a burning affection open thou the Flood-gates of my Eyes and open thou my Lips that my Mouth may shew forth thy praise O my gracious God unless thou interpose thy power I am very much affraid I shall not keep this little goodness till the next morning which now seems to be in me These weak Thoughts these faint Desires and sickly Affections that are in my Soul I doubt will not live a Night unless thou find ways to preserve and cherish them my inveterate Habits of Evil will smother and choak these new Resolutions I am in fear that all these Meditations will be flown away while I am a sleep and my House be foul again unless thou keep me Ah! my dear God seeing I have bestowed some small pains upon my heart and have conceived some little hopes suffer them not to be dash'd to pieces in a Night spread the Wings of thy goodness over me and maintain that which not I but thou thy self hast wrought Lord let me find when I awake that my afflections and desires are grown beyond the strength of Man and that thy power rest upon me Oh! let me find a greater fervor than ever in thy Service let that spark which I fear would go out be blown into a Flame that will never expire so shalt thou draw mine Eyes towards thy self alone who workest such wonders and my Lips shall ever flow with thy Praises Lord if I may beg this Grace of thee I am verily perswaded I shall languish after none but thee therefore my good Lord I leave my self in thy hands hoping that either I am or would be such as thou desirest and if I am arrived but as far as a Will and Desire to be thine that Will is thine and therefore seeing the Will is mine too and we both conspire together I take the boldness to say Lord let thy will be done Oh! sweet Saviour I was going to say I am sick of Love that I cannot love except thou love me and make me better but I correct my self and 't is enough if I be sick because I cannot love thee Do thou make me sick or rather do thou make me well with love unto thee so shall I come to thy Table with Joy and Gladness hoping that thou wilt kiss me with the Benediction of thy Lips for thy love is better than Wine draw me and I will run after thee yea we will run after thee for I will proclaim to others the loving kindness of the Lord Amen Devotions for the Day we intend to Communicate IT well becomes a Christian's Piety to welcome the day which brings our Saviour so near to us with acts of Joy and Thnaksgiving for the approach of so great a Blessing And since one Night may breed too great a damp and chilness upon our Spirits it will be very wholesome to renew those Thoughts and Affections that we left there when we went to Bed and so go to the house of God in a sense of our unworthiness to entertain so glorious a Person and in a sense of sin which is the cause of that unworthiness together with a joy in our Souls and Praises upon our Tongues that he will forgive them humbly desiring of the Lord that he will accept of us for his Habitation and that he will come and enlarge our Souls by a holy Love to him and longing after him that there may be room for his Sacred Majesty and a place clean and dressed to receive him In order hereunto as soon as we awake let us adore that Sacred Majesty of Heaven in the following Ejaculation A Prayer O Merciful God as thou hast awakened my Body from sleep so by thy Grace awaken my Soul from sin that I may appear before thee this day at thy Holy Altar with a pure and undefiled Soul O Jesus cloth me with the Wedding Garments of Righteousness and true Holiness that being a worthy Receiver of thy Body and Blood I may continue steadfast to my lives end and at the last Trump according to thy Blessed Promise be made a pertaker of thy Heavenly Kingdom Amen The solemnity of this day requires a most exact attendance in the service of God all our affections should be so imployed that even the necessaries of this life ought not to incumber our Souls or take off those Holy Meditations which should be inseperate to our Minds much more should we dispence with things of less moment and therefore however we indulge our selves at other times let us now take leave of our Bed and prepare to meet our God with humble Addresses and rising with a thinkful acknowledgment for the Mercies of the Night past let us say Glory be to thee O Lord for watching over me this Night Lord raise me up at the last day to life everlasting In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified for me I arise he by his cross and Passion save bless and preserve me this day and for ever Amen As soon as we are Dressed let us retire unto our Closet and before we prostrate our selves at the Throne of Grace exercise our Thoughts a little upon the approaching Solemnity and reflect upon our base ingratitude consider how infinitly unworthy we are of such an inestimable benefit and then let us adore that inexpressible Goodness which gives us so glorious an opportunity of waiting on our loving Lord at his Holy Altar after such a religious confusion of Soul let us humble our selves and say Good Lord pardon thy servant why endeavours to prepare his heart to seek thee though I be not cleansed according to the Purification of the Sanctuary A Prayer O Lord I do not presume to come to that great Feast of thy Body and Blood upon the least opinion of my own worthiness for when I look upon my self I dare not come least I should Eat and Drink my own Damnation but when I consider thy infinite Mercies unto us and thy own words calling all men without exception and knowing that thy crucified Body is not only food to nourish but Physick to cure I beg leave that am but Dust and Ashes to come to thy Holy Table and with my weak Faith to feed upon some Crumbs of the Bread of Life I confess O Lord I have no Wedding Garments on me but I come to seek them at thy Cross from thy bitter sorrows to derive into my Soul a Godly sorrow working an unfeigned Repentance from the broken Body a broken Heart from thy warm Blood flowing from thy wounded side Zeal and fervency that I may love and admire thee my God as I ought to do I come O Dear Jesus to fetch Humility and Temperance Chastity and Charity and whatever thou seest needful for me O bury all my sins in thy Grave my stony Heart my natural Corruptions and vile Affections I come O Lord to fetch a new life from thy Holy and Blessed Resurrection for I stand in amazement when I consider my own vileness and
of life and to enable us in this work let us set our Faces towards the Altar of God for 't is there we are to receive strength and comfort and every good thing This is what we obliged our selves to at our Baptism and since we have lived unworthy of the First Sacrament let us in Humiliation and Repentance approach the Second that our sins may be blotted out and we may be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in Light and now if any ask what preparation we ought to make I answer I know of no other than what I have endeavoured to perswade and what is necessary and reasonable even a true Faith and Repentance that the Sacrament is a Duty is generally acknowledg'd yet through mistakes there are abundance neglect it Our Saviour was very particular in this Order to his Disciples and his Apostles devoutly press it in all their Writings and the Ancients received it as an inestimable Blessing We are told that unless we Eat Christ's Body and drink his Blood we have no life in us and that this is to be done by Bread and Wine in the Holy Communion is what the Apostles and generality of Mankind down to this Age have believed Christ when he gave it them told them it was his Body and St. Paul directs our Behaviour that we might not receive it unworthily but discern it as the Lord's body and therefore first to Examine our selves and then Eat of that Bread and Drink of that Cup what then should hinder our approaches to this Holy Banquet that we are wicked is no excuse for why are we not otherwise that we are affraid because of our unworthiness if there is no other reason but our fear is no Excuse For 't is not the sense of our unworthiness that should hinder us but our resolution or unwillingness to be otherwise and that indeed will make us unworthy for ever for where shall we be washed if not in this Fountain which is opened for Sin and Uncleanness If none but such as are perfect could approach this Holy Table who then would venture to come near And what can we think of our Saviour that could propose a Snare to endanger our Ruin No it was ordain'd for such as had a sense of their Unworthiness and were sensible of their load but desired to be eased of their heavy burthen Well but they who come to the Sacrament are obliged to live stricter lives than other Men and some are affraid they can't conform to an exactness of Conversation Why are they not as well affraid that because they don't lead such lives that they shall be punished which would be an argument to put them upon that Tryal and when once they saw the pleasantness of the paths of Righteousness they would endeavour to persevere in them Besides they are not obliged but to lead such lives as is necessary to Salvation and how dares any Man that believes another World do less There is danger indeed in unworthy Receiving and there is as great a danger in staying away both of them are a contempt of the Lord's Body and will receive their reward in short whatever our Scruples are that hinder us from this Ordinance let us with all speed endeavour to remove them for there is no excuse for our Abscence nor any objection but what may easily be answered if we are sincere in our inquiries 't is the neglect of this Sacrament that is the cause of our coldness in Religion and I can't tell how it comes to pass that tho' the Church and State requires all that are at the Age of Sixteen to communicate at least three times in the Year that there is not one in a Thousand observe the order there are a great many considerate persons that never seem to have a desire after it till they come upon their Death-bed and then are willing to have it to conduct them to Heaven The Ancient Church refused to Administer to any that had not received it before and if the discipline was maintained it would make us more circumspect for a great many think if they can have the Minister to pray by them and give them the Sacrament all will be well But if they who refused it in their Health were deny'd it upon their Death-bed it would be a dreadful warning to others not to neglect it and those Ministers who venture now to Adminster it transgress the Rubrick in this case but 't is as indiscreet to trust to This now as to depend upon a Repentance begun at such a time which is hardly possible to be sincere and if not they are lost for ever there are the same Arguments to bring Men to the Sacrament as there are to perswade them to a newness of life without both we are not assured of Salvation and he that pretends to lead a life according to God's Holy Word and yet refuses to eat of the Bread which came down from Heaven how can he hope to be raised up at the last day The truth on 't is Men are not willing to part with their Lusts and as long as they are in that mind they do well to stay away but do very ill to continue in such a resolution but what shall we say if neither Promise or Threats Rewards or Punishments Heaven or Hell will perswade Men to forsake their sins nothing will however we must never be weary in well doing and 't is our Duty to exhort one another daily which was the chief inducement of this Advice to those which never Receiv'd the Sacrament and this I thought I cou'd not do in a better manner than by shewing First the unreasonableness of Sin and then Secondly the necessity of Repentance to this end I have collected a form of Devotion which may be useful in our Conversion and when we are so happy as to be sensible of the folly of our ways that we can set before us the difficulty of returning and yet dare venture thro' all hardships to attain Salvation I thought it necessary to add some Arguments to oblige us to that Duty which is our interest to comply with and which will strengthen our resolutions in Piety to these Directions I have collected another form of preparitory Devotions to be used at any time before we approach the Sacrament and left it to the Reader 's Discretion to use as much of it and as often as he pleases That our behaviour in the Church might be answerable to the Solemnity there is appointed a large Form of Devotion and I have endeavoured to range them in a suitable Order that every Prayer having a particular relation to what we are then a doing our Minds might be more moved and our Souls thus ascending with our Devotions we may pray by the Spirit and the understanding also I 'm very willing to believe that all who come to this Holy Table endeavour to be as devout as they can and 't is possible fancy themselves
how miserable my end must be when the Heavens are not pure in thy sight and the very Angels are charged with folly there is no Holiness O Lord if thou with-draw thy Hand no Wisdom profits if thy Government ceases when thou leavest us we perish we are unstable and unsecure unless secured and confirmed by thee we fly to thee for help and yet depart from thy Commandments O how meanly do I deserve to be thought of how little and inconsiderable is the good I do how innumerable how intollerable are the Evils I have done many good things have I received from thee but I have abus'd them thou hast given me Grace but I have turned it into Wantonness thou didst create in me a hope of Glory but I have lost my Confidence Wherefore behold O Lord I come unto thee thou mightest indeed justly censure the approach of such a polluted Creature to be a daring presumption but I beseech the condemn not the action but behold the motives which drew me hither even my own miseries and thy mercies I increase the number of my sins what shall I do to thee O thou preserver of Men Who shall raise me up when I shall fall before thy dreadful Judgment Seat I will lay my Face in the Dust and confess my self to be nothing Pitty my Shame O God bind up my Wounds remove those sins that so easily overcome me and unite me to my Saviour Jesus O help me to supply in Humility what I want in worthiness let my mean and just opinion of my self my bended Knees and broken Heart shew that I durst not have adventured so nigh if thy mercy had not held out the Golden Scepter O then dear Jesus be a Jesus to me and let this Sacrament be a savor of life and thy Body the Bread of life thy Blood the purifier of my sinful life O send me not empty away for I shall faint and die I cannot live without thee O let vertue come from thee and heal my Sickness do thou appear to my Soul in these holy Mysteries enlighten my Darkness turn me from all vain imaginations and illusions of the Enemy all perversness of Will all Violence and Inordinate Passions sensual Desires Lust and Malice Gluttony Pride Envy and Detraction let not sin reign in my mortal Body nor the Divel lead my Will captive nor the World abuse my understanding nor debauch my Conversation O grant I may receive these Divine Mysteries for the amendment of my Life and for a defensative against all my sins for the increase of Vertue and the perfection of the Spirit this I beg O merciful God for the sake of thy Eternal Son my crucified Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Amen Here rising up read as Follows AND as they were Eating Jesus took Bread and gave thanks and blessed it and brea kt it and gave it to his Disciples and said Take Eat this is my Body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me likewise also he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it for this Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for you and for many for the Remission of sins and they all drank of it Verily I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of the Fruit of the Vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God my Father I adore thee O Blessed Jesus for instituting this Holy Sacrament O let thy Divinity thus stampt on it strike into my Soul a holy awe in approaching it O create in me a Heaven disposition to celebrate so Heavenly an Institution and for thy Mercies sake pardon all my stupid forgetfulness and ingratitude hitherto do now create in me such a thankful and lively remembrance of thy dying love that may excite me to give up my self intirely to thee as thou didst give up thy self on the Cross for me Kneeling say A Prayer BEhold O sacred and undivided Trinity an unworthy wretched weak and wounded Soul oppressed with an intollerable weight of Misery terrified with the consideration of thy inscrutable Judgments confounded with the memory of her base ingratitude and encompassed with sorrow I have with the prodigal wasted that portion of Grace thou didst bestow upon me and therefore do infinitly want a supply out of thy Treasury but O Lord how shall such a wretch as I dare to approach this Holy Table how shall this spiritual Manna this Food of Angels be given to one Who has chosen to feed on Huscks with Wine nay to one who has so often trampled upon these precious things either carelesly neglecting or unworthily receiving these holy Mysteries O LOrd my horrible guiltiness makes me not dare to stay away for where shall my polluted Soul be washed if not in this Fountain which thou hast opened for sin and uncleanness hither therefore I come and thou hast promised him that cometh thou wilt in no wise cast out this is O Lord the Blood of the New Testament grant me so to receive it that it may be for the remission of my sins and though I have so often and so wretchedly broken my part of that Covenant whereof the Sacrament is a seal yet be thou graciously pleased to make good thine be merciful to my unrighteousness and remember my sins no more and not only so but place thy Laws in my Mind and write them in my Heart and by the power of thy Grace dispose my Soul to such a sincere and constant Obedience that I may never again provoke thee Lord grant that in these holy Mysteries I may not only commemorate but effectually receive my blessed Saviour and all the benefits of his Passion and to that end give me such a preparation of Soul as may qualifie me for it give me a deep sense of my sins and unworthiness that being weary and heavy leaden I may be capable of his refreshings Raise up my dull and earthly mind from groveling here below and inspire it with holy Zeal that I may with spiritual affections approach this spiritual Feast and let O Lord that infinite love of Christ in dying for so wretched a sinner inflame my frozen and benumed Soul and kindle in me that sacred fire of love to him and that so vehement that no water may quench no floods drown it such as may burn up all my dross and not leave one unmortified Lust within me and such as may also extend it self to all whom thou hast given me command to love even my Enemies as well as Friends O Lord I beseech thee cloath me with the Wedding Garment and make me though of my self a most unworthy yet by thy mercy an acceptable guest at thy Holy Table that I may not eat and drink my own Condemnation but may have my Pardon sealed my Weakness repair'd my Corruptions subdued and my Soul so inseperably united to thee that no temptation may be ever able to dissolve the
When shall I fully please thee O that I could always serve thee that I could perfectly obey thee Grant me O my only Love that I may continually reverence and adore thee Permit me not O Lord Jesus ever to be seperated from thee Teach me inlighten me direct me and assist me in all things but especially at this time that I may do or say nothing but what is agreeable to thy blessed Will Amen I Have made a large Collection of Meditations and Prayers because of the difference of Congregations some are very numerous and I esteem them pertinent to regulate our thoughts in that interval before we go up to the Altar the lesser Congregations and they who are desirous to be first at the Holy Table may have advantage of variety and make use of them as their inclinations and opportunity will give leave Our thoughts are not always upon the wing we require diversity of Arguments to press us to a forwardness besides they are not designed that our mind should be wholly taken up with them that we should read them all and then think we may safely go up to the Altar of God The best composure in the World will be insignificant if we don't offer it with Devotion Sincerity and Affection one of these Petitions rightly performed is of greater Efficacy than the whole repeated in a rambling disorder Lord have mercy upon me a miserable sinner said with humility was more prevalent than the long Prayer of the wordy Supplicant God knows our necessity before we ask and if we ask with Faith depending on the incercession of our Saviour he will grant our Petitions even before they are ended so that I would have some of them repeated with deliberation and between them call in our thoughts reconcile them to our reason and faith and then offer them up with earnest devotion and so shall we be prepared to receive the Lord of Glory When we have made an end of these Meditations and are ready to go to the Holy Table rising from our Knees with Reverence let us say GReat Captain of my Salvation I am going to learn to fight the good fight of faith in the blessed Sacrament of thy Love let thy great Example there encourage me to fight against all Ambition and Ostentation Censoriousness and Uncharitableness against coveteous lustfull and blasphemous Thoughts against guile and hypocrisie discontent and mistrust of thy providence against such enemies give me Grace to fight over these let me Triumph that having striven lawfully I may at last be admitted to the sight of thy sweet self and be charmed with thy Love for evermore Having thus began our Warfares and declared our chiefest Enemies let us approach the Holy Altar that there we may put on the Armor of God and being endued with Righteousness from above may walk more securely and be defended from the subtilty of Men and Devils therefore as we are going up let us turn our thoughts to God in the following manner As we go up to the Altar I Come Lord Jesus O take me to thee for thou lovest me and hast prepared a Table for me in the seat of thy Love in the multitude of thy mercies O Lord God do I now approach thy Altar O pardon my Sins and receive me graciously if thou shouldst be extream to mark what is amiss O Lord who may abide it but with the Lord is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption Lord hast thou set open this fountain and wilt thou let a wretched creature die for thirst in thy presence Hast thou prepared such Balm to heal me and shall I languish here before thee I know if thou wilt thou canst make me clean here is the very instrument Grant therefore holy Jesus that I may duly apply it and rightly use it and then it shall prepare me for thee and unite me to thee by such inseperable Bonds as shall never brake unless Eternity have an end Blessed are they who so eat thy Flesh and drink thy Blood so as thou requirest and so as thy Saints have done for they have been cleansed at this fountain and here there Union with thee first began O happy opportunity Lord let me do it well this once and I am thine for ever Let us now kneel before the Lord and say O Jesu Son of God everlasting King receive my Spirit O my Life take my Soul my Joy draw my heart unto thee thou that art my Head direct me Light of mine eyes enlighten me O my comfort rejoice me my sweet Food let me eat thee O Word of God refresh me O Light Eternal shine thou over me that I may understand know and love thee After we have thus dedicated our selves to God let us humbly represent to him the occasion which drew us hither and beg for his promise sake that we may not be sent Empty away O Lamb of God thou hast said he that eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood hath eternal Life behold thy Servant O Lord be it unto me according to thy Word O Lord God I desire to renew my Covenant with thee and to seal it now with this Sacrament Lord put thy Laws into my mind and write them in my heart and for the passion of thy dear Son which I now commemorate be merciful to my Unrighteousness my Sins and Iniquities do thou remember no more but be thou my God and I will be thy Servant The Minister now approaching us we ought with the Centurion in the Gospel to acknowledge our unworthiness to receive so glorious a guest and after such a Humilliation let us look up with confidence and represent to the Father of Heaven the prevailing sacrifice of his Son LOrd I am not worthy thou shouldst come under my roof but speak the word Lord and thy Servant shall be whole Behold O Lord the sacrifice of the everlasting Covenant the Lamb that takes away the sins of the World Oh let all the World feel the power of his Intercession hear good Lord the cry of his Wounds and deny me not since I bring thy Son with me let us all know that he lives that was dead and is a live for evermore O holy Bread which camest down from Heaven and givest life to the World come into my heart and cleanse me from all defilements of Flesh and Spirit enter into my Soul heal and sanctifie me within and without O my Soul taste now and see how gracious the Lord is Whence is it that my Lord himself should come to me Let us now with steadfast Faith repeat after the Minister bowing our Bodies The Body of our Lord Jesus c. After we have received the Bread let us lift up our Souls in thankfullness and say Hail Holy Lamb of God thrice welcome art thou to a poor perishing sinner Glory be to thee O Lord who feedest me with the Bread of Life let thy crucified Body deliver me from this body of death Before the Cup. I Will receive the