desires Col. 3.3 that my life may be hid with Christ in God that when Christ who is our life shall appear I may appear with him in Glory to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all Honour Praise Might Majesty Dominion and Obedience now and for evermore Amen General Prayers to be said at any time A Confession of Sins O Eternal God! Heb. 1.3 Thou art the Almighty Creator and wise disposer of all things Thou hast been very gracious unto me from my youth up until now Thou hast blessed me with every thing that is necessary for the instruction of my soul and for the support and pleasure of my life O what obligations hast thou laid upon me by thy particular Grace and favour towards me to serve thee all the days of my life with a perfect heart What then shall I say unto Thee O Thou that art the Judge of men How have I requited thee for all the benefits Thou hast done unto me I blush and am ashamed to appear before thee Ps 139.8 Amos 9.2 3 4. Ps 51.3 but I cannot fly from thy presence I will therefore acknowledge my transgressions and mine iniquities I will not hide How have I employed my childhood and youth in trifles How has my mind been filled and possess'd with vanity How impatient and yet how frivolous have I been in my desires how foolish in all mine actions How insensible of my duty to thy Sacred Majesty how cold in my Devotions how negligent of Instruction how indifferent to sober Counsels How have I preferred the profit the pomp and pleasures of the World before my duty to God my neighbour and my self O Lord I am very sensible that my sins are more in number than the hairs of my head more in weight than I am able to bear Mine only hope is in Thy mercy mine only refuge are Thy Gracious Promises of pardon and favour to repenting sinners through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Redeemer Amen A Prayer for Pardon O Most Holy and Righteous God! I humbly prostrate my self before thy Glorious Majesty to acknowledge and bewail my many and grievous sins which I have committed against Thee Jam. 3. I do not know how often I have offended The sense of my miscarriages is very sharp upon my spirit and the apprehension of Thy just displeasure is very terrible But Thou hast invited all that travel Matt. 11 28. and are heavy laden to come unto Thee and hast promised to refresh them Thou hast laid help upon one that is mighty to save Ps 89.19 even the Lamb that was slain from the beginning of the World â—â—h 1. He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows â—â—i 53. and on Him is laid the iniquities of us all Lord of thine infinite mercies wash away my sins in the blood of my dear Redeemer nail them to his Cross bury them in his Grave that they may never rise in Judgment against me to accuse and terrifie my Conscience here or condemn me to everlasting punishment in the life to come thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Resolution O Eternal God! I acknowledge and adore Thy Goodness towards me that Thou hast made me a reasonable Creature that I am not driven by necessity as other Beings are Gen. 1.26 but am created in the Image of God himself O how just and reasonable is it that we should glorifie our bountiful Creator with all the faculties which He has given us O God I bewail mine own defects of Duty towards Thee I have not improved mine opportunities of knowledge I have been contented to know but little and have practised less my mind has been employed and satisfied in trifling objects my will has followed after vanity and God has not been in all my thoughts Psal 10. But now O Lord I am very sensible of my folly as well as of my sin and I am resolved for the time to come Psal 119. to run the way of Thy Commandments when Thou shalt enlarge mine heart I do most sincerely and devoutly offer and present my self my soul and body Rom. 12. â— a lively reasonable sacrifice unto Thee I unfeignedly resolve that sin shall no more have dominion over me Rom. 6 1â— I will not yield my members instruments of unrighteousness to sin but I will yield my self to God Psal 96. â— I will endeavour to affect my mind with the beauty of holiness till I Love by thine affections chuse what Thou proposest believe what Thou revealest expect Thy promises and intirely resign my self to the obedience of thy Law Lord of thy Goodness accept mine offering have mercy and compassion upon me pity mine infirmities consider my Contrition accept my Repentance encourage my sincerity and restore me to Thy Grace and favour through Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen An Act of Hope ALmighty and most merciful Father Thou art Infinite in all Perfections the Author and Fountain of all the scattered excellencies in the World â—m 1.16 as Thou art just to punish Wickedness 〈◊〉 145.9 so Thy Mercy is over all thy Works Thou remembrest that we are but men 〈◊〉 103.14 Thou considerest the various temptations to which we are exposed the weakness of our reason the violence of our passions the treachery of our hearts 〈◊〉 17.9 the infirmities of our Bodies and all the imperfections of our present state Thou art not therefore extreme to mark what we do amiss Thou art slow to anger full of compassion Exo. 34.4 and abundant in goodness and truth Ezek. 18.23 Thou hast no pleasure in the death of him that dies but if at any time the wicked will turn away from his sins and do that which is lawful and right Thou hast promised that he shall surely live he shall not die that iniquity shall not be his ruine Thou O blessed Jesus Eph. 1.14 Heb. 9.12 2 Pet. 2 1â— 1 Cor. 6.20 1 Joh. 1. â— Heb. 7 2â— hast purchased pardon and redemption for us at the price of Thy precious blood Thou art the propitiation for our sins our Advocate and only Mediator who art able to save to the utmost all that come unto God by Thee seeing Thou ever livest to make intercession for us I know O Lord that never a word shall fail that Thou hast spoken 1 King â— 56 and therefore I will never add the sin of distrust to the number of mine offences but I will always worship before my God with the most honourable thoughts the most worthy apprehensions I can conceive or frame Lord make me truly penitent for what is past perfect in the purposes of mine heart sincere in the professions of my Tongue and diligent to live thereafter for the time to come and then I will humbly hope in the promises of thy Gospel and serve thee without fear â—uk 1.74 O blessed God
then that comes to the Holy Communion with evil will or malice in his heart must needs be out of countenance as a man that wants the wedding Garment Matt. 22.11 But he whose soul is free from that unchristian vice he who is an enemy to none but delights in the happiness of all and is ready to assist whom he may he who loves his Neighbour as himself may approach with an humble confidence such a suitable temper will give him courage rational expectation and a modest assurance that his address will be accepted and his sins forgiven Finally and above all the particular necessity of universal Charity at the Holy Sacrament is grounded chiefly upon that passage of S. Paul 1 Cor. 10.16 17. The Cup of blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ for we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread In the 16th Verse you see the Apostle affirms that the faithful in the Holy Sacrament communicate together of the body and blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ and from thence in the following words he infers the most perfect Love and Unity amongst themselves v. 17. For we being many are i. e. we ought to be one bread and one body why because we all partake of that one bread or loas which words of the Apostle may be understood in a double sense according to the several significations and constructions of the Holy Sacrament First The first interpretation of the 16th ver as this Supper of our Lord is the Christian Passover and bears an Analogy to the Jewish feast upon the Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb which they are together after the Priest had presented and offered it up to God And to this the Sacrament succeeds and is understood as a perpetual feast upon the Sacrifice of our Blessed Saviour whose body was offered once for all Heb. 10.10 which body and blood we eat in the sign and figure to the end of the world by his own Command Christ our Passover says the same Apostle is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the feast 1 Cor. 5.7 8. Now thus to eat and drink together at the Table The first interpretation of the 17th ver and upon the Sacrifice of our Lord engages us to one another in the strictest tyes of Love and Charity as children of the same Father redeemed by the same Lord co-heirs of the same inheritance fed at the same Table and nourished by the same Loaf which by common acceptation and fair construction is both a Token a Profession and a solemn League of Love and Friendship Again The second interpretation of the 16. v. according to the second Notion of the Holy Sacrament as it is an inward and spiritual grace a Seal of the New Testament a confirmation of all the blessings of the Gospel to every individual Person that accepts the terms and will fulfil the Counterpart the sense of the 16th Verse is this viz. that all who perform the Conditions required of them shall as surely enjoy the benefits of our Saviour's death as they partake of the visible signs thereof as they eat the Bread and drink the Wine by which it is shewed forth and represented The Cup of blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ that is of the benefits of both Now this consent to the Conditions of the Gospel this entring into Covenant with God this sincere and chearful dedication of our selves to the Government of our blessed Saviour which render the Elements the Body and Blood of Christ to the receiver is expressed in Scripture by all such Metaphors as denote the most intire and perfect union which can be possibly conceived between us as that between the Husband and the Wife Eph. 5.23 Jo. 15.1 Jo. 10. 1 Cor. 12.27 the Vine and the Branches the Shepherd and the Flock the Head and Members the Soul and Body which Unity is not natural and personal that were Blasphemy to imagine but Intellectual and Moral one Vital Principle moves them one spirit acts and inhabits in them both our Saviour and his true Disciples have the same opinions of what is good and evil the same affections to every thing that is good the same will to proceed and act according to the most perfect reason Rom. 8.10 If Christ be in you says St. Paul the body is dead Now the manner of His being in us is explained in the former Verse V. 9. by His temper spirit and disposition For if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his as in another place it is explained by his Mind That the same Mind may be in us which was in him Phil. 2.5 Eph. 3.17 And again That He may dwell in our hearts by Faith Now from this spiritual Union betwixt our Saviour The second interpretation of the 17. v. and those who worthily receive the Sacrament that is who have resigned themselves to the obedience of the Gospel the Apostle infers the most intire and perfect unity of the whole body of faithful Christians amongst themselves Ye are says he united to Christ by eating His Body and drinking His Blood He becomes a principle of new life to every one that receives the Sacrament as he ought to do Now says he the union is the very same and upon the same account between the faithful amongst themselves For carrying on the Metaphor We being many are one body and one bread V. 17. because we are all partakers of that one bread We all receive nourishment from the same root and are therefore vitally united to one another We are all made to drink speaking of the Cup in the holy Sacrament into one spirit All which laying aside the Allegory is thus to be understood that forasmuch as all sincere and faithful Christians have entred themselves into the same Society undertaken the same institution and rule of life consent and agree in the same mind affections desires and converfation therefore they are morally united to one another as well as to our blessed Saviour For our Saviour is not divided He is one and the same in his Nature his Life his Gospel his Laws and Promises so that if innumerable individuals devote themselves to the belief of his Propositions to the love and obedience of his instructions if they resign themselves their wills and affections to his Command Jo. 17.21 whereby they become in a Moral sense united to him these of necessity by the same Moral unity are joyned and knit amongst themselves One common soul and spirit acts and influences them all they have parted from their own private will and conduct
and resolved themselves into the guidance of another whose Law is immoveably perfect and the same to every particular person There must be therefore an Universal and intire consent in their opinions desires and course of life as being derived from one and the same unalterable Law Iph. 4.15 They grow up into him in all things says St. Paul which is the head even Christ. And thus the unity of all sincere and faithful Christians with Christ and with one another may be easily understood of all and yet it is as real as strict and proper as the Metaphor in the Text before us by which it is exprest namely the unity of innumerable Particles of Flower by the balm or leaven which pervades and binds them all in one Lump or Loaf For we being many are one body and one bread V. 17. for we are all partakers of that one bread The Conclusion then is this that if all the faithful Christians upon earth are as the several parts of the same loaf if they are members one of another if they receive their vital influence from the same root 1 Cor. 12.20 if they are moved and acted by the same principle then we ought that is we must we can do no other than love one another intirely no love like that which sympathy and consent of will creates or to speak more properly love is not the creature of sympathy and consent but sympathy and consent of Will are Love they are the thing it self they cannot be distinguished And therefore without Charity without intire and perfect Love amongst our selves we cannot be united to Christ we cannot have eaten his Body or drunk his Blood The Elements will be no more to such as these nay less than common bread and wine We cannot be the members of the mystical body of Christ so long as we are separated from one another by the least degree of malice and evil will for no man ever hated his own flesh He then that loves not 1 Joh. 4 8. knows not God has no true principle of Religion for God is love Upon all these accounts it is that the Holy Sacrament has been always esteemed a token of Vnity a bond of Charity and a symbol of peace and concord And hence it was that in former times the Communicants brought their Offerings to the Minister Fruits of the earth or any Viands for entertainment which when the Sacrament was ended were eaten as a common feast by all degrees and ranks promiscuously without respect to place or quality And this was the feast of Charity â— Pet. 2.13 mentioned by S. Jude v. 12. and was concluded with a kiss in token of entire and perfect friendship But these pure and innocent Ceremonies being soon abused were afterwards disused Nevertheless we have something like them still continued in our Church namely in the Collection that is ordinarily made for the poor and after the Communion in eating and drinking what remains of the Consecrated Elements in the Church Rubr. without distinction of persons but as the custom is the meanest persons are invited to be the chief partakers of it Par. Sir I hope I understand you and I am heartily glad that I did not receive before I was instructed and I find upon the matter that it requires both time and retirement to prepare our selves as we ought to do and the first time more especially but I will endeavour by God's assistance to follow your directions Min. You have made a very good inference from our whole discourse the reason of the action and the solemnity of this most sacred Ordinance the several parts of our Religion which it has respect to require a very strict examination of our Knowledge Repentance Affections purposes and desires that so our apprehensions of the thing and the intention of our mind may bear a proportion to the outward action to the design the words and the gestures of the service Our devotion as you have heard is to be exercised upon every part of Christianity our particular defects are here to be bewailed the several graces of Faith Hope and Love universal Love towards God and Man are to be exerted in this solemnity and therefore it is very necessary to withdraw our selves from the world and retire into our selves some time before we receive That we may recollect the principles and the duties the blessings and the promises of our Religion that we may examine the state of our Soul what necessary Article of Faith we doubt of or do not understand what evil habit remains unmortified or is most unwilling to be subdued what is the sin that so easily besets us that has the advantage of our natural complexion violent inclination or present profit what methods we have taken or may take for the future to subdue it what improvements we have made since we last received and how we have kept our resolutions That we may sufficiently bewail our failings and take pleasure and satisfaction in our proficiency That we may excite and stir up our devotions by proper Meditations These are weighty matters yet very necessary and therefore require a previous consideration But to say how long how many hours or days or weeks a man ought to spend in Meditation and Prayer before he may presume to receive or to what degree of Knowledge and Virtue he must attain is both impossible and unnecessary Do you but remember that competent knowledge and great integrity with an hearty desire to grow in Grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.18 is the true preparation of the Soul and you shall be able with Sobriety to judge for your self He that wants this is not fit to receive but he that is thus qualified is a worthy Communicant though his knowledge may not be so distinct and clear or his virtues so shining and perfect as some other Christians possibly may be Has not God encouraged persons of weak Faith and a frail virtue provided it be true to hope for his acceptance Aatt 12.20 For he will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax says our Saviour that is he will support it and inflame it by the influences of his Grace if we have but the first beginnings of Holiness an hearty liking of it and desire after it he will nourish it and bring it to perfection Aatt 7.7.5.6 For to them that knock it shall be opened They that ask shall have They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled No man therefore that is inquisitive to know and sincere in practice has any reason to be discouraged For the Grace and assistance which God has promised he bestows and infuses into the hearts of men as by the immediate influences of his Spirit upon the Soul so especially through his Word and Sacraments It is certain we cannot be too well prepared but we may be too scrupulous about the degrees of Knowledge
and Virtue which are the indispensable conditions of our acceptance We may prevent our growth in Grace by thinking our selves unfit to use the means thereof An hearty desire of perfection with such endeavours Improvements Devotions and preparations as our capacity and opportunity will permit intitle us to the use and to the benefits of the Holy Sacraments For how could they be said to be the means of Grace if none but persons already vested with it in great degrees were allowed to use them So that the sincere though imperfect Christian at the present has a particular propriety in the Holy Sacrament because they are appointed of God to be the means of obtaining that which these especially want For I am not come Matt. 9.12 13. says our Saviour to call the righteous but sinners to repentance And again The whole need not a Physician but the sick Not that there are any so righteous as not to need Repentance or so whole as not to need a Physician but the more confirmed and establisht Men are in a course of Obedience to God the more they are under the power of Religion and the longer they have so continued These comparatively speaking have the less occasion to use the means I say not this to encourage carelesness or indifference in the worship of God in any God knows the frailties of the best are so great and so many that there is little fear of diverting a good Man from the worship of God because of the comfort and support he feels therein and the great necessity in this state of uncertainty and war that he finds thereof But since our Saviour allows it I would by His own similitudes expel and dissipate all fatal scruples out of the minds of the sincere though young Beginners in Religion Par. Sir I thank you for your pains and I hope they are not ill bestowed by the Grace of God you shall see the good effect thereof in a little time Min. Ay that is the end of all I pray God confirm your Resolutions and be sure you let me see you as often as you can that I may explain or enlarge upon any Article of our Discourse or refresh your Memory as occasion may require THE END Proper Prayers suited to the foregoing Account of the Holy Sacrament A Preparatory Prayer OAlmighty God! although thy Councils are unsearchable Rom. 11.33 and thy ways past finding out tho' neither I nor the Angels of thy presence shall ever comprehend the mystery of Man's Redemption thro' Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.12 yet it is enough for me that thus it is revealed and therefore I believe with all mine heart I adore the mystery and resolve my hope and trust into the merits of the Cross I will now and ever implore thy Pardon Grace and Assistance for His sake alone whose Body was broken and whose Blood was shed for the Remission of my sins mine only Saviour and Redeemer And O that I might meet my Lord this day in the appointed Signs and Sacrament of his Passion with an heart as sted fast in the Faith as if I had seen his Miracles as full of Love as if I had been healed of my diseases by his Power as full of Joy as if Himself had said unto me Be of good chear thy sins are all forgiven Matt. 9.2 as constant in my Resolutions against all Impiety and sin as if I had seen my Lord in his Agony and heard Him say My God my God why hast Thou forsaken me Matt. 27.46 O Lord encourage my sincere desires and enable me to perform the intended duties with these and all such holy dispositions as Thou requirest of me assist my weakness by thy power support and strengthen all those Graces which Thou hast begun and perfect them at last in habits of Obedience Love and Praise through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Ejaculation upon the receiving of the Bread O Lord I am a sinful man Matt. 8.8 not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof O cleanse my soul from all impurity and filth make me fit to receive so glorious a guest and then abide and dwell in me for ever thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Ejaculation upon receiving of the Cup. Lord Mar. 9.24 I believe help thou mine unbelief that the Bread which I eat and the Wine which I drink thus blessed and given by thy Command may be indeed the Body and Blood of Christ to me the Seal of my Pardon and the earnest of Eternal life thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer to be said immediately after you have received the Elements O Most merciful God and Father How wonderful is Thy love to me a wretched sinner that Thou now vouchsafest to receive me as a guest to thine own Table and hast fed me with the Bread of Heaven Joh. 6.55 That thou shouldst make an offer of peace and reconciliation to me That Thou shouldst never be weary of shewing mercy That the blood of our Saviour should be salutary still and exhibited for ever to the relief of all that are willing to be healed Lord what is man that thou art so mindful of him Psal 8.4 or the Son of Man that Thou so regardest him O make me worthy of this inestimable blessing purifie my thoughts rectifie my will sanctifie mine affections strengthen my resolutions that I may go on from one degree of grace unto another Col. 1.28 Mat. 25.23 till I come to be perfect in Christ Jesus that I may improve my Talent and be the better sensible for every Sacrament I receive till my Faith shall at last be perfected in Vision and the Communion of thy Body and Blood shall be finally resolved into the full enjoyment of thine Eternal Deity O Blessed Jesus Amen A Prayer to be said in your Closet after your return from the Holy Communion O Eternal God! Ps 7.9 Rev. 2.23 Ps 51.6 That searchest the hearts and triest the reins of men Thou that requirest truth in the inner parts O purge my soul from all Hypocrisie and guile that I may now and always serve thee with that sincerity and purity as I ought to do O Lord I hope my inward self my very soul and heart did indite the Praises Prayers and Vows of my Tongue this day before thee O thou that remembrest whereof we are made Ps 103 14. and considerest that we are but men Heb 4.15 O Thou our great High Priest who art touched with the feeling of our infirmities accept of my good intentions and forgive the coldness of my Devotions and the remisness of my mind the wandring of my thoughts and the many imperfections of this and of all mine Holy things and O Lord I beseech thee continue upon my soul that Holy disposition that Religious sense which by thy Grace I have been affected with this day that I may be united to thy self in the same affections and
by the assistance of thy most holy and eternal Spirit Amen A Prayer for Divine Assistance and increase of Grace MOST Glorious and Blessed God! Thou art Infinite in all perfections thy Will is pure and all thine Excellencies are unchangeable But though thou hast been pleased to derive upon us some small degrees of thy glorious Nature though we act for the sake of such ends as we our selves propose and chuse yet our faculties are weak our sensitive appetites impose upon our reason The law of our members prevails upon the law of our mind â—om 7.15 16 c. that we cannot do the thing that we would O work in me O Lord what thou wouldst have me both to will and do â—hil 2.13 assist me by thy Grace that the power of evil habits may decay and dye in me that the life of God and all the Graces of the Holy Spirit may grow more vigorous and strong Break not O Lord Mat. 12.20 the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax but assist my weakness strengthen my faint desires encourage my sincerity confirm my Faith inflame my Love cherish mine Hope and enlarge my Charity support me under all my conflicts and carry me through all temptations that I may chearfully do and suffer whatsoever pleases thee Matt. 5 6. Psal 63.1.84.2.42.1 Phil. 3.14 O how I hunger and thirst after righteousness how my soul longeth after God! how chearfully could I leave all things that hinder me behind and press forwards for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ if by any means I may attain the resurrection of the dead O perfect what thou hast begun Eph. 3.47 Gal. 4.19 Ps 73.24 dwell in mine heart by faith and form thy self in me Guide me by thy counsels here and receive me at last into thine everlasting glory through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen A Prayer for a due intention of Mind in the Celebration of Religious Duties O Father of Mercies and God of all our Consolations It was Thine own essential Goodness that first inclined thee to create us that thou mightest communicate thy self unto us and exercise thy Grace and Bounty upon us Thou hast given us all the assurances that our hearts can wish That thou delightest to do us good and that thine ears are open to our prayers 1 Pet 3.12 How justly then art thou the desire and the Worship of all nations O that I could praise thee with understanding and recount thine Excellencies with that Sense and Adoration as I ought O that I could make my Prayers unto thee with a perfect Heart with true desire and sutable endeavour that in all the Solemnities of Religion I could approach thy presence with such an holy frame with such a temper and affection of mind as the duty may require But O Lord I cannot enough bewail mine own formality and deadness in things Divine and Spiritual How difficult do I find it to raise in my mind a lively sense of God even in the most solemn duties How hard it is to bring my Soul to such a perfect Unity to such an intire concurrence as it ought to have with the outward celebrations of Religion But O blessed Jesus who once didst pity and forgive the infirmities of thine own disciples Matt. 26.45 who could not watch with thee an hour have mercy upon me Warm mine Affections by the irradiations of thy Love refine my Nature and raise me above the body Enlighten my Mind that I may know Thee correct the perverseness of my Will that I may chearfully obey Thee mortifie all mine inordinate desires that I may prefer and chuse Thee heal all my bodily distempers ease my worldly cares subdue mine unruly passions and preserve me from too strong temptations that my Mind may be always steddy and composed always fit to serve Thee here that I may sing an eternal Hallelujah to thy Praise hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer to be said by well meaning persons under any dejection or despondencies of Mind O Most Merciful God and Father Thou correctest Jer. 10.24 but it is with judgment not thine anger that thou shouldst bring us to nothing Heb. 12.6 thou chastenest every son whom thou dost receive All the evils that we suffer in the world are the directions of thy Wisdom for our Good Heb. 12.10 I therefore bless thy Holy Name for all thy Fatherly corrections wherewith in Mercy thou hast ever visited me And I humbly implore thy Divine Assistance that I may now behave my self with the most intire and perfect resignation to thy Will under that confusion fear and terror of mind which thou art pleased to lay upon me I rejoyce in the midst of this sore affliction as it is a token of thy care and Love how severely soever it may affect me Lord bring me nearer to thy self and preserve me stedfast in my duty to the end how sharp soever the means may be But O most gracious Father if the hiding of thy Countenance from me for a time has wrought those happy effects upon me for which thy Wisdom and Goodness did design it Restore me O restore me for Jesus Christ his sake to a sense of thy Love to peace in my Mind again Ps 6.6 I am weary of my groaning all the night long do I water my couch with my tears my Soul is disquieted within me sunk down into the dust of death even into the pit of hell Visit me O God Ps 106.4 with thy salvation cause thine Holy Spirit to descend into mine heart that he may defend and guard me in all my tryals support and quiet my dejected Mind Is 50 2. 59.1 Matt 8.8 Thy hand is not shortned that it cannot save say but the word O Lord and thy servant shall be healed O how would I magnifie thy Glory imitate thy Life and obey thy Will if Thou shouldst be pleased to trust me with Health and Peace again Lord pardon and hear the importunity of thy servant my heart is full Psal 6.4.55.5.142.1 Psal 60.1 Lam. 5.20 21. my soul also is sore troubled Lord how long wilt thou punish me O turn Thee again and have mercy upon me consider my complaint and let my crying come unto Thee O how chearfully would I do or suffer any thing whereby I might testifie the sincerity of mine Adoration Love and Duty to Thy Sacred Majesty I have none in Heaven but God Ps 73.25 and there is none upon Earth that I desire in comparison of Thee O when shall I feel that joy and peace in my mind which Thou hast promised to those that Love Thy Law Ps 119 165. O when wilt thou dispel those clouds of diffidence and fear which depress and trouble me even now that I find in my self the most sincere desires to do my duty in the World Yet not my will Matt. 26.42 O Lord but Thine be done here I am
do with me whatsoever pleases Thee Though Thou shouldst slay me yet will I trust in Thee I throw my self into the Arms of Thy mercy beseeching Thee to lay no more upon me than Thou shalt enable me to bear 1 Cor. 10.13 and all I beg upon the alone Account of the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen A Prayer for Protection with Thanksgiving O Eternal God! Thou art the Almighty Father of the world I was created by thy Power and am preserved by thy Wisdom and Goodness I am truly sensible of Thy particular Grace and favour towards me in all the periods and states of life thro' which I have passed * Mention here the particular blessings of your condition whether in pious Parents or in hopeful Children prosperous estate faithful friends bountiful benefactors good busband discreet or virtuoâ— wife c. O blessed God affect my mind as it ought to be with a sense of thy bounty and beneficence that I may rely upon Thy Providence for the time to come that I may be wholly resign'd to Thy most blessed Will and fully satisfied under all Thy dispensations towards me Endue me O Lord with all those gifts and graces that may enable me to acquit my self as I ought to do in all the conditions of life which thou shalt be pleased to call me to open mine understanding rectifie mine errors quicken my diligence strengthen my faith and with my capacities inlarge my Charity that Thou mayst still continue to be gracious to me to direct my Counsel to preserve my health to guide my hand and to bless me in all my ways and works thro' Jesus Christ our Lord in whose most holy name and words I conclude mine imperfect prayers saying Our Father c. THE END Matth. xxii 37 38 39. Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind This is the first and great Commandment And the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self THE Immortality of the Soul and a future state of Bliss or Misery according as our actions in the flesh have been good or evil are the common Notions the indeleble Opinions the universal expectation of Mankind And therefore a distinct and perfect knowledge of Religion or of such an Institution of Faith and Manners as will certainly be accepted of God procure his favour here and everlasting blessedness in the Life to come is a matter of the highest concernment to us No reasonable Man that believes a future Judgment with the consequent Rewards and Punishments can find any peace or contentment in his Mind till by a clear understanding of his duty and a firm resolution to fulfil it he has founded to himself a rational hope of a happy life in the other World But though the thing it self has been always steddily believed yet a consistent regular account of this future Life was never stated nor the methods by which it might certainly be obtained which so much concerns us discovered to the World till the light of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel appeared to give us the knowledge of Salvation Even the Jews had no distinct and clear conception of the Life to come The opinions of the Pharisees themselves concerning it who were the most zealous assertors of it were very absurd and sensual insomuch that Josephus compares the heaven of the Phanisees to that of the Greeks who dream'd of fortunate Islands replenished with all imaginable delights of the Body quick and more curious appetites and more perfect objects of satisfaction But by the Ministry of our Blessed Saviour Life and Immortality are brought to light proposed intelligibly and asserted with Divine Authority Hence the Pharisees having heard of the Wisdom of our Saviour that he had put the Sadducees to silence cleared the Doctrine of the Resurrection and was able to answer all the doubts and questions concerning the life to come sent a Lawyer from amongst themselves V. 35. to make an experiment of his Judgment who enquires of our Saviour under the style of Master Which is the great Commandment Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and thy neighbour as thy self The Text is a general Account of the way and method whereby we may attain everlasting life of such a conversation and course of action here as will procure to us everlasting blessedness in the world to come And all the Duties Qualities and Habits which are required of us as conditions of Eternal life are comprehended by our Saviour under these Two Heads The first respects our duty towards God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God c. The second respects our duty towards our Neighbour Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self I begin with the first of these which respects our Duty towards God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind This is the first and great Commandment And in the handling of this copious Argument I shall confine my thoughts to this following Method First I shall explain the terms and give you a more general account of the nature of the duty and the Principles into which it is resolved Secondly I shall consider the particular parts the necessary acts and exercises of Love to God First With all the Heart and with all the Soul And Secondly With all the Mind Thirdly I shall consider upon what Accounts the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul and with all the Mind may be said to be the First and Great Commandment Fourthly I shall perswade and encourage you to the practice of this duty and the pursuit of this habit of Love to God by several motives couched and implied in this one word Thou shalt love the Lord thy God Fifthly and Lastly I shall make Application of the whole I begin with the first of these the Explication of the terms and the consideration of the nature of the duty in the general and the Principles into which it is resolved Thou shalt love the Lord thy God To Love is to take delight and pleasure in the Object with a desire of such an enjoyment of it as the nature of the thing will bear and Reason will permit and the causes or reasons of such Delight and Desire are only two however various the objects about which they are exercised may be namely an opinion of personal excellency in the object it self or a sense of kindness or benefits received from it These are the onely Principles of Love these are the onely causes of all the delight and desire in the world that is voluntary and chosen Persons 't is true may be and very frequently are mistaken in their apprehensions of beauty and goodness whereby this best and most