and yet might reserve something out of what they got by their Trades their Profession or Labour to be given weekly to the indigent And when at last that method was antiquated * Tert. Apol. cap. 39. every Christian was obliged once a month or oftner as he was willing to give somewhat to the Church-Treasury And this money was imployed to feed the poor to bury the dead to maintain Orphans and to put them into a capacity to get their own living to make provision for the decrepit by Age or Sickness to cherish the Shipwrack'd and to relieve those who were condemn'd to the Mines or banish'd or cast into prison for the sake of God and Religion So universal was their Charity and so liberal their Inclinations in those good days How then can any man satisfie himself that he is prepared to come to this Sacrament who is negligent of this duty Do not the Mysteries exhibit to me the greatest Instances of my Saviour's Charity and Compassion And can I be his Disciple unless I imitate his Vertues St. Gregory the Great was so scrupulous that when News was brought him that a man was found dead within his Territory he suspecting that he died of want and that the not timely relieving every indigent person did cast an Aspersion on his Government he for that Reason abstained for some time from the Holy Communion And tho I am not willing to cherish such unnecessary scruples yet that man does very rashly thrust himself upon God who neglects
the men and the Deaconesses to that belonging to the Women and this they were advised to do with this sober caution * Const Ap. ub supr that no one should salute his brother deceitfully and treacherously as Judas kist our Lord when he betrayed him In the Liturgy of St. Basil the people are bid to salute one another that they might unitedly confess the Father Son and Holy Spirit the consubstantial and inseparable Trinity and then they repeated the Creed and in that of St. Mark there is a prayer to be said at the performance of this Ceremony wherein ' They desire God to look down on his Church and to bestow on them his Love and his Assistances and the Gifts of the Holy Ghost that with a pure Heart and a good Conscience they may salute one another with the Holy Kiss not in Hypocrisie but in purity and innocence in one Spirit in the bond of peace and of Love that they might become one Body and one Spirit in one Faith and one hope of their calling that at last they might all be partakers of the Divine and infinite Love o-Christ Jesus Then in ⸫ Cyril ub supr the Church of Jerusalem the Priest did bid the people lift up their hearts and they answered We lift them up unto the Lord the Priest rejoined Let us give thanks unto the Lord The people answered It is meet and right so to do after which the Church calling upon the whole Creation to praise God did sing the Angelical Hymn Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbath Which Hymn was usher'd in with this Preface o Liturg. S. Jacobi ' Let all Flesh keep silence and stand with fear and trembling and put off all worldly and sensual Thoughts for the King of Kings the Lord of Lords Christ our God is coming forth to be slain and given for Meat to all his Faithful Servants the Quires of Angels go before him and with them Principalities and Powers the Cherubim with many Eyes and the Seraphim with six Wings shading their Faces and singing the Hymn Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Then followed the Prayer of Consecration and with that the Prayer for all states of Men and for the peace of the World together with the recital of the Diptychs which was always closed with the Lord's Prayer But in other Churches it was otherwise * Constit li. 2. c. 57. li. 8. c. 11 12. First the general Prayer for the whole state of mankind for Peace and Prosperity and all other Blessings was said at the end of which the Names of all the Eminent Persons who either had dyed in the Communion of the Church or yet lived in it were recited out of the Ecclesiastical Tables or Dyptichs and then the people were bid to lift up their hearts unto God c. Whereupon the Bishop making the sign of the Cross blest the People saying Preserve O Lord thy people and bless thine inheritance which thou hast purchas'd by the blood of thy Christ and hast called to be a royal priesthood and an holy nation And then the Bishop standing at the Altar proceeded to the Prayer of Consecration which was agreeable to our Saviour's Form at the Institution at * Dion areop ub supr Basil de spir S. cap. 27. which time the Elements which were before cover'd with a fine Linnen Cloath in Imitation of Christ's being so wrapt when he was lay'd in his Sepulchre were uncover'd that the people might see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out After the Prayer of Consecration the ⸪ Cyril ub supr Priest first heartily said Amen And after him ‡ Just in Apol. 2. Dion Alex. apud Euseb li. 7. c. 9. c. the people praying that so it might be and protesting that they believed that that Sacrament was the true Body and Blood of Christ but in the Liturgy of St. James when the Words of the Institution were recited the Deacon first said Amen and then acknowledged That they did believe and confess that as often as they did eat that flesh and drink that blood they did show forth the Lords Death To which the people answered We do show forth thy death O Lord and we do acknowledg thy Resurrection This being done the Deacon bid the people attend to the holy oblation in peace and quietness and to bow their heads to their Saviour Jesus in honour to his name and institution Then it was said Holy things to holy persons To which the people answered There is one holy one Lord one Jesus Christ blessed for ever in the glory of God the Father Then the people were exhorted to the reception of the holy Mysteries the Priest singing with heavenly Melody the words of the Psalmist ‡ Cyril ubi sup Psal 34.8 O taste and see that the Lord is gracious to which the Congregation in some ‡ Liturg. S. Jacobi Churches answered Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. When the Consecratlon was done which probably if there were many Bishops or Priests present they all joined in the person consecrating said ‖ Liturg. S. Marc. As the Hart desireth the water-brooks so longeth my soul after thee O God And then himself received in which Action it is observable by St. Chrysostome's Liturgy he was obliged to drink three times of the Chalice bowing all the while in honour of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and afterward he gave it to the Clergy if any were present the Bishop giving it to the Priests the Priests to the Deacons and the Deacons to the people after the ⸪ Const Apost ji 8. c. 13. Clergy the Monks received for they gave them the preference because they look't on them as a sort of Ecclesiastical persons not purely Laymen tho not in Orders and after the Monks the Deaconesses Virgins and Widows then the Children then the rest of the Laity in their several Orders that is as I conjecture first the Men afterward the Women * Conc. Tolet. 4. c. 17. the Priests and Deacons communicating at the Altar the Inferior Clergy in the Quire and the people at the Rails without tho I am well perswaded that in the first Ages the Laity also came up to the Altar to which they were invited to draw near in the Fear of God and with Faith and Charity and when they approacht they were commanded by the Deacon to stand decently and reverently in the fear of God and with contrition of heart and to receive modestly and piously behaving themselves as those who approacht the presence of a King And accordingly they received in a posture of deep Reverence and Adoration for no man durst to receive but he adored and while the Mysteries were distributing the Congregation * Const Apost ubi sup Liturg. S. Jacobi S. Chrysost c. sung the 33d Psalm or as we reckon it the 34th I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall be continually
in my mouth but in St. Austins time at * August Retractat lib 2. cap. 11. Carthage they used to sing the Psalms of David not only during the distribution of the Sacrament but also before the Oblation I suppose he means only those which were suitable to the occasion and mystery In †Just M. Apo. log 2. Palestine and in many other places the Bishop or Priest brake the bread and gave it into the hands of the Deacons and they gave it to the People as they also distributed the Cup. At ‡ Tertul. de Coron cap. 3. Carthage and else where especially in Africa the people received both the Elements from the hands of the Bishop while at ‡ Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. Alexandria the people were allowed themselves to take the consecrated Bread from the Patin tho I think this was a peculiar custom of that Church and lasted but a little while but generally he who consecrated gave the Bread and the Deacon the Cup. ' In the ‖ Cyril Cat. myst 5. Church of Jerusalem when the Communicants received the bread they took care not to spread their hands abroad or to widen their fingers but placing their hands in the form of a Cross they supported the Right Hand with the Left and in the hollow of the Hand received the Body of Christ This o Vid. Chrys to 5. p. 519. holy bread they first put to their Eyes and then did eat it being extreamly careful that no part of it should fall to the ground thus they received the bread and when the cup was to be received the * Cyr. ubi supr Const Ap. li. 8. c. 3. Prosper in Sentent Communicant was forbid to stretch out his Hand and only advised to bow himself and being in the posture of Worship and Adoration the Wine was poured into his Mouth and before he swallowed it he was obliged to moisten his Fingers in it and then to touch his Eyes his forehead and the rest of the Organs of his senses thereby sanctifying them and securing them from the assaults of Satan He who Ministred the blessed Sacrament ‖ Chrys l. 3 de Sacerd. Aug. Ep. 259. carried it in his right hand and when he gave the Bread he said * Ap. Const l. 8. c. 13. The Body of Christ or ⸫ Liturg. S. Marc. the Holy Body and the Communicant said Amen And when he gave the Cup he said The Blood of Christ the Cup of Life or the precious Blood of our Lord God and Saviour and then also the Communicant answered o Vid. Aug. contr Faust Manich lib. 12. cap 10. Amen But afterward the form ‖ Liturg. Greg. Dialog was enlarged as I conjecture by Gregory the Great The Priest saying The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thee unto Eeernal Life Amen To which the Communicant replyed I will receive the heavenly Bread and will call upon the Name of the Lord and when the Priest delivered the Cup he used this Form The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thee unto Eternal Life Amen and the Communicant rejoin'd I will receive the Cup of Salvation After the Distribution was ended * Const Ap. ub Supr the Deacon spoke to the Congregation in these words Let us who have received the precious Body and Blood of Christ give him our Thanks and Praises to which end he did bid them put themselves into an erect posture and to stand upright that both Soul and Body might be intent on the Office that in the Prayer which compleated the Sacrifice they might praise God heartily and with a good courage for the Honour and Priviledg of partaking of those Mysteries and then they were dismist The remainder of the Consecrated Elements was ⸫ Just M. Apolog 2. some of it sent to those who were absent especially to the Confessors in Prison who were every day in expectation of Death the rest the faithful who had communicated carried home with them and o Naz. Or. 11. Or. 19. that in both kinds and ‖ Tert. ad Vxor l. 2. they commonly did eat of this Bread before their ordinary meals especially at their entertainments of Friends and Bishops usually sent pieces of it one to another as a token of mutual Communion In after times in some Churches the Communicants did eat what was left in some they buried in others they burnt the remainders and in other places they gave them to the School-boys and other Children who had not communicated What was left of the Oblations unconsecrated found the Ancients the materials of their Love-seasts tho the Apostolical * L. 8. c. 31. Constitutions give it to the Clergy afterward the Bread was given to the Catechumens or Penitents who were speedily to be reconciled or it was sent instead of the Sacramental Present abovementioned by one Bishop to another These were the Ancient Methods and may our good God give this present Age his Grace and fill our Hearts with a holy Fear of his Majesty and a due Reverence and respect to all his Ordinances that the Examples of the devout Christians of the Primitive Ages may incline us to an Imitation of their Piety Humility and other Virtues till we come to the general Assembly of the first-born in Heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. XXII Of the honour done to the Sacrament by the Ancients THE Holy Eucharist being the highest Office of Religion and the greatest Priviledg of Christians on Earth the Church hath thought fit on all occasions to testifie what a Reverence ought to be paid it and what honour is justly due to it And therefore took all care to sence and secure it from any attempts that might lessen its esteem or profane its usages of which I shall mention the most materal For 1. None was permitted to be present at the Celebration but those who had right to receive the Mysteries for tho the Governours of the Church prohibited no Persons to be present at the Sermon ‖ Conc. Carth. 4. c. 84. were they Infidels Jews or Hereticks yet as soon as the Sermon was done * Const Ap. lib. 1. cap. 5 6. the Deacon made a Proclamation Let no Infidel tarry here and lest that warning should not secure the Mysteries from being prostituted the faithful People were bid to ⸫ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys adv Jud. examine and take Cognisance one of another and to look distinctly that there were no Stranger among them the Church having pray'd for them already That God would convert them to the Truth When they were dismist and Silence made o Id. hom 2. in 2 Ep. ad Corinth the People were bid to stand decently and to pray for the Catechumens who were all the while Kneeling or Prostrate that God would bring them to Baptism ‖ Const App. ub Sup. the People in the mean while praying silently to themselves and saying Lord have mercy after
Pageantry dressing up a representative Saviour and carying Palms before him as if they welcomed him into Jerusalem and in the Greek Church they make up Branches of Olives and Palms into divers forms by which they keep up the memory of the Feast the Emperor and the Patriarch when that Empire was in its Glory using to give at this time great Largesses to the common People which from the day were called Palms and now in Muscovy the Patriarch rides in state like our Saviour and is met by the Grand Duke and all the People who represent the Jews entertaining him but in a To. 5. p. 541. St. Chrisostome's time ' the Greeks were better taught for then the whole Christian Church had their Processions and went out to meet their Saviour not deckt with Palms but adorn'd with Alms and Mercifulness and other Virtues with Fastings and Tears and Prayers and Watchings and all sort of holy deference to their Redeemer ‖ Aug. Ser. 46. de Verb. Dom. Ambr. Epist 33. c. On this day anciently did the Persons who were to be baptized at Easter give in their Names to the Bishop from which time till their Baptism they were distinguisht from the other Catechumens and called Competentes and to them the Bishop himself if present as he was seldom absent from his See at all this Solemnity but if absent the Presbyters in the Baptistery expounded the Creed * Aug. Scr. 115. Id. de fide Symb. c. p. 1. for the Creed was not in those Ages read in the first Service at which the Catechumens were present which Creed they were to learn the Week following and to give an account of it solemly on ‖ Conc. Laod. Can. 46. Easter-Eve in the Latin-Church but in the Greek-Church on Maundy-Thursday and now probably were they also taught the Lord's prayer which no unbaptized Person was allowed to repeat for how says St. Austin can he call God Father who was never regenerate And lest the Persons to be baptized should come to the Laver of Regeneration filthy sordid and sullied with their fastings and Lentpenances at which time they used to cast Ashes on their Heads and lie on the bare Ground on this day they washt the Heads of the Competentes and from hence the day was called ⸫ Isidor Etymol li. 6. c. 18. c. Capito-Lavium So careful were the Ancients that at the time of our blessed Saviour's Resurrection all things should be gay and all Persons joyful The Epistle Isa 62.10 11 12. GO thro go thro the Gates prepare ye the way of the People cast up cast up the Highway gather out the Stones lift up a Standard for the People Behold the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the World say ye to the Daughter of Zion Behold thy Salvation cometh behold his Reward is with him and his work before him and they shall call them the Holy People the Redeemed of the Lord and thou shalt be called Sought out a City not forsaken The Gospel Matth. 21.5 c. TELL ye the Daughter of Zion behold thy King cometh unto thee meek and sitting upon an Ass and a Colt the fole of an Ass and the Disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them and brought the Ass and the Colt and put on them their Cloaths and they set him thereon and a very great multitude spread their Garments in the way others cut down Branches from the Trees and strawed them in the way and the Multitudes that went before and that followed cryed saying Hosannah to the Son of David blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord Hosannah in the highest And when he was come into Jerusalem all the City was moved saying Who is this And the Multitude said This is Jesus the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee and Jesus went into the Temple of God and cast out all them that sold and bought in the Temple and overthrew the Tables of the Money changers and the seats of them that sold Doves and said unto them It is written My house shall be called the House of Prayer but ye have made it a Den of Theives The MEDITATION WHen our blessed Saviour made his publick appearance in the World every thing in him was excellent and extraordinary the Lineaments of his Face so beautiful that he was justly stiled the fairest of ten thousand but the Qualifications of his Soul were so miraculous that whatever of great or good could be observed either in Men or Angels was but a faint Representation of his more stupendious Accomplishments the charms of his Countenance were most taking the Eloquence and Reason of his Discourses most persuasive but the Holiness of his Conversation was transcendent insomuch that his Friends loved and his very Enemies tho they hated him could not but admire him his converse was freeand obliging his pity generous and noble he accounted that day lost wherein he had not done some kindness and was grieved to send any man away from him sorrowful He often neglected to mind himself but he never omitted his care of the Poor and he who had no house to reside in no maintenance but the Alms of well-inclined People had yet a Bag and a Treasury for the indigent he frequently forgot to eat but he never forgot to Pray so wonderful was his Devotion so universal his Charity and so incomparable his Obedience His Soul was the Temple of Chastity and Temperance the seat of Prudence the fortress of Courage the Throne of Justice the storehouse of Humanity the Sanctuary of Meekness in a word it was the residence of all Virtues and who could converse with such a Saviour and refuse to Love and Adore him But never were his Accomplishments so Illustrious as when he took his last journey to Jerusalem when all the Scenes of Treachery and Cruelty were to end in the unparallel'd Murther of the Son of God then he exerted all his Vigor for then the Son of God was to be glorified and to be manifested to be the only begotten of the Father with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the Dead for his sufferings were his own crown and the cause of the worlds Salvation Perillous was the attempt but the combatant was invincible His first Essay towards the compleating of our redemption was on Palm-Sunday on this day of the week he made his entry into Jerusalem like a Conqueror or rather like the King of the World from hence I date the Epocha of his Crucifixion because on this day among the Jews the Paschal Lamb was separated from the rest of the Flock and with much solemnity brought up to Jerusalem in order to its being Sacrificed and on this day of the week also he made a more pompous entry into the Holy City when attended by many Saints returning from their Graves to accompany his Resurrection he made it appear that he had spoiled Hell and saved mankind both which entries were
of Religion to an Infidel Debauch't and Superstitious World for let Men and Devils combine against such Persons and exert all their Strength and Cunning to ruin them they suffer no more than what their Master hath done already nor can they perish because they are under the Shadow and Protection of the Almighty Not but that Christianity like the Author of it is and always will be attended with Opposition and the contrivances of the Kingdom of Darkness to ruin it but that man does not deserve the Priviledges of the Kingdom of God that cannot be a Martyr for it that cannot patiently suffer an unjust Excommunication from the Synagogue and from Life it self that he may follow his Saviour It is true the Doctrine of the Cross is uncouth and uneasie and Men naturally are unwilling to court Ignominy and Tortures especially when their Bigotted Enemies shall by their uncharitable Censures as much as lies in them destroy their Souls as well as their Reputations and their Lives by pretending the Advancement of Religion and God's Service when they murder the Professors of the best Religion that ever was or shall be in the World But these are the Terms of the Gospel Covenant and this is owning our Master for tho a Man may formally call Christ Lord and yet be shut out of his Kingdom yet no man can say so effectually but by the Holy Ghost and he who will not embrace the Hardships must renounce the Advantages of this Religion Nor is this so disconsolate an Estate as Men imagine for besides that it is better to be afflicted here than to be damn'd for ever that man cannot be miserable whom the Holy Ghost comforts and tho in the World he shall unavoidably meet with Tribulation yet he ought to be of good Chear because he hath Peace in his Saviour who hath by his Death and Resurrection overcome the World and emancipated the Sons of God from a state of Slavery to enstate them into the Glorious Liberty of the Gospel There was no need that the Son of God should have promis'd these Consolations to his Apostles while himself was with them his own Presence was a sufficient Blessing great enough to supply all their wants but this was a Felicity that they were not always to enjoy it being requisite that he should depart to make way for the descent of the Comforter who when he should come into the World should direct the Apostles in the discharge of their duty giving them an intire Account of the Nature Excellency and Extent of their Masters Kingdom and instruct them in all other things which during their Masters Life time their shallow Understandings were capable of comprehending and who also should solidly convince all their Enemies that notwithstanding their Pride and Confidence they were in a state of sin particularly guilty of Unbelief and that nothing but Faith in a Saviour could render them acceptable to God that all their Righteousness whether by the guidance of the Law or by the strength of Nature was insignificant and of no value and that nothing could reconcile the World but the Death of Christ but if this Holy Spirit could not perswade men it should at last assure them that they shall be judg'd for their perverseness for Satan is already condemned and so shall all his Followers be This Spirit our Compassionate Saviour engaged to bestow on his Apostles and as his Performances always out-do even his own Promises so he filled them with Wisdom and Power and the other Gifts of the Holy Ghost till they by the incredible method of suffering and dying overcame all Prejudices and triumpht in the Conquest of the World And so shall all the other Servants of God who sincerely take Jesus for their Master tho they may not be enabled by the Holy Ghost to cure the desperately diseased or to raise the dead tho they cannot allay Tempests or cast out Devils yet their Triumphs shall be as great tho of another Nature the Blessed Spirit shall impower them to mortifie their Lusts to resist Temptations and to raise a Soul dead in Trespasses and Sins to a state of new Life and holy Performances and this in Truth is a nobler Honour and a more beneficial enjoyment than Ability to work Wonders for many that have called others from their Grave have themselves dropt into Hell But he that hath renounc'd himself and despised sensualities shall infallibly enter into unspeakable Joys And now what hinders but that I also should be my Redeemer's Disciple and partake of his Grace Why should any of thy Creatures O my God love thee better than I Why should any of thy Servants tho Prophets Apostles or Martyrs be more conformable to thy Laws than I Hast thou done more for them than me Didst thou not dye for me also And hast thou not given me thy Gospel thy Blood thy Sacraments and the Assistance of thy Spirit Nay hast thou not done more for me in forgiving me more and greater sins than ever they committed And where there is much forgiven should there not also be a proportionable Degree of Love I will therefore hearken diligently to these passionate Words of my dying Saviour and I will remember they are his last Will and Testament and as I hope to enjoy the Legacies that he hath left me of inward Peace and Heavenly Bliss so I will comply with his Desires and perform all that he enjoyns me and so tho I here come behind the Apostles in Age in Knowledg in Zeal and Holiness yet I shall overtake them at the Day of the Retribution of all Things when I shall be enabled to understand all Mysteries and to fulfil all Righteousness and shall share in the Crowns and Scepters that shall be the largesses of that happy time which shall end in Eternity The Collect. HOly Saviour who didst despise secular Pomp and wert the greatest Pattern of Self-denial I most humbly beg thee give 〈◊〉 thy holy Spirit to be my Guide my Instructor and my Comforter that I may pray by its Assistances and be heard for thy Merits and because nothing on Earth can make me truly and perfectly happy I beg nothing more but that Blessed Donative I beg nothing that may gratifie my senses that may please or profit me but what may most honour thee and advance thy Glory that I may love and serve thee and obey thy Commandments now and for evermore Amen The Anthem for Tuesday The NATIVITY I. FRom the lov'd Mansions of the Blest Where true Pleasures are possest Where bright Angels always sing Hallelujahs to their King The lovely Gabriel who does Heav'n adorn The happy Tidings brought Jesus was Born II. Glorious were the Beams that shone Brighter than the Summer Sun Midnight had its Curtains drawn And the Morn was far from dawn When Beams of wondrous Lustre did display Beauties that baffle all the shine of day III. The humble Shepherds stood amaz'd Awful Tremblings had them seiz'd While they
to Heaven than the deepest Valley not that God hears a Suppliant sooner from a place of Eminence but because there he was most sequestred from the World free from noise and disturbances and in the fittest place to converse with God From a Mountain he preached not that he coveted the highest seat in that spacious synagogue but that he might be the more easily heard by his Auditory and that the New Law might be preached from as eminent a Pulpit as the Old and to the Mountain he retires to manifest his Glory not so much to tell his Disciples that he who will be made Partaker of Celestial Honour must leave this lower world as to conceal the Miracle to avoid the imputation of vain glory and the defires of secular applause On Mount Calvary was Jesus Crucified in the View of all the world but he was Transfigured on Mount Tabor in the view of only Three of his Disciples Thus every Action of our Masters is beautiful in its season he had just before sadded his Disciples with an Account of his own sufferings and the necessity that they also must drink of the same bitter Potion and that he who does not take up his Cross and follow his Saviour is not worthy to enter into the Kingdom of God but lest this Discourse might dishearten them a few days after he carries the most eminent of his Domesticks with him to the Holy Mountain there to confirm their Faith and strengthen their Resolutions by assuring them that he who hath once had a view of the Recompence of Reward can never be affrighted at the sight of the Cross to see his afflicted Condition and to hear from his own Mouth whose every Word was Oracle that his state for the Future should be more uneasie and deplorable was a sad suggeston For how can this be That he should save others who could not save himself That he should protect his Followers who could not rescue himself from the shame and the torture of his scourging and his Crucifixion But to see his Face shine like the Sun in its Glory and his Garments made whiter than Alabaster and more glittering than Gold this was an irresistable Conviction that the light Afflictions that are but for a Moment are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us It was fit that this extraordinary Appearance should be kept secret for a while and therefore a place of retirement was the most proper Scene for this Act but it was requisite that some Persons should be present to attest the Miracle and those no less than Three that according to the Law in the Mouth of Two or Three Witnesses the Truth might be establish'd when in due time the World should be acquainted with it As therefore Moses left the Elders and the People at the bottom of Sinai and took Aaron Nadab and Abihu with him when he went up to speak with God so did Christ leave the Multitude and the Nine behind him and took Peter James and John with him to see and hear the Wonders of his Transfiguration And why if I may presume to ask my unerring Redeemer why these Three before the rest of the Apostles Was not Andrew the first Convert and the Elder Brother to Simon And was not James the Son of Alphaeus as much an Apostle as James the Son of Zebedee And was not Simon the Zelot as earnest an Asserter of his Masters Honour as the Beloved Disciple I must confess it does not become humane ignorance to pretend to dive into the secrets of the Divine Wisdom and yet perhaps we are allowed to conjecture where we cannot be certain These Three Disciples were our Saviours Darlings and his Companions in all extraordinary Occurrences when Jairus's Daughter was raised from the Dead they only were admitted as Spectators and when Jesus underwent his bitter Agony in the Garden they attended him to the Theatre of Sorrows and Sufferings and to them he gave peculiar additional Names which Honour he did not vouchsafe to the rest of the Twelve Simon he sirnamed Peter and the two Sons of Zebedee he called Boanerges i. e. Sons of Thunder It was fit to be revealed to Peter who was chosen to a Primacy of Order in the Colledg of the Apostles to James because he was the first of all that immediate Family of our Lord who was to be Crown'd with Martyrdom and to John not only because he was the Beloved Disciple and dyed a Virgin but also because he was designed to live longest of all the Twelve that he might own and attest the Miracle after the other Apostles were laid in their Graves when the early Hereticks should deny the Divinity of our Lord. In the view of these Persons was Jesus Transfigured not that the Nature and Substance of his Body was changed but his Appearance his Head was surrounded with Rays and his whole Body inlightened with the Beams of his Divinity for doubtless his Glory was greater and more conspicuous than that either of Moses or Elias But it is to be remembred that these bright tokens did not signalize him as soon as he ascended the Hill but after he had retired himself and prayed for every happiness of another Life is a Recompence of Holiness in this and could it have been imagined that the Apostles should be drowsie while their Master watch'd unto Prayer That they should fall asleep while they were about to enjoy that sight that only was worth seeing on this side Heaven but so easily are we inclined to grow lazy and idle to indulge to sloth and sensuality when the best example and the best encouragements incite us to Devotion for thus the same men did when their Master was in his Agony tho they had just before received the venerable Sacrament and knew their Master was that Night to be betrayed such is our humane Frailty and so violent are our Inclinations to forget our Duty tho perhaps this sleep was rather an Extasie the brightness of the Apparition dazling the Senses and surprizing the Soul which in all Prophetick Visions being unable to sustain the Revelation is astonish'd at the fight and sinks under the Weight of it as the Eyes are too weak to gaze on the Sun and this my Charity for those Reverend men would incline me to believe But whatever the sleep was as soon as ever the Apostles did awake as if it had been a just Punishment for their sloth and negligence the blest Society broke up and the Holy Men retired whom the Apostles knew to be what they were not so much by their Discourse for during that Entercourse they were a sleep as by their Masters Condescention who communicated the Notice to them by a Method best known to himself Moses and Elias doubtless came in their own bodies they were not represented by Phantasms or the intervention of Angels for it was requisite that as our Blessed Saviour took upon him our humane Nature in
which our Redeemer once offered to cleanse the world from their sins and we offer as often as we communicate setting that Immaculate Lamb before the Eyes of God and by that intreating him to have Mercy upon us For our Saviour commanded us to do as he did at the Institution in remembrance of him not only to our selves and our Neighbours but to God also as the Ancients and the most judicious of the Modern Writers affirm For tho my Saviour was many Hundred Years since Crucified yet he is the Sacrament represented as if his Passion commenc'd at the same time in which the Holy Office is performed and what should hinder my receiving the benefits of his sufferings tho so long since undergone For if by reason of my share in the first Adam's Transgression notwithstanding the vast distance of Time and Place I and every one that is born is infected with Original Sin what should hinder but that the Crucifixion of my Saviour tho transacted so many Ages past and in a Countrey so remote as Judea should be available to my Salvation For as by one mans sin many were made Offenders so by the Obedience of one many are made Righteous The Priest therefore offers a Sacrifice at Gods Altar a commemoration of that one full perfect and intire Sacrifice which was once offered on the Cross And at the same time Jesus our High Priest offers in Heaven pleads his VVounds and the merits of his Death and implores the Divine Pardon and the assistances of Grace for all his Servants And this is as much as the Church can pretend to while it is Militant so under the Old Law the Priests who had admittance into the Temple were denied entrance into the Holy of Holies thither only the High Priest went once a Year but they were not denied the Liberty to direct the smoak of their incense toward that sacred Place and their Prayers and their Incense had access where themselves could not come And so is it in the Christian Congregration for when the Oblation is made we that are concern'd in the Offertory cannot reach Heaven while we are in this state of Imperfection but our High Priest is there already and gives his People liberty thither to address their supplications and the sweet Odours of their Devotion this is the Honour and these the Priviledges that are purchased for the Church by that Sacrifice and secured to it in this Sacrament Blessed Eucharist Glorious things are spoken of it in the Writings of the good men of old It is called the Supernatural Bread the Divine Mysteries the Sacrifice of Sacrifices the Honourable the Holy the Heavenly the unspeakable Gifts the Sacrament of Sacraments the Holy of Holies the food which gives Life and Salvation the nourishment which endears a man to his God which recovers those that languish which recals those who are in error which raises them that are fallen and secures to the dying penitent the rights of Immortality and by way of eminency it is called the Sacrament the blessed and holy Sacrament when we eat of it we feed on the fatness of the Lord's Body and when we drink of it we taste the immortal Blood of our dying Saviour If Manna were Angels food this is the Bread of God and what an honour is it to receive my Saviour If Joseph's Tomb tho but a little and narrow place when it entertain'd the Body of our crucified Lord was by that means made more venerable and august than the Palace of Kings and became more glorious by containing the Son of God than by being the residence of the Angels who there took up their station how much more excellent is my injoyment when I give my dear Saviour a lodging in my heart and my bosom becomes an habitation for the Lord of Life With trembling therefore will I approach the Altar of God I will admire the Mystery and contemplate the circumstances of his Passion in which every word that he spoke was a Sermon for his Cross was his Pulpit and Mount Calvary the House of Prayer for there he prayed for his enemies and from thence he preached patience and submission to his Friends and I will remember his last actions for tho in all his discourses he spake so as never Man spake like him yet he never entertain'd the world with so eloquent and convincing a Sermon as when he went dumb before his persecutors and opened not his mouth when he carried his Cross silently and bore the marks of his adversaries cruelty without murmuring I will remember this my greatest and best Friend I will remember his last words and dying injunctions and I will communicate with him in the benefits of his Passion till his second appearance to judgment when the just shall eat of the Tree of Life in a better Paradise at that time all Signs shall cease all distant methods of conversation shall expire for in Heaven there are no Sacraments so that at the dawning of the day which the Lord himself shall enlighten when no other beams shall be needful but those of the Sun of Righteousness to make it glorious for ever then all Types and symbolical emblems shall be accomplisht then I shall be united to my Jesus and personally enjoy that immediate communion of which these Mysteries are but shadows and remote representations The Collect. BLessed Lord who bast so graciously invited me to partake of the merits of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ conveyed to me in the blessed Sacrament grant that I may receive it to the remission of my past sins and to the preservation of my Soul against future temptations to the correcting of the deformities of my mind and the rooting out all evil customs out of my heart to the inlightening of my understanding to the strengthening of my faith and that I may be able to give a good account at the dreadful seat of thy judicature help me to spend this day and every day in thy fear and in the offices of holy Religion let thy Mercy pardon me thy Angels guard me and thy Goodness lead me to repentance that I may live and dye thine for Jesus Christ's sake our only Mediator and Advocate Amen The Anthem PETER Mourning IN a cold dark and melancholly night To gloomy shades which did augment the sright Where dismal horrors and confusion dwell And ghastly sights that made the place like Hell The trembling Peter tends and with swoln eyes Deeply laments his fear and cowardise Wretch that I am thus to deny my Lord Fit to be scorn'd by men by God abhorr'd Disconsolate and sad where shall I fly T'escapte the lightnings of my Master's eye That glance that passionate and killing look When Jesus turn'd his head me thunder strook Sufficient was the warning which was given By the infallible Oracle of Heaven Peter said my wise Master boast no more The rich in brags are in performance poor In vain thou promisest with me to dye Thou e're
my advice or allurements or by neglect of reproof and correction 5. Com. Have I not broken the fifth Commandment in thought word or deed by refusing to give due honour maintenance and other rights to my superiours in Church or State have I murmured against their authority scrupled their just commands or exposed their jurisdiction Have I contemn'd the person age or injunctions of my natural Parents not praying for them not relieving their wants not valuing their blessing not hearkening to their counsels Have I embrac'd any Heresy or Schism in the Church or been of any party or faction in the State Have I been unthankful to my Benefactors or of a morose and rugged demeanor towards those amongst whom I converse 6. Com. Have I not broken the sixth Commandment in thought word or deed by not loving my enemies by not living peaceably by harbouring malice and anger in my heart by using my tongue to speak evil or by hurting the body of my neighbour either openly or secretly either by my own hand or anothers by quarrelling my self or inciting others to do so 7. Com. Have I not broken the seventh Commandment in Thought Word or Deed by unclean desires obscene discourses or filthy Songs by lascivious glances or impure Dreams the result of my waking Thoughts or by any act of corporal uncleanness Have I indulged to Luxury or Excess that I might pamper my body or provoke my Lusts Have I been fond of a loose and immodest Garb or wanton Company 8. Com. Have I not broken the Eighth Commandment in thought word or deed by violence or fraud by covetousness or extortion by not paying my debts or spoiling the goods of my neighbour by not being just in my dealings faithful to my trust or Charitable to the poor and indigent 9. Com. Have I not been guilty of the breach of the Ninth Commandment in thought word and deed by lessening or blasting any Man's reputation either by my self or my encouraging others to slander him by harbouring and countenancing tale-bearers or spreading false news Have I not past rash judgement and contemn'd the weak and ignorant and rejoyc'd at my Neighbours hurt Have I ever refused to testifie the truth or ever given false witness have I neglected my own and busied my self in other mens affairs 10. Com. Have I not broken the Tenth Commandment in thought word or deed by being discontent with the station in which God hath placed me by envying the prosperity of others by entertaining ambitious thoughts and being greedy of honour and preferment Have I sought to be great by unlawful means to the prejudice of my Neighbour pursuing either my profit or my pleasure And have I not been guilty of sinning against my own Soul have I not been possest with pride and vain-glory and a high conceit of my self of the gifts of nature or the acquisitions of study or industry Have I not sought my self and the praise of men more than the praise of God Have I not been rash and inconsiderate or negligent of my best interests have I not resisted the holy Spirit and defiled the Temple of God and spent my time ill Have I not indulged to too much sleep or been irregular in my dyet apparel or recreations or averse to peace and reconciliation To which may be subjoyn'd if the Examinant be in such a state Have I ever broken the bonds of Matrimony in point of honour love maintenance and advice Have I neglected my Children in their Education or making provisions for them have I ever given them a bad example or other encouragement to be vicious or not reproved and punish'd their faults Have I been harsh cruel or unjust to my Servants not instructing them not reclaiming them when irregular Have I been unjust or false to my Friendship Have I omitted my duty in any thing to my superiors equals and inferiors If I find my self guilty after every general head I subjoyn Lord have mercy upon me pardon my violation of these Laws for the time past and for the future incline my heart to keep them to the end An Examination according to the Lord's Prayer HAve I not either wholly omitted my Prayers or not been so often at Prayers as I should have I not performed them coldly being often on my knees but seldom at my devotion have I not perform'd them irreverently without bodily humility or the compunction of my Soul without Faith and without Purity Have I not defiled my Mind which was design'd a Temple for the Spirit and a house of Prayer by making it a den of Thieves and the residence of unclean thoughts and wicked resolutions Have I been thankful for the liberal provisions of my most Merciful Father Have I fixt my affections on Heaven where my Father dwells Have I glorified the Divine Majesty as I ought or have I hindred others from so doing Have I not broken the most holy Laws by which his Kingdom is govern'd Have I with the meekness sincerity chearfulness and constancy of Angels done his will Have I not preferr'd my dayly Bread to the food of my Soul and been more concerned for the things of this life than for the honour of approaching to God's Table and have not the necessities and often my wanton appetites taken up that time which should have been bestow'd on Eternity Have I not begg'd God to forgive me those Sins which I have resolv'd to continue in and have I been so merciful to others as I have desired God to be to me When I have begg'd God either to preserve me from or to deliver me out of temptations have I not been either a tempter to my self seeking occasions of sinning or else have entertain'd the injections of my ghostly adversaries with delight and complacency Have I diligently used the grace which hath been given me to the mortifying of my Lusts and rescuing my Soul from the Divine anger Have I not made a League with Satan faln in love with Death and hasten'd towards destruction Have I not been a rebel in God's Kingdom an opposer of his Power a dishonourer of his Name and Glory and when my lips have said Amen hath not my heart contradicted my supplications And have I said this Prayer as heartily for others as I do for my own Soul To which I subjoyn Lord have mercy upon me Teach me to pray and teach me to practice that my prayers may ever be acceptable in thy sight here and my person for ever hereafter An Examination according to the Sacraments Baptism HAve I been truly thankful to God for my being called to a state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord Have I duly considered what an honour 't is to be a Christian How often have I broken my baptismal Vow and defeated and made void the endeavours of my Godfathers and Godmothers and other my instructors in the Faith of Christ Have I not neglected to acquaint my self with the Principles of Christian Religion or the due preparations
my death Good Lord deliver me From sins of Ignorance and sins of Malice from impatience under reproof and the eagerness of an angry Mind from sensual and polluted Fancies from the Spectres of the Night and unbecoming Dreams Good Lord deliver me From being ingaged in the pursuits of a proud and perverse Generation and from the World that lies in wickedness Good Lord deliver me From disbelief of the Mysteries of Religion and walking contrary to my Profession from calling God Father and yet cbeying the Devil and from praying to him with my Lips when my Heart is far from him Good Lord deliver me From a fondness for secular Wisdom and Learning and the neglect of the Word from hearkening to the Suggestions of Satan and slighting the Counsels of the blessed Spirit from vain and inconsiderate Talk and rash Resolutions Good Lord deliver me From Atheism and Impiety from worshipping any thing in my mind or practices in Opposition to my Maker and from all Hypocrisie and Superstition Good Lord deliver me From taking thy Name in Vain by Oaths or Blasphemy by idle and rash Talk and Curses and from slighting thy Temple and Service thy Day and Ordinances Good Lord deliver me From disobedience to my Superiors and neglect of my Parents from Envy Hatred and Malice from evil Speaking and Slandering Clamor and Reviling and from Blood and Murther and all Revenge Good Lord deliver me From unchast and wanton Thoughts from leud and intemperate Discourses from a lustful Eye and all sort of carnal Pollutions Good Lord deliver me From pride and vain Glory from lying and false Witness from Slandering and Perjury from Covetousness and Ambition and from being discontented at my present Condition from all evil Thoughts and a vain Conversation Good Lord deliver me From having my Portion in this Life and an uninterrupted Felicity from Anger and Provocations to Uncharitableness from nauseating the means of Salvation and from a hardned Heart Good Lord deliver me From a polluted mind and a love of Dissention from forsaking thy Interest to maintain my own and from following a multitude to do evil Good Lord deliver me From neglecting thy Holy Table and slighting the invitation of my Saviour from a want of due preparation and from eating and drinking damnation to my self Good Lord deliver me From the snare of a slanderous tongue and the lips that speak lies from the malice of hypocrites from the rage and fury of Zealots and from the cunning and power of Satan Good Lord deliver me From the follies of my youth and the sins of my riper years from the sins which I have committed my self and those which I have encouraged others to commit from the defilements of my Body and the pollutions of my Soul Good Lord deliver me From my secret and open sins from what I have done to please my self and what I have done to please others from the sins which I remember and those which I have forgotten Good Lord deliver me From those sins * Here the penitent may reckon the particular sins he hath committed to which temper and inclination use and custome and evil company have addicted me Good Lord deliver me From the evil both of vice and punishment from the lashes of Conscience and a distracted mind and from a sudden painful and unexpected death from a place on the left hand and a portion among the Goats from the chains of darkness and the bottomless pit Good Lord deliver me By thy unspeakable generation as God and thy wonderful birth as Man by thy circumcision and acceptance of the adorations of the wise men the first fruits of the Gentiles Good Lord deliver me By thy wisdom in baffling the Scribes and Pharisees by thy humility in stooping to a mean condition and by thy obedience to thy Parents Good Lord deliver me By thy Baptisme forty days Fast and victory over the Devil in the Wilderness by thy surprizing but useful Miracles by thy plain but convincing Discourses and by thy winning and exemplary Conversation Good Lord deliver me By the wonderful and mysterious representation of thy bloody passion in the blessed Eucharist and by thy unexpressible love to thy Church by thy bitter Agony thy wondrous Sweat and fervent Prayers in the Garden Good Lord deliver me By the variety of thy sufferings which are recorded and by thy unknown pangs and tortures which we cannot describe and by thy strong crying and tears when thou prayedst for thine enemies Good Lord deliver me By thy mercy to dye for us thy power to rise again and thy compassion to intercede for us and to be our Advocate and by whatever else is dear to thee and of use to the world Good Lord deliver me In the days of my prosperity and in the times of suffering in the troubles of my mind and the weakness of my body in the hour of my death and in the terrible day of thy coming to judgement Good Lord deliver me Jesu Master thou Son of David have mercy on me That it may please thee to illuminate thy Holy Church with the spirit of truth amity and concord that all that are called Christians may be united in one holy Faith and may retain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and in righteousness of life I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. That it may please thee to bless and defend our gracious Soveraign from all his enemies separately and conjunctly that his days may be many his Reign prosperous and his end everlasting Life I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. That the Royal Family may be happy in thy service the Clergy honoured with thy protection the Nobility guided by thy Holy Spirit the Gentry Firm and Loyal and the Commons of the Realm humble and obedient I beseech thee c. That all men may be saved Hereticks made Converts to Truth Schismaticks to Peace Rebels to Loyalty and Jews Mahometans and Infidels become Disciples to the Son of God I beseech thee c. That Widows may be protected and Orphans provided for the sick healed the opprest defended the naked cloathed the hungry fed the ignorant instructed the refractory reclaimed and that all Prisoners and whoever is appointed to dye may taste of thy Fatherly pity I beseech thee c. That it may please thee to succour and ease all that labour under the weight of an evil and disturbed Conscience and to give the rewards of Martyrdome to those who suffer for a good one I beseech thee c. That it may please thee to pardon and amend all mine enemies and teach me not only to forgive but to forget injuries I beseech thee c. That it may please thee to give me and all thy Servants true quiet and liberty and protection from sin and wickedness all the days of our lives I beseech thee c. That an Angel of Peace a faithful guide may be the Guardian both of my Soul and Body I beseech thee c.
house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth it is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools for as the crackling of thorns under a pot so is the laughter of the fool The Gospel Mat. 9.14 THen came to him the Disciples of John saying why do we and the Pharisees fast often but thy Disciples fast not And Jesus said unto them can the children of the Bride-chamber mourn as long as the Bridegroom is with them but the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them and then shall they fast No man puts a piece of new cloath into an old garment for that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment and the rent is made worse Neither do men put new wine into old bottles else the bottles break and the wine runs out and the bottles perish but they put new wine into new bottles and both are preserved The MEDITATION SAD and disconsolate must needs have been the state of the Infant Church when its Tutor and Guardian was taken from it nor could the Disciples but sit in darkness and in the shadow of death who were deprived of the light and warmth of the Sun of Righteousness they had lost one Comforter and had only the remote expectations of another their Master had establish'd a Kingdom which they knew not what to make of they could not apprehend how a Prince could make himself Glorious and yet trample upon the Pomps and Vanities the Crowns and Purple which this world adorns its Monarchs with nor how he who had not so much as a House which he could call his own could be Lord of the whole Earth nor did they understand how this could be the Messiah who should redeem all Israel who could not rescue himself from the Torture and Ignominy of the Cross these were amazing Considerations and such as filled their hearts full of sorrow these thoughts confin'd the Apostles during the time that their Master lay in the Grave to retirement and privacy they sighed and bewailed the loss of their hopes which they imagined were buried in the same Sepulcher with their Lord past any possibility of a Resurrection As long as they expected to share in the Grandeur of the Messiah and under him to govern Principalities how willingly did they follow him but when they saw all those satisfactions which they promis'd themselves vanish like the Idea's of a dream sorrow could not but fill their hearts And is not this O my soul the general practise of Mankind how fond are we of the Glories of Christ's Kingdom but how weary of his Cross how ready to follow him to Mount Tabor but how unwilling to accompany him to Mount Calvary We run eagerly to the Plain to eat Bread multiplied by Miracle but we dread the way that leads to the Mountain where by day he preach'd his Excellent Sermons and spent the whole Night in Prayers But is there not also O my Soul much to be said in the behalf of these Apostles which we can never plead to excuse our own negligence Their Master was now in the Grave the work of their Redemption not yet perfected and the Holy Spirit was not yet given which alone could fill them with Knowledg and Fortitude in such a distrest condition who can blame their fears and their cowardise but as soon as ever they had seen the Lord return from the dead and the Blessed Spirit had descended on them at Pentecost their hearts were filled with joy and resolution they then courted the dangers which before they studiously shun'd and with assurance accosted the Sanhedrim from whom before they hid themselves then they lookt upon the Chains which they wore for the sake of the Blessed Jesus as Ornaments of their Hands and Legs a Prison was a Palace to them the Blood that followed their scourgings the Purple which they wore and the place of Execution a Room of State the Cross was a Throne and the Flames a Royal Chariot to convey them to Heaven Arm'd with those assistances not only Peter and Paul smiled on Martyrdom and were in love with dying but even Women and Children Persons of strong sears and weak powers of violent Passions and shallow Reasons went in such multitudes to the Tribunals to acknowledg themselves Christians that they tired their Judges with pronouncing Sentences of Death and their Executioners with inflicting them and what is it O my Soul that hinders thee from exerting the same Gallantry and Resolution who besides all the assistances which they enjoyed hast also the advantage of their Examples Often have I wondred how those Excellent Persons became such admirable Proficients in the school of the Son of God How their Piety their Charity their Justice and Sobriety their Love of God and love to Mankind could be so conspicuous in the eyes of their Heathen Adversaries while they contended earnestly for the Faith when nothing but Bonds Imprisonment and Death nothing but Shame and Sufferings were their Portion Whereas now when the Christian Religion is countenanc'd and cherish'd by Authority and the good things of this life are its reward as well as the joys of a better we are more profane and irreligious more unjust and uncharitable more lustful and intemperate than the vilest Heathens And perhaps this is not the worst reason that can be given of it that in those days the greater part of Christians were converted after they came to years of discretion when the Church required from them all sorts of testimonies of their vertue and their constancy before they were admitted into it bringing them up when Catechumens under a severe Discipline acquainting them with the strictness of the Laws of Religion inuring them to Fastings and Abstinencies to frequent Prayers and frequent Watchings and other such hardships to a publick and solemn renouncing of their own lusts and a generous contempt of the world for by this means Religion was indeared to them who before their admission to the priviledges of it had conquer'd all their Passions and were crucified to the World and had upon the maturest deliberation chosen Jesus and the Cross before the Honours Wealth and Voluptuousness of this life Whereas now our admission is in our Infancy when our sponsors promise of course for us what we never care to make good and we are admitted to the priviledges before we understand the duties of Christianity so that we take up our Religion as we do our Cloaths or our Customs because they were the practices of our Fore-fathers and are the garb of the present time And perhaps it is also considerable that prosperity often cheats us when we are proof against all the temptations of adversity worldly ease softens us while a state of affliction and trouble becomes a great benefit And so in truth is it a Christian not deserving his name till he be a Convert from sensuality to a crucified
Saviour So when the Sons of Zebedee coveted places of Trust and Honour in an imaginary Monarchy Mat. 20.21 our Blessed Redeemer told them that the preferments of his Court old not consist in fitting at his Right and left Hand but in drinking of his Cup and being baptized with his Baptism And when St. Paul was called to an Apostleship Acts 9.16 the Lord told Ananias in a Vision that his Mission was not design'd to Triumph over the Gentile World nor should his Revelations discover to him what Kingdoms he should convert tho that he did but I will show him says God what great things he must suffer for my Names sake And this that Apostle well understood 2 Cor. 12.12 for when he reckons up the signs of an Apostle he begins with his Patience under affliction as if that generosity of mind that slighted the Tribulations attendant on the Gospel was a more eminent and surer sign of his Apostleship than all his power of working Signs and Wonders and mighty deeds for to be afflicted was to be clad in the best Livery of the great Bishop and Shepherd of Souls I will therefore resolve to imitate those admirable guides of the Church in their sorrow I will lament the death of my Saviour and hate my sins that crucified him I will as they did retire from the World and love it no longer because it despised my dear Redeemer And I will also imitate them in their Patience and their Courage I will endure all things for the sake of my friend who died for me and nothing shall fright me from following the pattern and treading in the steps of his first and best servants The Collect. ALmighty and Immortal Saviour who wert victorious in thy sufferings and triumphant upon the Cross and wert always present with thy Church either in thy Person or by thy substitute the Holy Ghost keep and defend thy flock from all Heresie and Schism from mistakes in matters of Faith and all irregularities in practice from desponding under afflictions and from carelesness in prosperity Arm all thy servants with an invincible courage and resolution to live and dye thine let the consideration of thy Passion engage us to bewail our Transgressions but let the consideration of thy Resurrection defend us that we may not sorrow as men without hope but that we may pass the time of our sojourning here on Earth in fear and finish it with joy through thy Merits and Intercession O our only Mediator and Advocate Amen The Anthem The Descent into Hell A Dialogue between Mary Magdalen at the Sepulcher and an Angel I. Magd. APpear dear Jesus unto me I love I long for none but thee Whither is my Beloved gone And left me here sad and alone My soul breaths nothing else but sigh Since Jesus fell a Sacrifice Ang. Down to the Prison of the Fiends The dying Conqueror descends And o're those rebel spirits his Victories extends II. VVith courage and resistless might Alone he undertakes the fight Meets whole Legions and defies Hells Guards and her Auxiliaries Scales the VValls and storms the Gates Razes the Towers revers'th mens Fates And into the Dungeon Lucifer precipitates III. Magd. But tell me Angel cloath'd with light Did not my Jesus show his might VVhen upon the Cross he stood Like a Rock that brav'd a flood Did not his Patience and his Cries His VVounds his Thirst and Agonies Compleat his glorious Conquest and our Sacrifice IV. Ang. 'T was done when Jesus bow'd his head And told the world 't was finished Then Satan was discomfited And all his baffled forces fled But he lest men might doubt his love Or Victories did the scene remove Pull'd Satan from his Throne and from his Kingdom drove V. Magd. If so what keeps my Jesus there What stops th' Almighty Conqueror Thy Pupils do thy presence want T' instruct the blind and ignorant To charm the froward and defend The weak who on thy Strength depend And guide poor wandring me unto my journeys end Appear dear Jesu unto me I love I long for none but thee EASTER DAY THO the Christian Church had many Festivals yet some of them were days of greater Eminency than others Christmas Easter and Whitsuntide being frequently called in the Writings of the Fathers by way of excellency * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Christian Solemnities because as the Jews were obliged three times a year on their three great Festivals of the Passover Pentecost and of the Tabernacles to go up to Jerusalem to worship So anciently the body of the people of every Diocess met at those times at the Mother Church where the Bishop Preach'd to them in person and gave them the Holy Sacrament And on those days if the Church could not hold all the Communicants at once the Offices were repeated the Prayers renewed and the Eucharist ‡ Leo. M. Epist 71. p. 149. a second time consecrated and given Now among these great days Easter-day was the day on which the Son of God return'd from Hell rose from the Grave and being attended with his holy Angels and the bodies of many just persons who left their Tombs to accompany their Saviour brought Life and Immortality to light This was the day which the Lord made in which all wise and devout persons do rejoice and therefore without all doubt the Ancients after their long Fasting till near day-break * Const Ap. li. 5. c. 18. retired home laid aside their Sackcloth and Ashes and other habits of mortification and having washed and cloathed themselves in their best apparel came again early to Church and sang the praises of the Lord. And for this reason this Feast is called ‡ Cypr. Laetitia Paschalis The Paschal joy or the Paschal solemnity of the Resurrection ‖ Chrys to 5. p. 587. the bright and glorious day of Christ's rising from the dead the noblest of the Christian solemnities o Euseb vit Const l. 4. c. 22. p. 536 c. the holy and venerable day that brought Life into the World the holy Convention and Festival the Queen of Feasts the Festival of Festivals the great and holy Sunday the day in which the hopes of Eternity were confirm'd to us and the Great day in which Salvation was given to the World The * Constit Ap. l. 7. c. 37. Apostles injoining the Observation of it to all Christians and probably when we are bid to keep the Feast 1 Cor. 5.8 it belongs rather to the Annual than to the Weekly Feast of the Resurrection As some Wise and Learned men think that the Lords-day mentioned Rev. 1.10 does not so much mean a Sunday at large as Easter-day for * Procop. de bell Perfic l. 1. c. 18. this day was honoured by the Christian World above all other days ‡ Chrys to 5. p. 583. this day is a day of rejoycing on Earth and it is a Holy-day in Heaven too for if the conversion of one