for the rich it is the staff of our life and signifies that body of thine which thou gavest for the life of the World thou hast by thy holy Mystery made this Bread and Wine spiritual food as well as temporal O Lord I beseech thee let the operation of it be such as to strengthen my soul that it may withstand all Temptations whatsoever and evermore serve thee in spirit and in truth Amen When the Minister breaks the Bread and pours out the Wine use these Meditations O Holy Jesus thy Blessed Body was torn with Nails upon the Cross and thy precious Blood was inhumanely spilt by the Crucifiers but I an unworthy Wretch by my manifold sins have occasioned more torments to thee they Crucified thee but once but I crucifie thee dayly they Crucified thee because they knew thee not but I have known thee what thou art in thy self the Lord of glory and what thou art to me a most tender and Merciful Father and yet I have still continued to Crucifie thee afresh O do thou work in me first a great sorrow for my sins past and then a great hatred and a firm resolution against them for the time to come When the Minister receives in both kinds himself say 1. Thou that hearest Prayers unto thee shall all flesh come 2. Blessed is the Man whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee he shall dwell in thy Court and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy Holy Temple 3. Thou shalt guide me with thy council and after that receive me with glory 4. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble the name of the God of Jacob defend thee 5. Send thee help from the Sanctuary and strengthen the out of Sion 6. The Lord remember all thy offerings and accept this thy Sacrifice 7. Grant thee thy hearts desire and fulfill all thy mind the Lord perform all thy petions which thou hast made at this time both for thy self for us and for all persons 8. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel World without end Amen When the Minister is drawing near thee with the Elements say I adore thee O must righteous Redeemer that thou art pleased to convey unto my soul thy precious Body and Blood with all the benefits of thy Death and Passion I am not worthy O Lord to receive thee but let thy Holy and Blessed Spirit with all his purities prepare for thee a lodging in my Soul where thou mayest unite me to thy self for ever Amen Ejaculations before the Bread This is that Bread which came down from Heaven whosoever eateth shall never hunger Thou dealest thy bread to those which hunger after righteousness O feed my fainting soul with this bread of life O strengthen my heart and hand by a lively faith and open my mouth with fervent desires that I may eat not for bodily sustenance but for spiritual relief and the refreshment of my soul O let my soul feel the spiritual efficacy of thy grace that I may not eat unworthily or to my condemnation O Lord I beseech thee enable and direct me by thy holy and blessed spirit to receive it worthily Amen When the Minister gives the holy bread say softly with him The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for me preserve my body and soul unto everlasting life Here take the bread with reverence then proceed I take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for me and will feed on him in my heart with faith and thanks-giving Then answer audibly Amen After the bread say I give thee hearty thanks O Lord most Holy that thou hast refreshed my soul at this time by my feeding upon thy Body which was broken for me If I had lived innocently and had kept all thy Commandments yet could I have had no proportion of merit to so transcendent a mercy but since I have so loved sin and added transgression to transgression thy mercy is so glorious and infinite that I stand amazed at the consideration of its immensity O let me not throw off this Wedding Garment or stain it with pollution of deadly sin but let me be wholly united to thee being transformed according to thy holy will and life who livest and reignest for ever Amen Or this O Blessed Jesus sanctifie this bread to me that it may be to my Soul the staff of strength whereby I may vanquish and overcome all the assaulis of the Devil the World and the Flesh and continue thy faithful Soldier and Servant to my lifes end Amen Ejaculations before the Cup. 1. The Lord himself is the portion of my Inheritance and of my Cup thou shalt maintain my lot 2. The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground yea I have a goodly heritage 3. I have set God always before me for he is on my right hand therefore I shall not fall 4. Gracious is the Lord and righteous yea our God is merciful 5. What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me 6. I will receive the Cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. 7. I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the living When thou receivest the Cup say after the Minister softly The Blood of my Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for me preserve my body and soul unto everlasting life I drink this in remembrance that Christ's Blood was shed for me and am thankful Amen After the Cup say O how delightful is this Cup to me Blessed Jesus which was so heavy to thee it was thy Agonies and Bloody sweat thy bitter Death and Passion which afforded me this Cup of chearfulness thou didst find it bitter when thou wast appeasing an angry Father but thou hast sweetned it by a reconciliation and hast wrought out my Redemption and Salvation Or this I praise thee I bless thee I glorifie thee O Lord most Holy that thou hast at this time so refreshed my soul and filled me with holy desires O let thy tender mercy always keep me in this happy temper that I may never err nor stray from thy Commandments but keep firm that Covenant which thou hast sealed with thy most precious Blood for my redemption and direct me O Lord and guide me so here that I may be a fit member for thy Heavenly Kingdom hereafter Amen Whilst others are Communicating say I. Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name What greater gift O Lord couldst thou bestow upon me than to give me thy Body for meat thy Blood for drink and to lay down thy life for the price of my redemption What greater mercy than that thou shouldest now enter into me and dwell with me as thou hast promised II. I yield thee humble and hearty thanks most Merciful Father and desire to magnifie thy name for ever for the Holy Death and bitter Passion of thy Son and that great Redemption thou hast wrought for me in him and
Holy Sacrament O Lord who weeled for me as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before the shearer is dumb so thou opened'st not thy mouth thou did'st good to thy Enemies and pray'dst earnestly for thy persecutors O plant in my heart gentleness patience and meekness that I may not be transported with the violent passion of anger disorder'd by peevishness or thoughts of revenge but patiently bear all crosses and with charity may return blessing for cursing keeping peace with all men and loving my Neighbour as my self and thee more than my self and more than all the World I may at last come into the regions of peace and Eternal Charity where thou livest who lovest all men and wouldest have none to perish but all men to be saved through thee O most merciful Saviour and Redeemer II. O thou who sitteth between the Chérubims and whose throne is in the highest Heavens purge me from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit that I may perfectly love thee and worthily magnifie thy holy Name all the dayes of my life For thou art gracious and full of Compassion and givest meat unto them that fear thee and drink from the wells of Eternal Salvation thou preparest a table for us and anointest our heads with thy heavenly Vnction and our Cup runneth over let thy precious blood which was shed for me and the water which gushed from thy side wash me clean that I may with a pure heart and a clean soul come to Eat of that best Sacrifice the Lamb slain from the beginning of the World III. O Lord in the wonders of this holy Sacrament thou givest thy self to be the food of our souls in the faith of thy word in the blessings and graces of thy holy spirit perform that in me thy unworthy Servant which thou hast prepared and effected in thy Son enkindle in my heart a bright devotion Extinguish all the fires of Hell pardon all my sins and fill me with thy holy spirit that by obedience and love I may adore and honour thee all the days of my life IV. Thou hast opened unto me the fountains of thy mercy and hast invited all penitent sinners to come and receive pardon the oppressed to be eased and the sorrowful to be comforted admit me O Lord to this great Celebration of thy loving kindness that I may be comforted in all my griefs healed of all the wounds of my Soul and the bruises of my Spirit and finish my Journey through this valley of Tears unto my portion of thy Heavenly Kingdom Amen Meditations for Thursday Evening on the most Holy Sacrament O Lord thou not only art good and gracious but thou wilt also be so acknowledged so declar'd yea as such worshipped and adored that thy name then be not dishonoured let me though a sinner be accepted pardon mine iniquity that it may not be said thou ever rejectedst a poor penitent and thereby loose the glory of thy name whose name is merciful Exod. 34. 5 6. a merciful clemency is a royal virtue and honourable in every Soveraign Majesty thou then O Lord who art the King of Glory Psalm 24. 7 8. make this thy Holy Sacrament to be the Broad-Seal to my pardon and this for thy Names sake even for thy mercy sake II. I plead not Lord my merits who am less than the least of thy mercies and as I look not upon my merit do thou not look upon my demerit as I do not view my worthiness do not thou view my unworthiness but be merciful unto my sin of which I cannot say as Lot of Zoar is it not a little one no it is great for that it is against thee so great a God and so good to me great for that my place my office my calling is great the Sun the higher it is the less it seems but my sins the higher I am the greater they are even in thine and others eyes III. My knowledge of thee and thy ways is great I knew thy will and did it not my conscience checked me and yet I obeyed not thy Spirit moved me and yet I yielded not the number of my sins is numberless those I know and confess are few in comparison of what are unknown and hidden from me Wherefore O Lord hide not thy great mercy from me who hide not my great sins from thee and the greater is the guilt of my sin the greater shall be the glory of thy mercy to pardon it let it be the glory of thy mercy then to pass by my offences so shall the greatness of my sins make the glory of thy mercies more conspicuous for that where sin hath abounded there grace doth much more abound Rom. 5. 20. IV. And thus though I went against mine own knowledge in sinning yet do not thou Lord go against thine own nature in punishing who hast promised if we believe and repent 1 Cor. 10. 12. thou wilt forgive and now as my sins teach them that stand to take heed least they fall so let thy pardon of my sins teach them that are fall'n upon their repentance not to doubt of thy mercy and so giveness which mercy and forgiveness do thou seal unto my Soul and to each humble penitent through Jesus Christ in a return of peace unto our consciences by this Blessed Sacrament A Prayer for Thursday Evening on the most Holy Sacrament O Most blessed Fountain of Eternal love who hast tender bowels of Compassions and multitudes of rich mercies for all those sinful Souls that cry to thee for mercy and forgiveness forgive the sinful failings wilful Errors and most dangerous mistakes of my wretched life past and grant me that true repentance for the time to come which may truly convert me unto thee II. Lord where Sin hath abounded there let thy grace abound much more Let my degrees of Sin be truly answered with my degrees of sorrow my measure of pollution with my measure of Sanctification Lord hear my Prayer and let my cry come unto thee for thy Names sake for thy promise sake for thy blessed Son Christ Jesus sake Amen III. O most sacred and for ever blessed being who hast therefore Commanded me to be holy that I might be happy look not upon me I meekly beseech thee as I am in my self in the deceitfulness of mine own heart falshood of mine own wayes but in the Righteousness of Christ in whom alone thou canst not but be well pleased Lord open my sinful Eyes that I may see the folly of my great mistakes unvail the faces of my close Corruptions that I may thereby see the foulness and deformity of Sin and apprehend the greatness of thy wrath against it that so I may truly and timely repent and gain thy gracious pardon for it IV. Search me throughly O Lord and try me that none of those false ways of wickedness may hereafter be found in me that so my heart may be clean my Conscience pure my Conversation upright my life Holy
service begins upon thy knees use these ejaculations 1. This is the day which the Lord hath made I will be joyful and glad in it 2. He hath redeemed my soul from death my eyes from tears and my feet from falling 3. Thou shalt prepare a Table before me against them that trouble me thou hast anointed my head with Oyl my Cup shall be full 4. But surely thy loving kindness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever 5. I will wash my hands in innocency O Lord and so will I go to thine Altar 6. That I may shew the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works 7. Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place were thine honour dwelleth 8. O shut not up my soul with the sinners nor my life with the Blood thirsty 9. My foot stand th right I will prase the Lord in the great congregation A Meditation to be used at the Lords Table when there are many Communicants O What a Heavenly sight is this to behold such an Assembly of Christians meeting with one accord at this great mystery how joyful a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity and to worship the Almighty in Spirit and in Truth I feel my heart is more raised and my devotion kindled by their zeal and all lukew armness is passed away my spirits are refresht and have taken new life by seeing such an appearance in the House of God II. This is the perfection of Religion to seek Gods Face while he may be found and to call upon him while he is near which none of us can do too often to have him in remembrance who so oft remembred us here we receive spiritual things and taste and see how good the Lord is which food O Lord I beseech thee let me never want but give it me as my dayly bread for Jesus Christ his sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen A Prayer before the Sacrament O Dear Saviour how excellent is thy goodness and loving kindness to me and to all thy Creatures thou art pleased O Lord to vouchsafe me this opportunity in the waiting upon thee in thy solemn Ordinance where thou dost communicate unto me thy precious Body and Blood and dost give me that interest in thee and peace which the World cannot give nor none can take away this is that treasure which moths cannot corrupt nor thieves break through and steal II. O then where my treasure is let my heart be there also away fond World and all the vanities thereof for the God of holiness hath touched my heart I do now purpose to return from my evil ways and as long as I live to renew those purposes daily O then dear Lord fit me I beseech thee for thy self that I may receive with that joy and spiritual comfort this thy body that was broken and thy precious Blood which was shed for me whereby I may partake of all the benefits of thy bitter Death and Passion and become one with thee in receiving all that either my soul doth need or desire for thy alone sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen When the Minister is saying the Offertory use this Meditation at thy offering thy Alms. O Almighty God what I offer is but what thou lentest me here for a time and what I now give to my poor Brethren thou hast promised to repay it but I have received more at thy all-merciful hands than my heart and tongue can ever express O that I could have given ten thousand Talents instead of this poor mite my charity thou hast no need of but for as much as I have done it to my poor Brethren whose souls thou hast redeemed with thy most precious Blood thou ownest it to be done to thy self O what can I give thee O Lord or render unto thee for all the EÃ rthly comforts and benefits I have received from thee I can give thee nothing but what is thy own and no Earthly thing can bear proportion with thy Majesty therefore in all humility I resign my soul up into thy hands who art my faithful Creator and who sent thy Son to save me a lost sinner to whom be all praise honor and glory now and for ever Amen Then say after the Minister the Prayer for the whole state of Christ's Church militant here on Earth and be very attentive to the exhortation which follows beginning with these words Dearly beloved in the Lord. Then hearken diligently to the invitation and when the Minister expresses these words draw near with faith and take this Holy Sacramint then use these Ejaculations 1. I am unworthy O Lord to appear before thee 2. But thou art able to save them to the uttermost that come unto thee and doth live for ever to make intercession with God the Father for us 3. No Man cometh unto thee except the Father draw him and thou wilt raise him up at the last day 4. O have compassion upon my penitent soul who draws near to thy throne of grace that I may obtain mercy and find grace to help me in time of need Then joyn with all your heart with the Minister in the general consession absolution and sentences lifting up your heart unto the Lord blessing and praising his holy name in these Ejaculations 1. The Lord is on my side I will not fear what man can do unto me 2. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence in man 3. The Lord is my strength and my song and is become my salvation 4. I shall not dye but live and declare the works of the Lord. 5. This is the gate of the Lord the righteous shall enter into it 6. Thou art my God and I will thank thee thou art my God and I will praise thee 7. I will lift up my heart and my hands unto thee O thou that dwellest in the Heavens 8. My help standeth in the name of the Lord which hath made Heaven and Earth 9. The Lord hath done great things for me whereof I rejoyce 10. Therefore with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of Heaven I will laud and glorifie thy glorious name evermore praising thee saying holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy glory Glory be to thee O Lord most high Amen Then joyn with the Minister in the address which begins thus We do not presume to come to this thy Holy Table O merciful Lord c. At the time of the Consecration fix your eye upon the Elements and at the actions of the Ministers in ordering the Bread and Wine we ought joyfully and thankfully to meditate after this manner O Who can but admire and wonder that the Son of God should become food to the Souls of Men and to humble himself so low as to be represented by bread which is the poor mans food though necessary
hast heaped upon me from time to time thy unspeakable favours and loving kindnesses in feeding me at this time with the spiritual food of the Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen III. O Eternal God who vouchsafest to send thine only begotten Son into the World for my redemption and to deliver him up even unto death in remembrance whereof until his second coming he hath commanded me to eat his Body and drink his Blood to the end by Faith I should be united and knit unto his Body and being washed from all my sins lead a new life vouchsafe I humbly beseech thee for his sake to indue me with thy Holy Spirit unto my lives end Amen IV. O Almighty God grant I may cast away all the works of darkness and walk in the true light of thy Holy Gospel Vouchsafe me O Lord an unfeigned desire in being a partaker of this thy Holy institution and that I may lead my life according to thy Heavenly will in all things keeping my body undefiled as a fit receptacle for so Heavenly Food that my soul may enjoy the benefit of the Mystery thereof by Faith according to thy Heavenly providence through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer for all the Communicants that are present O Let us now all magnifie the name of the Lord from the rising of the Sun to the setting of the same Blessed are they who dwell in thy house O Lord and are fed though it be but with the Crums that fall from thy Table We have all now tasted and seen how gracious the Lord is for he hath heard our Prayers and granâ—ed our requests and redeemed us from the slavery of sin and death O that we might never depart from thee but be unwearied in thy service let not our stedfastness which is now fixed pass away as the Morning Cloud or our Devotions fly away as a shadow which hath no continuance but arm us O good Lord against all manner of sin that we may all say with the Kingly Prophet I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous Judgments Direct and guide us O Lord with thy Holy Spirit thy All seeing eye and thy Heavenly hand that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we may fear no evil for thou art with us Amen Meditations out of the Psalms O praise the Lord with me and let us Magnifie his name together I sought the Lord and he heard me yea he delivered me out of all my fears O fear the Lord ye that be his Saints for they that fear him do lack nothing The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles The Lord is nigh unto all them that are of a contrite heart and will save such as be of an humble Spirit Great are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of all He hath not dealt with us after our sin nor rewarded us according to our iniquities For he knoweth whereof we are made he remembreth we are but dust The Lord delivereth the souls of his servants and all they that put their trust in him shall not be destitute Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. A Concluding Prayer I Thank thee O thou great Creator that thou hast at this time given me such a supply of thy Grace whereby I may come to thy Eternal Glory thou hast now entertained me at thy Holy Table and received me with that fatherly affection by speaking peace unto my conscience and saying to my soul thou art my salvation O what reward can I return for these unspeakable mercies I will rejoyce and be exceeding glad admire and celebrate the love of my Saviour O ye Almighty powers it is my duty to extol him to whom you pay all these praises let me for ever Magnifie thy Holy Name O Lord and thy praises for ever shall be in my Mouth for thou only art Holy and it is thy peace alone which passeth all understanding O let it keep my heart and mind in the knowledge and love of thee and of thy Son Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour and let thy favour and blessing O merciful Father with thy Son my only Saviour and the Holy Ghost my only sanctifier remain with we alwaies Amen A Prayer at home the same day O Thou Fountain of everlasting happiness strike my soul with an Holy admiration of thy Divine goodness thou hast of thine infinite Pitty and Compassion to me a poor wretched Sinner received me into the bosom of thy Mercy and art reconciled unto me by the Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ thou hast issued forth a free and full pardon unto me of all my sins and transgressions from that great office of Mercy thou hast opened to thy Church and People and I have now again renewed my Covenant of Love and Allegiance unto thee my God and anâ— again consecrated unto thee in the Holy Blood of the Lord Jesus O let the Holy sense of this thy great goodness and loving kindness rest for ever upon my Soul and oblige my heart for ever unto thee and I beseech thee that thou wâ—lt never leave me nor forsake me but let me walk in the light of thy countenance to my lives end Amen Lastly how to live well a righteous godly and sober life after receiving this most Holy Sacrament Psal 50. 23. Whoso offereth me thanks and praise he honoureth me and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the Salvation of God I. And the better to attain these directions let us follow what the Kingly Prophet layeth down to eschew evil and do good seek peace and ensue it which is the banishing from the Soul all kind of Vices and adorning it with Virtues and this is by becoming a new creature destroying of the image of old earthly Adam and reforming it with the Image of the new Adam our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ II. By this means we attain to that supernatural end for which we were created which is to see Almighty God in his own glory and excellency which that we may all do let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God As soon as you awake in the Morning give the first fruits of thy reason to the Divine Majesty let your memory understanding will and heart discharge their duties let your tongue and mouth hands and arms contribute in offering up this Morning Sacrifice to thy great Creator Which thou mayest do in this manner A Prayer for the Morning O Most Powerful Lord God which sittest upon the Cherubims and stretchest out the Heavens like a Curtain I adore thee my God from the centre of my Nothing with all the Creatures of the Vniverse and come unto thee upon the bended knees of my heart humbly beseeching thee in thy mercy to look upon me and fully to remit unto me all my sins and transgressions whatsoever and give me unfeigned repentance and newness of life for the time to come as thou hast now awakened my body from sleep so I beseech thee awake my soul from sin and carnal security as thou hast caused the light of the day to shine upon my bodily eyes so good Lord cause the light of thy Word and Holy Spirit to illuminate my heart and give me grace to walk in all holy obedience before thy face this day teach me to fear thee continually wheresoever I am to neglect all things in regard of thee to love thee and my Brethren for thy s 〈…〉 ke let whatsoever I do this day be pleasing in thy sight who art my alone Creator let not any temptations this day delude me but O Lord my God be thou ever near me with me and about me to protect preserve and defend me from this time forth and all the days of my life now and for evermore Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Noon O Eternal God every hour of the day will I lift up my heart unto thee stop not thine ear O Lord but hear me and that right soon let me not nourish the disease of sloth in my blood but spend my life as the clouds execute their offices to be still in motion quench and kill O Lord in me the weed of Covetousness and let me not be over careful for my self but pittiful and merciful to those that want Keep my hands clean from touching riches unlawful last with Ahab and Jezabel I commit Murder and shed Naboth's blood to wring from him his Vineyard or with Achan be stoned to death for taking goods that are to me forbidden give me grace to be content with what portion thou hast allowed me and to remember that this is no continuing City but I must seek one to come in which Heavenly Kingdom of thine thou art my portion for ever which God grant me for his Mercy sake Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening O Almighty God the only keeper of Israel who neither slumbrest nor sleepest behold me thy servant who by reason of my sin and the corruption of my nature am wholly subject to sloth and am now even ready to ease and rest my self upon my Bed I know not whether thou wilt this very night make my Bed in the dark and the hour of my visitation be this present Evening my years are but a span long my age is nothing unto thee my days pass like a Weavers shuttle and my life is brought to an end as it were a tale that is told this hour may be my last hour and my next sleep my last and long sleep therefore I beseech thee let me every Evening seriously ponder and meditate and though my eyes sleep yet let my soul continually watch to attend thy coming keep me this night both in body and soul from all mine enemies both visible and invisible now and for evermore Amen Our Father c. FINIS
THE Whole Duty OF A Communicant BEING Rules and Directions for a worthy receiving the most Holy SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S Supper By the Right Reverend Father in GOD JOHN GAVDEN Late Lord BISHOP OF EXETER He being dead yet speaketh The second Edition with Additions out of the Reverend Prelates original Copies LONDON Printed by E. R. for L. C. and Hen. Rodes next door to the Bare Tavern near Bride-lane in Fleet-street 1685. THE ANGELLS ADMIRE THE DIVINE GOODNES TO THE Truly Honourable THE LADY RICH. Most honoured Lady THE Confidence of your Nobleness and Piety makes the least intimation of your Desires to have upon me the force of Commands being assured that your Piety and Judgment directs you to what is good and your Nobleness and Ingenuity will favourably interpret what a mind truly honouring you doth intend to answer your desires Such is this small Tract occasioned by a motion your Ladyship once made of having some Preparatory Form written with such brevity yet fulness and perspicuity three rare qualities in one Subject as might neither dull nor confound nor yet leave unsatisfied à Mind studious to inform its Judgment and devoutly to prepare its Affections so oft as it receives the Holy Sacrament and great Mystery of the Lords Suppee These Notions do not presume nor pretend to have attained such a Compleatness as may either satisfie your Ladyship's desires or add any thing to your Knowledg which is fitter to judge of the consent of these with your own than needs any information by them such they are and their Author seeks to appear as may rather deserve the censure of Devout than Curious in an Argument of so mysterious a Depth good Affections are rather to be raised and inflamed than Subtilties searched and disputed what I come short in Depth of Knowledge I endeavour to supply in belief of the Truth in love to the Goodness in thanks for the Benefit in admiration of the Mercy and Dignation the less I reach to its height the more I retire to my own Heart which I can sufficiently prepare by Humility for the receiving of that whose divine Excellency though I cannot comprehend yet the Benefit and Happiness by it I may obtain It will be easie for your Ladyship at your leisure to add or amend what my defects or haste have failed in or omitted Nor do I present this as a Copy to be imitated so much as inlarged and corrected by you it is enough for my design if either I do or receive good the one may shew how willing I am the other may make me abler than I am to express that willingness and pious Ambition I have to appear worthy the honour and esteem of Madam Your Ladyship 's humble Servant J. Gauden THE WHOLE DUTY OF A Communicant OF THE SACRAMENT IN GENERAL THE ever Blessed Testator as the Author to the Hebrews doth fitly call him Heb. 9. 16. hath left us two Sacraments only as generally and necessary to Salvation Baptism the Sacrament of Initiation and the Lords Super the Sacrament of Confirmation the first admitteth us into Christs visible Body the Church the second feedeth and strengthneth in the same and this happy opportunity being offered me of coming to the most holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper I will joyn with the Church in the celebration of this great Mystery and endeavour to put in practice that duty which the Command of God and just reason requires in preparing my self for that great Solemnity and Angelical Feast I. Which is by setting apart some hours three or four several daies before Receiving withdrawing my thoughts from worldly and temporary business and placing them upon serious and devout Meditations of my souls good and eternal happiness being fully perswaded of its Immortal Estate after this short life and the happiness of that state only to consist in the vision and fruition of God the chiefest good and only satisfactory to an Intellectual and Eternal Being among all other means appointed to men by the wisdom and goodness of God for the attaining that happy state this of the blessed Sacrament is one of the most eminent for Comfort and Efficacy II. A Sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible Grace a holy Seal ordained of God to strengthen our Faith in his promises in Jesus Christ for the free remission of our sins which God therefore annexed to his word to confirm us by representing the sufferings of Chirst to our sight and tasting as the Gospel preacheth it to our ears and it is called the Lords Supper because Christ ordained it at his last Supper Math. 26. 26. Wherein to fulfil the Law he eat the Paschal Lamb and to shew the determination and change of the Levitical Law and Priesthood he ordained for this new Covenant of Grace a new Sacrament and seal thereof that it succeeding the Passover might declare him to be the Lamb of Go◠which taketh away the sins of the world John 1. 19. to shew and represent his death until his coming again to leave his Church a Badg of distinction from Infidels and a parting token and pledge of his great love assuring the faithful of his continual care of them III. The visible signs are bread and wine the thing signified is the participation of the Body and Blood of Christ the benefits of whose Death and Passion being apprehended by Faith accrew to us as our mystical Union with Christ our Incorporation into him our reconciliation with God and the nourishment of our most precious souls to eternal life John 6. 54. Who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at tht last day and this Sacrament if we do receive truly and faithfully God hath promised to accept us and to give us all those benefits in this which he was ready to bestow in the Sacrament of our Baptism had we not forfeited them by our transgressions and the renewing of our Covenant at this time is very necessary That we may rightly understand the mercies promised on God's part and the Duty on our own seeing this is a matter of so high Concernment it importeth every Christian First To Consider the End for which it was Instituted Secondly The Author by whom it was Instituted Thirdly The outward Means suitable to that end Fourthly The mystical Vnion by which they effectually attain and convey to us that end and benefit which is propounded Fifthly How we ought to Prepare our selves Sixthly How to Receive it worthily And Lastly How to Live well a righteous godly and sober Life after Receiving this most holy Sacrament First The End for which it was Instituted I. For its End which in every action is the first in the intention of the agent and that hath proportion and influence into all the means used for attaining it this I conceive to be a Divine spiritual and supernatural end even the highest God hath or man can propound to himself namely the glory of
when you first awake lift up your Eyes to God and say I lift up mine Eyes to the Hills from whence cometh my help Open thou mine Eyes O Lord that I may see the wonders of thy Law My voice shalt thou hear betimes O Lord Early in the morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee and will look up At your up-Rising In the name of God the Father who Created me God the Son who Redeemed me and God the Holy Ghost who Sanctifieth me Amen I arise from my Bed of rest to praise and glorifie him the Preserver of all the World He of his infinite mercy and goodness Bless and keep me this day and for ever Amen I laid me down and slept and rose up again for the Lord hath sustained me Then kneel down and say this Prayer Prevent me O Lord in all my doings with thy most gracious favour and further me with thy continual help that in all my works begun continued and ended in thee I may glorifie thy Holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everlasting life through Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen O Lord my heavenly Father Almighty and everlasting God who hast safely brought me to the beginning of this day defend me in the same with thy mighty power and grant that this day I fall into no sin neither run into any kind of danger but that all my doings may be ordered by thy governance to do always that which is righteous in thy sight through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen O God who art the author of peace and lover of concord in knowledge of whom standeth my eternal life whose service is perfect freedom defend me thy humble Servant in all assaults of my Enemies that I surely trusting in thy defence may not fear the power of any adversaries through the might of Jesus Christ my Lord Amen Almighty God the Fountain of all Wisdom who knowest my necessity before I ask and my ignorance in asking I beseech thee to have compassion upon my infirmities and those things which for my unworthiness I dare not and for my blindness I cannot ask vouchsafe to give me for the worthiness of thy Son Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen Almighty God who hast promised to hear the Petitions of them that ask in thy Son's name I beseech thee mercifully to incline thine Ears to me that have made now my Prayers and Supplications unto thee and grant that those things which I have faithfully asked according to thy will may effectually be obtained to the relief of my necessity and to the setting forth of thy Glory through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen O Almighty God behold me a wretched Sinner here prostrate before thee do with me as seems best in thine own Eyes only give me a penitent and a patient Spirit to expect thee and make this my service acceptable to thee while I live and my Soul ready for thee when I die Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with me and remain with me this day and for evermore Amen Read the Psalms appointed for the Morning Service and the First and Second Lesson Devotions for the Evening for every day in the week Evening Ejaculations O Lord let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the Incence And the lifting up of my hands as an evening Sacrifice My trust and hope hath been in thee all the day long and under the Shaddow of thy Wings shall be my Refuge day and night for ever Lighten mine eyes O Lord that I sleep not in death Almighty God who hast made the day for labouâ— and the night for rest let thy Sons blood cleanse me from this days Guilt that I may sleep in thy peace and rise again refreshed and preserved by thy favour through Jesus Christ my Crucified Saviour Amen O Eternal God who hast preserved me this day from many sins and dangers for which I humbly magnifie thy Holy Name for thy Grace and goodness towards me beseeching thee to forgive me all the Errors of this day whereof my Conscience doth or may accuse me and grant that those things which by my frailty I have committed may be by the help of thy Spirit more carefully avoided that I may ever walk in thy favour and under thy Protection and now rest and lye down in thy peace and at last come to thy heavenly Kingdom through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ Amen O God from whom all holy desires all good Councels and all just works do proceed give unto me thy Servant that peace wich the world cannot give that my whole heart may be set to obey thy Commandments and also that by thee I being defended from the fear of my Enemies I may pass my time in rest and quietness through the merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour Amen Lighten my darkness I beseech thee O Lord and by thy great mercy defend me from all perills and dangers of this night for the love of thy only Son my only Lord and Saviour Our Father which art in Heaven c. The peace of God which passeth all understanding keep my heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ my Lord and the blessing of God Almighty the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost be with me this Night and all the days of my life at the hour of my death and at the day of Judgment Amen When you lye down say I will lay down my head in peace and take my rest for thou only O Lord makest me to dwell in safety Into thy hands I commit my Soul and Body keep me for thy mercy sake Amen On Monday morning and every day in the Week use these Ejaculations Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him and the Son of Man that thou regardest him Thou madest him lower than the Angels to crown him with glory and worship Behold I was shapen in wickedness and in sin hath my Mother conceived me Thou shalt purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me O give me the comfort of thy help again and establish me with thy free spirit Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be now and evermore acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer A preparatory Meditation upon the most Holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper I. O who will give to my head Water and to my eyes a fountain of Tears that I may weep day and night for my sins and ingratitude towards God my Creator Consider O my Soul the multitude of Gods benefits bestowed upon
thee and be thou confounded and ashamed of all thy iniquities consider who thy Creator is and who thou art how he hath behaved himself towards thee and what ungrateful returns thou hast made in requital to him Thou hast made me O Lord when I was not and that according to thy own Image and from the very instant of my being hast been my God my Father and my Deliverer and with the benefits of thy providence hast preserved my life even till this present moment II. But because these things O Heavenly Father cost thee nothing to bind me more fast to thee thou hast given me a present which cost thee dear thou didst come down from Heaven to seck me in all those ways in which I had lost my self by thy captivity thou hast loosed my bonds and by delivering thy self into the hands of sinners thou hast delivered me from the power of the Devil and by taking upon thee the form of a sinner thou hast destroyed my sin these things thou didst to allure and bind me unto thee and to strengthen my hope to make me detest and abhor sin by beholding what thou hast done and suffered to over throw the Kingdom of sin O how can I without tears call to remembrance how oft times thou mightest justly have bereaved me of my life how many thousand Souls now peradventure burn in Hell who have less sinned than I and yet I burn not there how then can I be so ungrateful as not to prize the large extent of that mercy which cannot be comprehended Monday morning a Preparatory Prayer to the Holy Sacrament O Almighty Lord God thou hast called me to thine holy Table and hast set out a part of consecrated Bread and Wine for me I acknowledge my Ignorance that I must be instructed by such means as thou in thy bounty hast appointed for me and I acknowledge thy divine goodness that thou vouchsafest me to be taught by those 〈…〉 of Grace whereby I may come to that of 〈…〉 I do hear thy word and thy dear Son is 〈…〉 my â—â—r I receive this Sacrament 〈…〉 ffered unto my eye in the testimony of these two witnesses this truth is established in my heart that my Saviour suffered death for my sins II. As it hath pleased thee thus to offer me thy favour so I beseech thee give me that grace whereby I may walk worthy of it Am I thus invited to the heavenly Banquet to the Table of the King of Kings O let me not go without my wedding Garment last the Bridegroom of this Feast say unto me how comest thou in hither without thy richest vestments which are suitable to this great solemnity thou hast now commanded me to examine my self and let me now try and examine my heart and be acquainted with it whereby I may find out all my spiritual wants and necessities and look how I stand in thy sight by making a severe scrutiny into my self The Jews would not eat with unwashed hands dare I eat with an unwashed heart they would not drink but their Vessels must be purified and dare I now drink and my soul not purified before the passover they sanctified themselves and before this Sacrament shall not I now prepare my self I desire to do it Lord help my desire lest eating and drinking unworthily I eat and drink my own damnation A Prayer before examination O Holy Jesus who art a merciful embracer of true penitents but yet a consuming fire to obstinate offenders I am now preparing my self to come to thy holy Table unfeignedly confessing my own unworthiness committed against thy divine Majesty I have sinned against thee many ways and that since I last received this most holy Sacrament I have not known thee in thy word beheld thee in thy works apprehended thee in thy Son served thee in the Spirit applyed thee by Faith fâ—â—râ—d thee for thy Justice nor admired thee as I ought for thy great mercies I have not frequented thine House heard thy word laid it up in my heart nor practiced it in my life as I ought to do 〈…〉 even I by the lusts of my eyes the lusts of thâ— flâ—sh and the pride of life have dishonoured thy great and glorious name and when thou hast forgiven me ten thousand Talents I would not forgive my Brother a hundred Pence II. As one deep calls upon another the depth of misery upon the depth of mercy what shall I say unto thee O thou Preserver of all men much more what shall I do to inherit eternal life I will arise and go unto God my Father and say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son but thou hast said that he which hideth his sins shall not prosper but he which confesseth them shall obtain mercy I confess and am truly sorrowful I have sinned Lord do pardon and forgive me all my sins and grant that in the whole course of my life hereafter I may live to the honour of thy great name and to the comfort and salvation of my own Soul III. O Lord give unto me now a broken heart a contrite spirit a sorrowful soul and a mind hungring and thirsting after Jesus Christ and his righteousness give me I beseech thee grace to know thee the only true God the Creator and preserver of all mankind O give me grace now to feel the burthen of all my sins and that thou wilt speak peace unto my soul and say unto it thou art my salvation O let me be eased of this lump of sin by washing it away with the Blood of thy dear Son I do believe Lord help my unbelief I am sorry for my sins make me to be heartily and unfeignedly sorrowful I promise to live nearer to thee than ever I have done give me power to perform my promise I forgive all that have wronged me even as thou for Christs sake hast forgiven me let this forgiveness of mine be without dâ—ssimulation and Lord grant that I may humble my self under the sense of my ignorance and dulness and weakness and wickedness and spiritual deadness of heart and having emptied my self of my self I may receive of thy fulness and grace for grace in whose name I put up these my imperfect prayers OVr Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy name thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our trepasses as we forgive them that trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil Amen Still upon your knees say ALmighty God unto whom all hearts be open all desires known and from whom no secrets are hid cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of thy holy Spirit that I may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy name through Christ our Lord. Amen Some heads of self examination by the X. Commandments to be expressed on
death and pasion as a true token and pledge that he suffered for my sins and rose again from thâ— dâ—ad for my justification and now sitteth at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for me to whom be all honour power and glory adoration and subjection from this time forth and for ever more Amen Our Father c. Meditations for Monday Evening on the Holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper Shewing the necessity of receiving of it I. OUR Blessed Saviour the wise Physitian having felt the Pulses of our weaknesses ordain'd this must Holy and Divine Sacrament and for this purpose hath he instituted the same in form of food that the very form wherein he did institute it might declare unto us the effect it worketh and withall the great necessity our Souls have of it II. O most wonderful Sacrament what shall I say of thee thou art the life of my Soul and a Medicine to heal all my Wounds What Tongue is able to express the Excellency of this most blessed Sacrament which thou O Lord invitest me to who am a vile and miserable Sinner when I consider who thou art and what I am how rich and excellent the benefits are which thou preparest for me and how little I am dispos'd to receive them my Soul is in trouble and I tremble to draw near to thy glorious Majesty III. Thou art O Lord without quantity great without quality good without measure wise and without time Everlasting the Stars are dimn'd in thy presence the Pillars of Heaven quake before thee the highest of the Seraphins do gather in their Wings and account themselves as it were little Flyes when thou art present How then dare so vile a Creature as I am approach unto thy holy Table if St. John Baptist whom thou filledst with the Holy Ghost from his Mothers womb thought himself not worthy to stoop down and unloose the Lachet of thy Shoos Shall I who am loaden with Sins dare to present my self to that holy Banquet where Angels wait as Ministring Spirits sent out for the good of those who are to receive the earnest of Salvation Shall I with lascivious Eyes full of wanton looks behold that Lamb without spot or blemish with my polluted looks and lying Tongue shall I touch the bread of Angels or shall I lodge the King of Kings in a heart filled with foul concupiscence IV. I am in a strait O Lord on both sides for if I absent my self from this Holy Table I am disobedient to my Saviour who commands me to set forth his death till he shall come again I keep at a distance from the Fountain of Life I renounce the seals of the Covenant and the pledges of thy love and if I come to it unworthily I am affraid I may Eat and Drink my own Damnation and draw upon my self thy heavy Judgments if thou Lord shouldst mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared mercies and forgiveness are from the Lord our God for we have rebelled against him But where sin hath abounded thy grace hath much more abounded O Lord my whole trust is in thee as by thy goodness thou givest me thy blessing so by thy wisdom thou wilt instruct me how to receive them to Salvation A Prayer for Monday Evening on the Holy Sacrament O Lord I take the boldness to approach unto thee O receive me according to thy tender mercy Banish from my mind all those Earthly and Carnal thoughts which disturb my Devotion affect my Senses with a Pious veneration Give unto me such Humility and Repentance such fear and reverence as so high a Mystery does require I come not O Lord to excuse but accuse my self I trust not O Lord in my own Righteousness neither have I any merits to be puft up with nor do I extol my self with the proud Pharisec II. But O Lord I come to thee as the poor Publican with Eyes cast down as being ashamed of my own unworthiness and laying my hand on my breast saying Lord be merciful to me a Sinner I come to thee with poor Bartemeus that I may receive my sight who am blind and lame I come as naked to thee the Father of Compassion as hungring and thirsting after Righteousness to thee O Lord who art the bread of Life and the fountain of living VVater springing up from the Wells of eternal Salvation III. Thou didst O Lord accept of Mary Magdalens tears the faith of the Thief on the Cross the Repentance of St. Peter and the Prayers of the poor Publican accept now of this my humiliation confirm my pardon seal my Redemption cleanse me from all my pollutions support my weakness and cover my nakedness O send me not away empty lest I faint by the way but satisfie my Soul with the food of thy heavenly banquet that thereby it may receive nourishment unto eternal life IV. Grant O Lord that I may receive thee with pure lips and a penitent heart that thou dwelling in my heart by Faith I may find my self strenghned comforted and my heart inflam'd with the love of thee then shall I prostrate my self before thee and acknowledge in the Assembly of thy Saints that it is thou alone who hast comforted me and that there is no Salvation in any besides thee V. As thou preparest a Table in the midst of mine Enemies and fillest up my Cup and dost anoint and wash thy poor Guests pour upon me I beseech thee thy most fragrant oyl wash not only my feet but also my hands and my head that I may have part with thee make me not only partaker of the Seals of thy Covenant and of the pledges of thy love but also that I may receive thy self with all the benefits of thy death and passion let my preparation which I now make be sincere and without lukewarmness that I may become a worthy receiver at thy holy Table Our Father c. Meditations for Tuesday Morning on the Holy Sacrament THe true knowledge of the will of God is the gracious manifestation of his goodness He is good in the Graciousness of his Promises and upright in the truth of his performances and this Grace and Truth which is the Habitation of his Throne is the Refuge of the Sinner and the Sanctuary of the Penitent II. And where O my Soul canst thou better taste the goodness of the Lord then in this blessed Eucharist the sacred Feast of the Lords Goodness And as his Goodness does invite thee so let his uprightness encourage thee for that faithful is he who hath promised faithful to give according to his promise healing for thy wounds strengthening for thy weakness comfort for thy sorrow and will give that which is the Compendium of all Spiritual good things peace of Conscience and joy in the holy Ghost III. Why art thou so heavy O my Soul And why art thou so cast down within me Is it because thou hast
Members of my Body which thou hast giv'n me for thy Service and ought to have been instruments of holiness I have daily made weapons of iniquity mine understanding which should daily have delighted in thee and thy law hath been daily busied in the search of sin mine affections which I should have wholly fixt upon thee the highest holiest and most happy object in whom is alsufficiency have been foolishly and falsly bestowed on the emptiness and vanity of the Creature in which I have found nothing else but shortness and uncertainty falshood and flattery weariness and misery Lord be merciful to me a sinner I have not wisely nor timely considered that the grace of repentance is thy heavenly Gift and ought to be early begg'd of thee by Prayers and Tears but have sinfully imagin'd it in mine own power to repent when I would when I have been neither sure of time to ask it of hope to obtain it grace to receive it or of mercy to enjoy it Lord be merciful to me a sinner I have not only turned thy grace into wantonness but even thy choicest of thy gifts bestowed on me into wickedness by being spiritually proud of my endowments so that while I have pharisaically seemed in mine own eyes to be much better than others I have in thy â—ight been far worse and have thereby lost the blessed presence of thy holy Spirit who resisteth the proud and givest grace to the humble Lord be merciful to me a sinner I have not daily and duly as I ought examined my Soul by each particular of thy Commandments that so my Conscience might be throughly convinced of my sins and I thereby with holy fear might heartily bewail them utterly forsake them perfectly hate them and together with thy Justice condemn my self for them but have only looked on them with a carnal eye as common spectacles of mans misery and proper objects of thy Mercy from whence it is that I have not died unto sin daily as I ought that this my sorrowing for sin hath been but superficial my hope of thy pardon deceitful and even my very mortification to sin exceeding sinful Lord be merciful to me a sinner I have readily remembred that there is no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus but sinfully forgotten that it is to those only which walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit thus have I wretchedly put of the punishment of sin from the guilt of it and am thereby become guilty of thy double punishment that for the committing of evil and this for denying thee in Christ to be the rewarder only of good Lord be merciful to me a sinner I have willingly believed that it is the blood of God which cleanseth me from all iniquity and that if I believe in thee although I were dead yet shall I live and that if I live and believe in thee I shall never die but I have wilfully forgotten that by my daily sinning I have daily trampled on thy precious blood and am therefore dead while I live and may therefore justly fear that without mercy I must live in endless torments when I am dead Lord be merciful to me a sinner I have sometimes promised the general amendment of my own evil ways by my thorough Mortification to Sin and Sanctification to Righteousness in my more frequent watchings fastings Prayings holy strivings against my corruptions and holy hungrings for thy heavenly graces but all these to my Souls grief were soon forgotten by me and my sinful affections instead of drawing nearer to thee alienated every day more and more from thee Lord be merciful to be a sinner I have missed many happy opportunities of going to thy holy Table under the false pretences of unfitness to receive want of Charity to forgive and of Faith to believe whereas these sinful wants which have all proceeded from my want of grace ought much rather to have been graciously repair'd with earnest prayers and truly repented of with daily tears Lord be merciful to me a sinner I have not so freely and so fully forgiven and forgotten those injuries which man hath offer'd unto me as I ought to have done but have too often come unto thy holy Table with reproach in my mouth and malice in my heart Thus O Lord have I had sinfully to do with malice that stood in so grea need of mercy and by refusing to forgive my brother upon Earth may justly fear to be denied forgiveness by thee in heav'n Lord be merciful to me a sinner From these my sinful inconsiderations undue preparations ungracious absentings and more ungodly frequentings of thy blessed Table have proceeded these my declinings in grace and decayings in goodness so that without thy rich mercy unto me in Christ whose precious blood thou hast spilt for me and by this thy blessed Seal confirm'd unto me I may justly fear I have received unworthily and thereby eaten and drank unto my self mine own damnation Lord be merciful to me a sinner A Prayer after Confession of sins to Almighty God I. ALmighty God I have sinned and I desire to repent I am heavy laden with the burthen of my sins and can find none on earth to releive me to thee therefore O thou father of mercies and God of all consolations who invitest weary Souls to come unto thee and easiest them when they are come do I apply my self for mercy and forgiveness O thou blessed fountain of eternal good who hast freely given me thine only Son to dye for me and in him thy self to be for ever reconciled to me who desirest not the death of me a miserable sinner but rather that I should repent and live have mercy upon me O thou blessed Shepherd of my Soul who aimest to seek and to save those that were lost that findest all whom thou seekest and looseth none of those whom thou hast found have mercy upon me O thou sacred and for ever blessed spirit who visitest and cherishest the drooping Souls of thine Elect assist and comfort me Lord save me or I perish Lord help me or I faint Lord seek me or I am lost for ever II. With all humility of soul I humbly acknowledg that I have too long sinfully depended on the vain shadows and deceitful shews of mine own imperfect holiness and have too sinfully neglected the improvements of thy heavenly graces whereby I have too long deluded my own Soul with hopes of my heavenly assurance and have then thought my self to be spiritually rich when in thy sight I have been wretchedly poor sinfully blind wilfully naked distressedly miserable III. Lord open thou mine eyes by thy precious Eye-salve of thy Sacred Word that I may clearly see the sadness of my mine own condition in these my sad mistakes by this the great deceit of my own deluding heart enrich my poverty with the gifts and graces of thy holy Spirit cover my nakedness with the precious robes of Christs righteousness swallow up this my
and my death happy be merciful to me thy frail and sinful Creature who have daily been so far from abstaining from the least appearance of it that I have daily ran with greediness into it and hourly studied vain Excuses for it V. Grant dear Lord for thy mercy sake that these my daily diminutions of Sin may now daily increase in me the Augmentations of sorrow that so I may truly and heartily bewail mine offences thou may st graciously forgive them and by thy grace assisting I may perfectly abhor them grant this dear Father for thy mercy sake in ham who dyed for Sin and had no Sin in him Amen Meditations for Fryday Morning on the Holy Sacrament HIs Guards are strong his Fence is sure whose Salvation is Christ which Salvation is Communicated to us in the promises of grace exhibited in the Ministry of the word and more plentifully conveyed yea more effectually confirmed in the Ministration of the Sacraments Now to spoil us of the treasure to rob us of the comfort of this Salvation is Satan's grand design in his temptations unto sin and his suggestions of distrust for by these he labours to withdraw us from our God and deprive us of Communion with Christ who is our love and our life II. But when the bird is mounted on the wing it is safe from the Fowlers net and the soul raised in Communion with Christ is preserv'd from Satan's snare and if through infirmity the soul flag and fall to the Earth and so become intangled in carnal and worldly affections yet keeping the eye fixt upon Christ looking to him in his ordinances to receive the quickning power of his grace though corrupt affections may intangle yet shall they not inthral the soul which becomes restored by the Power of Christs Spirit a Spirit of life and liberty a Spirit of grace and holiness delivering from the Power of Satan and from the Dominion of sin III. Who art thou then O thou afflicted soul who in thy spiritual desertions walkest in darkness clouded with sorrows oh in the greatest dejections lift up thine eyes unto the Lord that when the rising Sun appears thou mayest see his refreshing light and how ever now by reason of thy present anguish thou canst not serve God in alacrity of performance yet do it in sincerity of obedience and this this will be a cranny to convey some beams of light even in the lowest dungeon of thy spiritual distress IV. Psal 27. 14. Wait upon the Lord having the eye of faith still towards him and so shall comforts be redoubled in a life recovered and thy difficulties of obtaining shall the more sweeten thy delights of injoying even of injoying God and Christ in the refreshing comforts of the Spirit conveyed and Confirmed in his Blessed Sacrament in which Blessed Sacrament especially let thine eyes be still towards the Lord in his merits in his grace in his benefits in his love let him have thy fixed heart and thine intent eye yea let him have thy whole man for to this end it is that he here gives thee his whole self A Prayer for Fryday Morning of consession of sins to God before the Holy Sacrament O Most holy Lord God I thy unworthy servant do here prostrate my self before thee in all humility acknowledging and confessing my manifold sins and wickedness my whole life has abounded with actual transgressions against every one of thy Commandments I have O Lord lived in contempt of thy providence committing Idolatry with thy Creatures taking thy glorious name in vain prophaning thy most holy Sabbath I have not regarded my superiors as I ought to do I have envied my brethren defiled my soul with unchast desires laboured to be rich by unlawful means I have slandered my Neighbour and have coveted after his wealth I have heard thy word O Lord but have not believed it I have known thy word but have not practised it I have come into thy house without reverence and approached to thy holy Table without repentance I have practised many sins without remorse and when I read thy sacred Scriptures it is not sweet to me as the Honey Combe but my delight is more in ungodliness prophaneness and atheism II. I have by gluttony and drunkenness pampered my body I am guilty of pride in my apparel I am negligent in my calling by mispending my time I have used vain discourses at my Table and have sinned out of measure against all those means of grace which thou hast been pleased to afford me from time to time I have wandering eyes wanton lusts and ambitious mind and covetous desires which have no bounds nor limits I have lascivious ears unsavory speeches and censorious reproaches Here name thy particular sins I am still adding sin unto sin and transgression unto transgression * and am altogether unfaithful in my life and forgetful of my death and of the day of Judgment III. My abusing of thy mercies and despising of thy judgments is testified against me yet O Lord I am not ashamed nor confess my self guilty but still run on in a course of sinning against the motions of thy holy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience and have refused thy calls and my own purposes and vows of amendment O what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth O thou that art the preserver of all men I know that the wages of sin is death but thy gift O God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord O enter not into judgment with thy servant O Lord for in thy sight is no flesh righteous Be merciful O Lord be merciful unto my sins for they are great out of thy abundant mercy forgive me all that is past and be gracious unto me in preventing sins to come IV. Correct me O Lord but with mercy not in thy Judgment for then shall I be consumed and brought to nothing destroy in me O Lord the cursed works of the Devil increase in me dayly the gifts of thy Spirit fit me for that calling in which thou hast or wilt place me and make me to refer the strength of my body the gifts of my mind and whatsoever grace thou hast already or wilt hereafter bestow upon me to the glory of thy holy name and the eternal salvation of my own Soul and Lord grant that the remainder of the time which I shall live in this present evil World that my conversation may be in Heaven and that whether I eat or drink or whatsoever I do else I may hear always this voice sounding in my ears arise you dead and come to judgment many other things O Lord I have to beg that my ignorance knoweth not how to ask or my forgetfulness does not remember but accept O Lord this my humble confession unto thee at this time and whatever else thou knowest needful for me supply it with the merits of thy dear Son my only Lord and Saviour Amen Our Father c. A Prayer after
Confession O Almighty God whose nature and property is always to have mercy and to forgive receive these my humble petitions made unto thee at this time and though I be tyed and bound by the chains of my sins yet let the pittifulness of thy great mercy loose them through Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer for Faith O Almighty God whose nature is above our reach and whose secret operations no humane reason can conceive give me that faith without which no man can know thee and without which no soul can please thee Lord I believe but to believe unto righteousness O God increase my Faith Concerning the great Sacrament of thy precious body and blood I believe that in the same night that thou O Lord Jesus wast betrayed thou didst give to thy Disciples Bread and Wine which thou didst call thy Body and Blood with a charge to eat and drink and do the same in remembrance of thee for as thou wast upon thy departure thou wouldest leave them and me a sign of thy Body a figure of thy Blood and a memorial oâ— thy bitter Death and bloody Passion lest I should forget thee who wast ready to lay down thy life for me who am the worst and vilest of sinners II. Therefore I take these Elements of Bread and Wine for holy signs of thy Body and Blood believing that though they remain after the Consecration in their substance both Bread and Wine yet they are more than common Bread and Wine being made by prayer and thy holy word the figures of thy Flesh and Blood which in the action and use of the Sacrament are really and effectually taken by the faithful So though I feel and tast Bread and Wine yet by the eye of Faith I eat thy Body and Drink thy Blood in remembrance that thou didst die for me and for all mankind III. O then let the operation of thy blessed Spirit apply to my Soul the merits of thy Death and Passion and O Lord I beseech thee let me love and die in this faith and never be ashamed to confess thy holy name who hath suffered such an ignominious Death for my redemption O let my Soul live and it shall praise thee and magnifie thy all glorious name thou hast said that he that eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood hath eternal life and thou wilt raise him up at the last day O Lord I beseech thee confirm my faith and grant that it fail not either concerning this or any other point of holy mysteries for thine alone sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen Our Father c. Meditations for Fryday Evening on the Holy Sacrament GOD alone who is the author of our life is likewise the object of our trust as being the Fountain and fulness of all our comfort and strength all our grace and holiness all our glory and happiness Wherefore O my God I trust in thee as a Creator to sustain me as a Lord to govern me as a guide to direct me as a rock to defend me and as a Father to succour me all which relations thou hast taken upon thee in a merciful regard to my weakness and wants that thou mightest the more manifestly declare thy goodness and love which goodness and love now seal unto my Soul by a Communion with thee in the Lord Jesus II. And the best way to strengthen our trust in God is by renewing our resignation and when can we more seasonably do it than at our receiving the Blessed Sacrament in which we have exhibited the fulness of Christs merits as the propitiatory Sacrament and atonement for our Souls by whom we have access unto the Father to receive a blessing of pardon and peace of life and salvation from him do we then with all humble devotion make this sincere resignation at the Table of the Lord even offer and present unto God from our hearts as we profess with our tongues offer and present our selves our Souls and Bodies as a reasonable Holy and lively sacrifice unto him casting our selves upon him in the mercy and truth of his promise in the wisdom and power of his providence III. And upon this total resignation he seals us this assurance that he will exercise those his properties imploy those his attributes for our comfort and protection for our support and salvation and this beyond what our wits can design our wishes can desire or our thoughts can conceive and let not any penitent though a languishing Soul be discouraged from this Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there to renew his resignation and strengthen his trust IV. And here this treasury is open in this Blessed Sacrament come and receive of this mercy of thy God dispensed by the bountiful hand of thy Jesus who with that mercy gives his merits his benefits his spirit his whole fulness even himself wherefore rouse up thy Soul to receive the bounty of thy God and of thy Saviour with an humble a thankful and a devout heart not forgetting the price Christ gave for thee to redeem thee from the slavery of Sin and Satan A Prayer for Fryday Evening on the most Holy Sacrament BLessed for ever be thy holy Name O thou God of Infinite Compassions who art both truth and holiness it self in thine Essence and therefore strictly requirest truth and sincerely in the hearts of thy Children and holiness and righteousness in their lives and Conversation look not upon those sinful failings of my Corrupt heart but graciouâ—ly behold me in the righteousness of Christ forgive me my many sinful Complâ—ances with nature abberations from grace and deviations from goodness which have caused these my sinful Errors which might thereby deprive me of present grace and hopes of future Blessedness II. Lord suffer me not any longer thus wretchedly to delude mine own Soul but make me truly such as thou would'st have me to be a zealous and sincere Christian that so my Spirit which for those my Sins thou hast much broken by afflictions may much more abundantly rejoyce in thee by heavenly Consolations Lord accept of these my sinful desires and let my loss of tears repair my loss of truth and loss of time in thy service assist my weakness accept my willingness forgive my sinfulness cherish the blessed motions of thy holy Spirit daily in me and for thy mercy sake remove the danger of my own Corruption from me III. O Lord to thy glory and my own deserved shame I willingly confess that I am most impure and sinful even in the very best of all my holy performances I therefore humbly beg of thee that as thou hast graciously afforded me the light of thy sacred word to discover me unto my self so thou wilt also give unto me the Sword of thy holy Spirit to deliver me from my self deliver me from the evil man O Lord even from the close Corruptions and secret Abominations of mine own evil and Corrupt heart Lord pardon and pass by the many
secret and unknown Errors of my sinful life past and graciously prevent the failings of that to Come IV. Make me truly and sincerely holy and to imbrace it neither for fear of punishment nor hope of reward but purely for thy sake who art holiness it self O let me never think my self holy enough but press still forward in thy holy Race until at last I have attained unto that full measure of holiness which by thy gracious Acceptation of it in Christ will End in Endless happiness Bless these my holy desires with happy performances for his sake whose perfect Righteousness thou both graciously acceptest for me and willingly imputest to me Amen Meditations for Saturday Morning on the Holy Sacrament NOw to keep the Soul in an even temper we must observe these following directions first for the best ordering our lives as to the safety and peace of our Souls be the more servent the more importunate in your Prayers when your lusts are most eager and vehement in their desires for this we have St. Pauls example for our imitation when he proportions the vehemency of his devotion to the violence of his temptation and by how much the messenger of Satan 2 Cor. 12. 9. Doth the more furiously reiterate his buffetings the more zealously doth he renew his Prayers and at length he receives this comfortable answer to his sorrowful complaint my grace is sufficient for thee sufficient to cure thy wound and to pardon thy guilt sufficient to strengthen thy weakness and to perfect thy deliverance II. Secondly entertain we no parley no treaty with our lusts have no commerce or company with them silence their suggestions or if they will needs be suggesting give them not the ear lest they make that the passage to the heart we betray our selves to sin whensoever we treat with our lusts conference with them is the way to be ensnared by them we must flie sin as a Serpent not let in the head lest it draw in its body not yield to the first motion lest we be engaged in its full Commission III. Thirdly set we up the law of spirit and life in our hearts Rom. 8. 2. and by how much the law of sin will be stirring in our thoughts by so much the more let this royal law of Christs Spirit and life bear sway in our souls and to that end especially now in the solemnity of the Blessed Eucharist renew we our purposes our vows our Covenants renew we our self denyal our total resignation thereby to obtain a further quickning in grace a further strengthning of the inward Man and all by a nearer Communion of Christ in his fulness thus this Holy Sacrament shall seal unto our hearts the comfort of this assurance that he will never leave us nor forsake us IV. Let us offer up to God the Sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit which sorrow of contrition must be like that of one Mourning for the dead a funeral sorrow the deepest of Mournings like that of one Mourning for her only Son the saddest of Funerals and for our sins deep humiliation is 〈◊〉 necessary whereby we confess the guâ—lt of our sins bewail the bitterness of distress deprecating Gods wrath and imploring his mercy for a full and free pardon of our sins A Prayer for Saturday Morning on the Holy Sacrament O Thou blessed Fountain of Eternal sweetness who art infinitely sweeter to my weary soul than all earthly enjoyments in whose presence is the fulness of joy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore forgive the follies and infirmities of me thy sinful servant who have foolishly preferred these transitory drops of insufficient joys which have been wearisome and burthensome unto me to those thy rivers of Eternal pleasures in which thy Blessed Saints do sweetly bathe their happy Souls where everlasting jâ—y is on their heads and thine Eternal comforts in their hearts II. Lord open mine eyes now at last that I may clearly see the vanity of the Creature and the fulness sweetness and all sufficiency of Christ withdraw mine affections from the World and fix them wholly upon thee and thy Kingdom Lord sanctifie my heart to believe that there is no true sweetness but in goodness and that there can be no true goodness in that pleasure which is not subordinate to this sweetness which alone is in thee my Lord and Saviour the comfort of all Earthly Comforts and Heavenly Consolations III. Almighty God when I look upon thee out of Christ as thou art in thy self I can there see nothing else but destruction to my body and amazement to my soul in thine essence light inaccessible unto which no mortal eye can approach in thine attributes terrour unutterable from which no Creature can escape thy wisdom trying my corrupt heart and searching my sinful veins thy Justice most severe fearful in the pronunciation dreadful in the Execution thy truth admitting no alteration no judgment pronounced by thee but most precisely fulfilled yet such O Lord hath the folly of my false heart been that I have sinfully depended on thy mercy in Christ without either faith to receive thee hope to enjoy thee or love to delight in thee IV. Lord whither wilt thou suffer me to stray from thee How long Lord wilt thou leave me in this sleep of sin Lord seek me thy stray sheep or I am lost for ever open my sinful eyes that I sleep not in death make me wisely to remember that then only there is mercy with thee when thou art truly feared grant therefore dear Father for thy mercy sake that I may no longer dally with my precious soul by this my security in sin but sorely upon thy mercy as to have a filial fear of thy justice and from security in sin good Lord deliver me Amen Meditations for Saturday Evening on the most Holy Sacrament O Thou great Creator of Heaven and Earth I am ashamed of my self to see in what a posture I am in at this present I am cast down when I look into my self and make enquiry into my own unworthiness I cannot but behold my own vileness and baseness but thou O Lord dost receive sinners else how dare I approach to thy Holy Table thou art he that sayest come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and that the whole have no need of a Physician but they that are sick O Lord I am weary and heavy laden and come unto thee for ease and refreshment I am sick of sin be thou my Physician and my Medicine I am wounded hungry and weak be thou my soveraign balsome nourishment and strength I am sorrowful poor and foolish be thou my comfort enrich me and enlighten me I am fall of dross unclean and dead do thou refine me purifie me and quicken me with thy Heavenly grace unto salvation II. O that I were now with an humble heart at the Holy Table of my Lord there are all mercies conveyed and sealed all graces are