Axes no noise of War no Armies of Aliens to fright us from the Publick Ordinances that we can meet and remember our Crucified Master without fear without disturbance without danger and that instead of being discountenanced in the Service we have all the encouragement that Authority can give and our Magistrates are nursing Fathers which not only allow of our frequenting the House of God but also compel us to come in How did the excellent David bemoan himself when through the Malice of Saul his Antagonist he was forced away from the Publick Offices of the Church How much happier did he think Swallows and Sparrows to be than himself which had liberty to build their Nests about the roof of the Temple and there to lay their Young Psal 84. 1 2 3. While he must be content with wishes and breathings after the Courts of the Lord and strangers cast it in his Teeth of often Where is now thy God! Psal. 42. 2 3. We that have all the external advantages of Religion and are even cloy'd with the plenty of Spiritual Provision cannot imagine the lamentable condition that persecuted Christians are in who are forced to serve the Lord with fear and to attend his Ordinances with trembling who are not permitted to sing the Songs of Zion in a strange Land and therefore must hang their Harps upon the Willows sit weeping by the Rivers of Babylon and hear the Enemy roar in the midst of the Congregations of the Lord. Yet if the liberty we enjoy makes us wanton and the plenty God gives us tempts us to licentiousness if instead of growing better it makes us worse and the Glory of our Temple proves an occasion of dishonouring that God who dwells in them if our going up to Mount Zion makes us proud and the means of Grace whereof we have such store are improved into quarrels and dissentions if instead of Glorifying God for this affluence we fall out among our selves and instead of letting our Light shine before Men espouse the works of Darkness if instead of being obedient to the Faith we disgrace it by our infidelity and instead of the power of Godliness content our selves with the Form of it if the Manna we have doth not make us Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness and the great Truths God hath vouchsafed us do not make our Lives great and exemplary we have reason to fear God will remove our Candlesticks from us and send a Famine of the Word God did so to Jerusalem and did so to the Eastern Churches and we being like them may justly expect the same Judgments II. The Church is the House of God keep therefore thy foot when thou goest to the House of God Eccles. 5. 1. As Men that walk in danger look to their steps and take care where they set their Foot so he that enters into the House of Prayer had need enter with great cautiousness and watchfulness for the comes before a God who sees his Thoughts takes notice of his Designs and knows the secret recesses of his Soul observes his Looks and Postures and Behaviour and will at last call him to an account for his carelesness and irreverence Were these things seriously thought of how could the generality of us come into this House with no greater awe and with as loose Affections as if they were going to a Play How durst we stare about in Prayer How could we let our Thoughts rove and wander while we seem to be engaged in Devotion How could we hear with that indifferency How could we apply our selves to the Duties required of us with that coldness which is so visible in most Congregations How could we turn our Services into mere Formalities and stand before the great God unconcerned and return from his House without a relish of the Mysteries of Godliness To see what decency and gravity Men observe in the Presence of a Prince and to think how little regard we have to the Presence of a Glorious God in the House which he is pleased to call his Tabernacle and Dwelling-place is enough to make the Holy Angels conclude that in the midst of his Temple we are Infidels to see how supinely some sit at their Prayers as if they were praying to a Stock or Stone to see how others compose themselves to sleep as if the God they come to worship with Baal were asleep too and they came to honour him with that posture to see how some come to shew their Bravery here and to be seen and taken notice of and to be admired by Spectators to see how others strive for Places for Superiority and the chief Seats in these Synagogues and there vent their Pride their Anger and their Malice where they ought to express their greatest Humility and Charity to see how others talk here of their worldly Concerns or if they do not talk of them act and behave themselves as if they thought of nothing else where they are to mind only the great concerns of their immortal Souls to see all this what can we infer but that Men have no Sense of the Tremendous Majesty on High No sense of the Mysteries the very Angels desire to look into These things My Brethren ought not so to be When therefore thou goest to the Temple of the Lord remember the Magnificence of that God at whose Footstool thou goest to worship When thou enter'st in at the door of this House leave there thy Worldly thoughts and Carnal desires and come fill'd with the Spirit into the Tabernacle of the Lord Sit and Stand and Kneel there as before the Searcher of all Hearts resolve to come away from thence edified and with greater store of Spiritual Blessings than thou hadst before In praying fix thy Thoughts upon Him who heareth Prayer and if thou dost thou canst not but appear in such a posture as doth best express thy inward sense of his Greatness and Holiness In hearing apply the general Admonitions and Exhortations and Reproofs to thine own Soul In Reading make some spiritual reflection on the Examples Precepts Promises that are before thee In singing mind the Matter more than the Tune and let thy Heart bear part in the Exercise In receiving the Supper of the Lord let not the outward humble posture be all the Service thou performest but fix the eyes of thy Understanding upon the Cross and there contemplate the Mercy that flows from it and from thence take Fire and Courage to abound in love to God and Man At thy going in beg of God to prepare thy Heart At thy coming out beg that thou may'st not lose the things that have been wrought in thee and this is to keep thy foot when thou goest into the House of God The PRAYER O Thou in whose Temple every Man speaks of thine Honour whose Glory no mortal Man can sufficiently express whose Goodness no Tongue is able to display whose Holiness transcends all the Perfections we see here below Overawe my Spirit when I go
the Lord Jesus will answer and though he may knock often yet at last the Gates will be opened to him The Everlasting Door the Gate of Grace and Mercy shall be unlocked to him and he shall get more Grace greater Strength larger Influences his Incomes shall be greater his Revenues more plentiful He will open the Windows of Heaven to him and refresh his Ground with kindly Showers They shall drop on the Pastures of the Wilderness and the little Hills shall rejoyce on every side Such a Receiver is like to abide in Christ and his Word like to abide in him He may be sure of his Love sure of his Friendship sure of his favourable Looks For him Christ laid down his Life indeed and he may be confident that he is one of his little Flock for he hears his Voice and is willing to be guided by him For him the Saviour of the World hath prepared a sure Refuge a Munition of Rocks where he shall dwell securely free from the stormy Wind and Tempest Such a Receiver believes in him and he shall not die Nay Though he were dead yet shall he live Because Christ lives he shall live too And though his Life be hid with Chrst in God yet when Christ who is his Life shall appear then shall he also appear with him in Glory His Faith shall at last be turned into Fruition his Hope into Vision his Expectations into Enjoyment He shall see Christ at last in his Majesty He shall see him in his Wedding-Robes He shall sit down with him at last at the Supper of the Lamb and lean on his Bosom and the Angels will say Behold the Disciple whom Jesus loved He shall walk with him in shining Garments and the King's Daughter which was all glorious within here shall be all glorious without too Her Glory shall be the Joy of Saints and the Envy of all wicked Men. Such a Person rejoyced in his ligâ—t here and he shall be decked with Eternal Light He that is the Light of both Worlds shall be his Everlasting Companion and Darkness shall not annoy him In a Word Christ will lift up the Light of his Countenance upon him and he shall be safe The PRAYER O Great and admirable Saviour who hast said I will give unto him that is a thirst the Fountain of the water of Life freely my Soul thirsteth for thee my Flesh longeth for thee in a a dry and thirsty Land where no water is to see thy Power and thy Glory I am unworthy to receive so Glorious a Guest into my Soul I am unworthy to wash the Feet of the Servants of my Lord Unworthy of the least Crum that falls from thy Table The Angels purer than the Sun think themselves unworthy to Praise and Glorifie thee How unworthy then must I think my self to receive thee the sweetest and the brightest Being into my House yet thou offerest to come and make thy abode with me What Bounty is this Whence is it that the Sovereign King of Heaven and Earth will come and dwell in me who am a sink of Misery a stye of uncleanness a den of filthiness How unworthy am I of this astonishing Saviour I freely confess that I have deserved to be plunged into the depth of Hell rather than to receive thee the Glory of Heaven and Earth into a Heart so defiled so polluted so corrupted with Sin and Misery Yet since thou dost freely offer me this unspeakable Mercy Come Lord and make thy Residence in my Soul I desire to receive thee with all Love and Purity and Devotion To this end destroy in me all that is contrary to thee and enrich my Soul with all suitable dispositions to receive thee I hate my Sins I renounce them I desire to think of them with horror because they were the cause of thy Torments and of that death thou sufferedst on the Cross I would hate them as the Angels and the Saints of Heaven do I am sensible thou art worthy of all Honour and Glory and from my Heart wish that I never had offended and dishonoured thee O that I had something of that Sorrow I see in thy Soul when thou madest thy Soul an offering for Sin Thy Soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death It was my Sin that caused that Sorrow O let me participate of that Sorrow O Jesu my Light my Righteousness my Sanctification my Redemption Open mine Eyes that I may see the vast Mercy offered me in this Blessed Sacrament Give me that Repentance that Faith that Love which may make me a worthy Receiver of thy Benefits I humble my self before thee I throw my self down at thy feet I give my self to thee I dedicate my Thoughts my Words my Actions my Understanding my Will my Affections to thy Service Set up thy Kingdom in my Soul Destroy my inordinate Self-Love my Anger my Pride and all my disorderly Inclinations Let thy Humility thy Charity thy Patience and all thy Graces reign in me Where thou art there is Heaven If thou art in me I shall not fear what Man or Devils can do against me for thou wilt hide me in the secret of thy Presence from the Pride of Man thou wilt keep me secretly in a Pavilion from the strife of Tongues Blessed be the Lord who hath shewed us his marvellous Kindness I will sing of the Mercies of the Lord for ever with my Mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all Generations Amen Amen CHAP. XVIII Of the sad Effects and Consequences of Unworthy Eating and Drinking in this Holy Sacrament and First of Temporal Judgments The CONTENTS The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is rendred Damnation explained and its various significations discussed Of Temporal Judgments in general which are or may be procured by Eating and Drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table Several Instances of Persons who have felt signal Judgments for prophaning Holy Things This applied to the Holy Sacrament How Men Eat and Drink Temporal Judgment to themselves explained There being many unworthy Receivers at this day who meet with no Signal Judgment in this Life what we are to think of it and how we are to reconcile this Impunity to the Truth of the Apostle's threatning A Question resolved whether such Judgments if they befall an unworthy Receiver do expiate his Sins God proved to be a consuming fire and in what sense Though it be dangerous to Eat and Drink unworthily yet this ought to be no discouragement from coming to the Lord's Table The Prayer I. THE Apostle 1 Cor. 11. 29. in general tells us He that Eats and Drinks unworthily Eats and Drinks Damnation to himself A fearful word The Writer of the Life of Ida de Nivella tells us that whenever she pass'd by the Altar where the Eucharist used to be celebrated a trembling seiz'd upon all her Joynts a kind of Ague fit came upon her and a Sacred horror invaded her Soul imitating the Earth in that particular which trembled at
extraordinary Esteem of the Mercy that God will set light by it because we do Oh! Let us entertain it with the profoundest Respect and the deepest Veneration and think our selves the happiest Creatures living that we have this Act of Divine Bounty and Charity revealed to us But then it is impossible we should think our selves so except we walk worthy of the glorious News and transcribe on our Lives the glorious Zeal and Fervour and Sincerity of the Apostles and Primitive Believers III. As this severe Threatning denounced against unworthy Receivers is the strongest Dissuasive possible from Eating and Drinking unworthily so it is no just Discouragement to Receive with sincere Desires and Resolutions to become conformable to Christ's Holiness God frights from sinning not from doing well from wronging our own Souls not from Endeavours to save them from Impenitence not from true Repentance All that is to be done Christian in this Sacrament in order to Receiving worthily is to lay and prostrate thy self at the Feet of Jesus and to cry Lord What wilt thou have me to do Speak Lord for thy Servant hears Such humble Souls escape the Danger and may be confident of a gracious Look from the King of Saints But then if we fall down before the Throne and the Lamb and make this Profession let it come from the Heart and let our Tongues speak what our Minds think and our Wills mean to stand to and let our Desires to be one with him be such as Simplicity dictates lest our Hearts and Tongues not going together we may be found Lyars and fall into Condemnation And Oh that every unworthy Receiver would consider what Damnation means Consider it thou dull and careless Man and then tell me whether Christ requires any thing unreasonable of thee to prevent it Thou that runnest from an House on fire and from a Land-flood or Deluge that threatens to overwhelm thee wilt not thou do all thou canst to escape Damnation that Deluge of God's Wrath and that Fire of his Anger which no Man can quench Should this Damnation be thy Portion at last we may easily imagine what thy Wishes will be the same that all inconsiderate Souls are very full of when they have ruin'd and undone themselves Oh that I had been wise before the Fact and come to the Lord's Table with a better Frame put on the Lord Jesus and made his Vertues and Graces my Study my Delight and my Pattern But these are the Wishes of Fools And I did not think it would come to this pass is a Saying which we look upon as a Character of a weak and a Childish Understanding Both he that receives unworthily and he that never received yet both have yet Opportunity to turn from their evil Ways Therefore Seek ye the Lord while be mâ—y be found Call ye upon him while he is near Let the Wicked forsake his Way and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have Mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Isa. 55. 6 7. The PRAYER O Lord Great and Incomprehensible Slow to Anger and great in Power and who wilt not at all acquit the Wicked Thy Way is in the Whirl-wind and in the Storm and the Clouds are the Dust of thy Feet Thou rebukest the Sea and makest it dry and driest up mighty Rivers The Mountains quake at thy Word and the Hills melt and the Earth is burnt at thy Presence yea the World and all they that dwell therein Who can stand thine Indignation And who can abide the Fierceness of thine Anger where thy Fury is poured out like Fire and the Rocks are thrown down by thine Arm Who would not fear thee O thou great Preserver of Men Yet thou Lord art good and a Strong Hold in the Day of Trouble and thou knowest them that trust in thee In my Approaches to thy holy Table let me so reflect upon thy Mercy as not to forget thy Justice Let me so look upon thy Friendship as to cast an Eye withal upon thy Severity to thine Enemies Thou offerest me thy Friendship in this Ordinance How great is thy Goodness Oh let me entertain the Offer with Admiration God will dwell with simple Man and therefore requires a Temple a Temple not made with hew'n Stones not of polish'd Marble not of painted Walls but of living and shining Gems and of such Golden Ornaments as Rust cannot touch and Dust cannot blacken a Temple purified with the Fire of Love trimmed with an holy Conversation and decked with variety of Vertues Make my Soul I beseech thee such a Temple and come and fix thy Tents here for ever Thou art the Judge to whom I am accountable for my Receiving Let me remember that as that didst rain down Manna from Heaven upon thy People so thou didst rain down Fire and Brimstone too upon Sodom and Gomorrah Let me so rejoyce in the Mercies thou rainest down upon me in this Sacrament as to fear thy Judgments in case I abuse those Mercies If of every idle Word Men shall give an Account in the Great Day what Account will they have to give of prophaning this sublime and mysterious Ordinance If the Dust of thy Apostles Feet shall bear witness in that Day against the Obstinate and Impenitent what a Witness will the Body of the Son of God be against those who would not be warm'd with the Sight and Contemplation of it into Vertue Let these things sink deep into my inward Parts and teach me so to triumph in thy Praise as to tremble at thy Presence Yet Oh let not my Goodness be the Effect of a slavish Fear of Damnation so much as of Love and Delight in thy holy Ways Let Kindness do more with me than Terrour and let my Heart melt more with the Sight of thy Condescension than with the Sight of thy Flaming Sword Teach me to serve thee with Pleasure and Affection and let the Glory of thy Name be the End of all my holy Exercises Let thy Love be ever fixed in my Heart and be thou my Rest my Tranquility my Peace my Meat my Drink my Food my Treasure my Possession and my Portion for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. XXII Of Preparation And First of Meditation of Christ's Passion The CONTENTS Preparation for this Holy Sacrament reduced to Five Heads Meditation of Christ's Passion with reflexions on our Selves Self-Examination â—udging our Selves Self-Resignation and Devotions suitable to the Occasion Christ himself meditated of his own Passion before he administred this Sacrament to his Disciples Meditation of Christ's Passion useful to bring things to our Minds we did not think of before to enflame the Soul with the Love of Jesus and to make us remember his Death with a quicker Sense A Paraphrase upon the XXII and XXIII Chapters of St. Luke's Gospel What God said to the Jews may be the more justly said to us Christians What could have been
of the Ordinance is praising him that lives for ever and ever fall down at the same time rejoycing at the blessings and the Manna which falls down from Heaven on the Children of Men so that here we may cry out as the Patriarch did of Bethel How dreadful is this place The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. THIS Sacarament being a Feast prepared by the Greatest Prince for his Servants those Servants must needs be inexcusable that refuse to give their attendance here I do not deny but their may be just excuses and lawful causes of our absence such as Sickness Weakness Faintness and Distempers Pains Aches and some sudden Accidents and Disasters which will not suffer us to fix our thoughts on so reverend an ordinance but these hapning against our Wills and importing no wilful neglect God bears with us under such circumstances but to act as if we did not hear our Master call and to suffer the World to put a stop to our coming to be so enamoured with our Profits and sensual Satisfactions as not to think our selves concerned in the Duty to refuse approaching because we are loath to be at the pains of searching our Hears and trying our ways to neglect coming because we are loath to sequester our Thoughts from sublunary Objects and to part with our Sins to absent our selves because we relish the enjoyments of this life before this Celestial Food this is to slight what God esteems and to spurn at the greatest Mercy this is to thrust away Salvation as if it were worth nothing and to â—ndervalue the pains God takes to bring us to himself and what God must think of such Scorners I need not tell you for your selves may guess except you believe God to be a Stone or Stock how he must resent it and one would think it should cause some sad thoughts within you if you believe what he saith 1 Sam. 2. 30 They that love me I will Honour but they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed II. When the Church invites us to this Feast we must suppose that our Lord himself makes an Address to us as it is in Matth. 22. 4. Behold I have prepared my dinner my oxen and my fatlings are killed and all things are ready come ye to the Marriage This Holy Ordinance is the Marriage Feast which declares our being joyned to the Son of God the King immortal invisible blessed for evermore Hearken therefore O daughter and consider forget also thine own People and thy fathers house so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy Lord and worship thou him This Feast requires suitable Garments not Tyrian Purple not Persian Silks not that outward adorning with broider'd hair or gold or pearl or costly array but the ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit which in the sight of God is of great price A Garment of Sackcloath is a more glorious sight in the eyes of him who is the Master of This Feast then all the bravery of the tinckling Ornaments of the Daughters of Sion and a Contrite Heart invites his gracious aspect and this the Primitive believers were so sensible of that before their coming to this Feast they humbled their Souls with Fasting and as course and uncomely as this Garb appears to sensual Men yet He that is the lofty and Holy one who inhabits Eternity hath declared his liking and approbation of it For to that man will I look that is of an humble a and contrite Spirit and trembles at my word Es. 66. 2. Es. 57. 15. We read of a Garment of Praise too Es. 61. 3. a Garment which the Angels of Light are adorned and deckt withal a Garb so pleasing that the Eternal Father smiles on them and it smells sweeter than that of Esau God like old Isaac takes notice of it and blesses them St. Paul understood this and wore it constantly Hence it is that we find him so liberal in praising the Cross of Christ with this he seems always transported and he seldom talks of Christ without Raptures an object upon which he though he could never say enough Being rapt up into the Third Heaven he had heard the melodious voices of the four and twenty Elders and the new Song they sung to the Lamb that was slain Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the Seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation Rev. 5. 9. and he could not have a better Pattern And now that we speak of Garments that make us welcome Guests at this Table we must not forget the Garment or Ornament of good Works which St. Paul takes notice of 1 Tim. 2. 10. These are the Shining Robes our Souls must be ambitious of these adorn our Profession charm spectators attract followers and are apt to make People in love with goodness and what is more change us into the same Image with the Author and Finisher of our Faith whose province and imployment was going about and doing good as we are told Act 10. 38. and consequently this cannot but be a proper Ornament to appear in at this Banquet And of this nature is the white Garment we read of Eccles. 9. 8. or the Garment of Innocence and Purity whereby we hate the Garment spotted by the flesh and keep Consciences void of offence toward God and toward Man In these Garbs we may boldly shew our selves at the Table of our Lord and expect the same welcome that the Spouse received in the Canticles Cant. 4. 10 11. How fair is thy love my Sister my Spouseâ— how much better is thy love than Wine and the smell of all thine Ointments than all Spices Thy Lips O my Spouse drop as the Honey-comb Honey and Milk are under thy Tongue and the smell of thy Garments is like the smell of Lebanon The PRAYER O Holy and merciful Saviour merciful beyond example who treatest me as thy Child hast prepared a Table for me and made my Cup run over Be thou my Shepherd let me want no Grace no Mercy no Assistance that 's necessary for me in the prosecuting of mine Eternal Happiness Dress me with thy Robes adorn me with the Ensigns of thy Favour Let me rejoyce at the Supper thou hast prepared for me Teach me to entertain thy Call with gladness Let me see clearly what thou hast prepared for them that love thee Thou knowest my stubborn and lazy Heart rouze it from its slumber melt it by the fire of thy love breath upon these dry Bones and they shall live Let me not with Esau prefer a morsel of Bread eaten in secret before my Birth-right to Eternal Glory Let me consider thy Condescension in inviting such a Wretch to sup with thee Let not the evil examples I see before me be any temptation to me Uphold me by thy right hand Let me dread thine anger and count it a greater disgrace to be
despised by thee than to be made the filth and off-scouring of all things Give me a just esteem of thy favour let me prefer it before all the Contents of this present World Let me feel that thy loving kindness is better than life this life will sade away but thy Mercy endureth for ever Let Goodness and Mercy follow me all the days of my life and make me dwell in thy House for ever Amen CHAP. II. Of the Mystery of Christ's Instituting this Sacrament in that very Night in which he was betray'd The CONTENTS The Treachery of Judas His Character and how That is imitated by Nominal Christians at this day Christ betray'd to wicked Men and to Devils betray'd partly for filthy Lucre partly for his unchangeable integrity The same is still done by Hypocrites in Religion This Sacrament instituted that very Night when he was betrayed for three Reasons The different appearances of Sin when Surveyed slightly and when considered in its designs and Tendencies While we detest the Treason of Judas we are to take heed we do not become guilty of the same Crime The Prayer 1. THough in the first Chapter I have already hinted the reason why Christ made use of the Night to institute this Holy Sacrament yet the Evangelists laying an Emphasis or weight upon his instituting of it that night in which he was betray'd it 's fit we should search into the Mystery of it But before we can do this some Circumstances of that Treason must be considered which will give light to Christ's design in pitching upon that time and no other The Person that did venture on this height of Impiety was Judas Iscariot a a Man who by this Treason hath indeed left an Everlasting Name behind him but such an one as all Ages must detest and talk of with greater Indignation than the Heathens did of Herostratus who to make himself illustrious by doing mischief burnt the famous Temple of Diana By this Man the Ever-blessed JESUS was betrayed and if you will allow me to give a true Character of him some of us in this Glass may see their own treachery and deformity 1. He was betray'd by one who made profession of Religion but was a Hypocrite i.e. his Actions contradicted his Profession professing one thing he did another and seeming to be good he proved a Devil Hypocrisie at this day makes Men Traitors to Christ even their coming to the Temple of the Lord and adhering to their known Sins their frequenting the Ordinances of God and being unconcerned at his Promises and Threatnings their believing the Articles of Religion and acting contrary to the design of them their sinding fault with those sins in others which they have no aversion from in themselve their speaking honourably of God with their Lips and dispensing with affronts put upon him in their practices and what can we call this but Judas-like to betray the Son of Man with a Kiss to say Hail-Master and deliver him to be Crucified to cry Hosanna and by and by Away with him at once to embrace and to decide him to hug and to contemn him to how the knee to him and mock him and in imitation to the rude Soldiery to cloath him with Purple and to strike and buffet him 2. He was betray'd by one who by no argument of love or mercy could be wrought into a sincere reformation He had seen the Miracles of his Master himself by his Masters influence did wonders and he saw Divinity shine in him nor was Christ wanting in warning Teaching Instructing Entreating and admonishing of him yet nothing could prevail with him to purge out the Leven of Malice and wickedness and is not Christ betray'd this way by thousands at this day He that despises you saith he to his Servants and Instruments despises me and then if his calling to Men by his Ministers by signal providences by Mercies by Afflictions by their Consciences by their Infirmities and Sicknesses Weaknesses and approaching Death will not make them sensible of their Duty if in despite of his endeavours to keep them from being undone they scorne both his Yoak and his Love what greater treason can they be guilty of especially where they make his mercy a shelter for their sin are therefore evil because he is good and are tempted by his Patience to be refractory and obstinate II. He was betray'd both to wicked Men and Devils 1. To Wicked Men such as the Scribes and Elders of the Jews his sworn Enemies and this way he is still betray'd for though there be no Scribes no Pharises at this day yet there are Atheistical and sensual Men who seeing Christ's Religion made a Clock for ill Designs and bad Practices take occasion from thence to speak evil of it as David having professed much zeal to God and falling afterwards into very monstrous sins made the Enemies of the Lord Blaspheme and laugh at the advantages the Jews boasted of above the Doctrines and Principles of their Neighbour-Idolaters Indeed to see Men wicked and vain under a shew of Piety and while they profess to be followers of Jesus live directly contrary to the example and precepts of the Holy Jesus makes that pretended Devotion ridiculous and instead of converting Men of loose Principles drives them farther off and tempts them to think all Religion to be nothing but a Cheat And though this Inference is unjust and absurd yet still these dangerous Inferences will be laid at their door who either contradicted the Principles of their Religion by their actions or made it a Stalking horse to ill Designs and Purposes 2. He was betray'd to Devils too who seeing him in the hands of bloody and barbarous Men left and forsaken as it were by Heaven and that Divinity which dwelt there took the greater boldness to set upon him by temptations and as these foes watch opportunities and then molest most when Men are least able to controul their insolence so seeing the Saviour of the World thus seemingly forsaken we may suppose they assaulted him with greater fierceness partly because his design had been to destroy their Kingdom and partly because he had so often dispossessed them of their Habitations It is therefore the Opinion of the Learned Men that in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ fell into trembling fits the Devil appeared to him in a visible and most dismal shape which occasions an Angels descent from above to comfort him but whether it were so or no the Fiend seeing him betray'd and deliver'd into the hands of his own slaves without all peradventure triumph'd in his misery and insulted over him with greater scorn and in imitation of David's Enemies cry'd Aha So would he have it so doth the Hypocrite betray Christ to the Devil who hearing the painted Christian talk of Mortification and contempt of the World the two fundamental points of his Masters Religion and seeing him act point blank against them doth not only deride and despise Religion but casts
and Devils Nor need we wonder why God suffers these abuses for the permits them as he doth other sins to let Men see at last that their Condemnation is just Besides this makes those who use this Ordinance in pursuance of the right end of its Institution more glorious in God's Eyes for this hath still been the Privilege of the true Church of God to flourish like a Lilly among Thorns and what the Apostle saith of Heresie in general is most true of these Abuses There must be such things in the World that those which are approved may be made manifest 1 Cor. 11. 19. The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. THE holier any thing is that is abused the greater is the Crime When Belshazar Dan. 5. 1. was resolved to be drunk had he made himself a Beast by drinking out of common Cups though the sin had been great and against Nature yet it might have passed unpunished here as other Villanies are but when nothing would serve his turn but to drink his Reason and his Wits away out of the Bowls of the Sanctuary and to add Profanation of the Vessels of the Lord's House to all his Crimes this allarmed the Divine Vengeance immediately and rather than not shew his Displeasure God thought himself obliged to be at the Charge of a Miracle which caused the fatal Hand upon the Wall and the King's Overthrow followed within a few hours after And if the Abuse of consecrated Vessels raised so great a Storm what must the abuse of consecrated Reason and Duties and Mercies do Sirs your Reason is a consecrated thing God hath set it apart for his use that you should consider and contrive how to get a share among the Blessed hereafter if you abuse it and will let it serve you for no other end but to teach you how you may grow rich and great and fill your Bellies with hid Treasures will not God visit for these things and will not his Soul be avenged on such Persons Your signal Mercies and Deliverances are consecrated things God hath set them apart to put you in mind of your Gratitude to teach you Submission to his Will and to walk humbly with your God if after these you are careless and live as regardless of your Duty as you did before will not God reckon with you one day for such abuses Should a poor Man take the Cordial you send him and fling it upon a Dunghil how would you resent it and can God like it do you think to see how like Mad-men you tear off the Cloaths he gives you to cover your Nakedness to see you live the reverse of his Designs to see you fight against him with his Mercies and as it was in the Case of the Daughter Jerusalem Ezech. 16-17 to see you take the fair Jewels of Gold and of Silver he hath given you and make to your selves Images of Men and commit fornication with them II. One great abuse of this Holy Sacrament is to fancy that like a spell it will charm sin out of your mortal Bodies so that you need be at no trouble to mortifie it The Sacrament indeed confers Grace but it is objectively as it contains very great Motives to a lively Faith and Hope and Charity and it confers Grace too as a cause without which Grace would not be convey'd because God hath promised in this Ordinance to be present and as the Dew of Hermon or as the Dew descends on the Mountains of Sion so here the Lord commands his Blessing even life for evermore But still it doth not confer Grace Physically as if the mere use of it would make you Favourites of Heaven and Children of his Love It 's Physick indeed which will work a Cure but then the Person that makes use of it must be qualified for it must be sensible that he is sick and willing to be cured of his Spiritual Diseases and then God will look upon him as a Father and manifest himself to him look upon him as a kind Physitian and make the Medicine effectual to him look upon him as a Friend and take him into his bosom and say to him as it is Es. 49. 8. In an acceptable time have I heard thee and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee and I will preserve thee and cause thee to inherit the desolate Heritages III. The abuses committed by some in this Sacrament must not tempt us to neglect the use of it If the abuse that others have been guilty of were a sufficient excuse to stay away we might as well argue that Meat and Drink and Cloaths and Books and Learning may not be used because ill Men have perverted the harmless design of them We should count that Man a fool that should resolve because a Man of such a Profession hath cheated him therefore he will never deal with a Man of that Profession again or because such a Person who pretended to strictness of Religion hath plaid the knave with him therefore he will never trust a Religious Man again The same absurdity would he commit that from the abuse that others have run into in the Holy Communion should resolve to abstain from it for this would be as much as to resolve to be mad because others are and have been so God hath furnish'd us with Faculties and Powers to discern the Dross from the Silver and the Tin from the purer Mettal and we have his Word to guide us in distinguishing the use from the abuse and as the temperate Man still drinks Wine though thousands in the World still pervert the use of that Creature so a good Christian can see no rational discouragement from coming to this Table though some have made it their bane and turned it into their own destruction The PRAYER O Most Gracious God who hast given us thine Ordinances for our Comfort and Edification and directed us how to use them to thy Glory Give me an Understanding Heart and a pure Mind that they may be a savour of Life unto Life to me Let me not touch these Holy things with unclean Hands but purifie my Soul and cleanse it from that filthiness which doth so easily beset it that I may be fit for thy Divine and Glorious Influences Lord without thee I can do nothing thou art the Vine and I the Branch convey thy Celestial Juice into this withered Branch that I may revive and bring forth much fruit and have my Fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. VI. Of Receiving the Lord's Supper Fasting and how far it is Necessary The CONTENTS It is a thing not absolutely necessary to receive the Lord's Supper fasting Several Reasons to prove the Assertion Yet to receive it Fasting is a thing very conventent because it quickens Devotion and is an Act agreeable to the mortifying Prospect of Christ's Death and warranted by the Practice of the Universal Church Total Abstinence from Food that Morning
is for the healing of the Nations here fix though the Earth be moved here shelter thy self from the Wrath to come Christ the same Yesterday to Day and for ever will open Rivers in High Places and Fountains in the midst of Valleys When the Poor and Needy seek for Water and there is none He Prince of Peace wil hear them He the mighty God will will not forsake them He will plant in the Wilderness the Cedar the Myrtle and the Oyl-Tree He will set in the Desart the Fir-tree and the Pine and the Box-tree together that they may see and know and consider and understand together that the Hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy One of Israel hath created it Ezek. 41. 16 17. The PRAYER O Blessed and Crucified Saviour How often have I broke with thee How often have I broke loose from thee How often have I broke the Silken Strings whereby thou hast sought to tie my Soul How justly mightest thou turn thy Face away from me How justly mightest thou look upon me as unworthy to be called any more to this Spiritual Feast But remember Lord Remember I am Dust remember my Frailty and do not shut up thy Tender Mercies in Displeasure O call after this Prodigal and bring him home again to his Father's House Make lively Impressions of thy Crucifixion upon my Mind Let the Torments of thy broken Body fright me from all known Sin Whenever I am tempted to any Thing that is evil cry in mine Ears or possess me with this Thought That that very Sin did help to break thee on the Cross A lively Apprehension of this will keep my Soul undefiled this will break and crush my former Delight in Vanity this will embitter my Sensual Pleasures this will make me weary of running after other Gods this will humble my Soul this will subdue the vain Imaginations whereby I have been wont to flatter my self into Misery O give me a View of the Riches that are to be found in thy broken Body that I may run no longer after broken Cisterns and may rely no longer on broken Reeds O let my Soul feed on thy broken Body by Contemplation Thou didst not count thy Life dear for my sake O let me be touch'd with these Thoughts that I may despise Death and Torments for thy sake and may with all Saints and Martyrs behold thy Face at last in Eternal Glory O Jesu Great Store-house of Delight Who hast the Keys of David Spread open thine Arms of Mercy and receive this poor miserable Creature Behold this straying Sheep beset with Multitudes of Wolves runs to the good Shepherd Protect me from the fiery Darts of the Enemy embrace me as a tender Mother doth her sickly Child with Bowels of Mercy Kill in me the base Desires of the Flesh and whatever evil Inclinations thou spiest in me root them up Extinguish in me the impure Flames of Lust. Give me an excellent Spirit a Spirit active in the Practice and Exercise of Vertue Raise the Powers of my Soul by thy Love that I may love thee with all my Heart that I may praise thee that I may honour thee and think nothing tedious or troublesome that may promote thy Glory Repair this shatter'd Tabernacle and vouchsafe to dwell in it I have wilfully ruin'd it by my Sins O make it whole again Remove the Poyson which hath infected all my Faculties Destroy the Serpent's Seed that lurks in the secret Corners of my Heart If Adam could not preserve his Integrity in the State of Innocence how shall I preserve mine in this State of Corruption without thy special Grace and Assistance Thy Grace is the Treasure I want thou hast promised it I beg it O let me not go without it O Jesu Thou didst love me when I was thine Enemy O hate me not now that I am made thy Friend When I was lost thou didst redeem me with thy Blood now that I am found O wash me with that Blood O let me not perish now when Heaven is bought and an endless Bliss is purchased for me Now that the Hand-writing against me is blotted out let me not run into new Dangers nor forfeit that Blessing which is so graciously tendred to me It is the real Desire of my Soul to serve thee and O that I might do it with Chearfulness with Alacrity with Fervency and with Constancy The Preparation of the Heart is of thee thou givest the Will O give me Strength to do what I desire What can I do of my self I am naturally defiled Original Sin sticks to me Proneness to Evil follows me thou must stop the Current nothing but thy self can dry up this Fountain of Corruption it is thy Work And whatever Good is in me from thee it comes from thy Grace it doth proceed Let the same Mercy uphold me that hath hitherto guided me and guide me so through the Briars and Thorns of Temptations that I may not only be more than a Conqueror through him that loved me but may at last receive the Crown and Recompence of such as overcome Amen Amen CHAP. X. Of Taking the Consecrated Bread with our Hands and the Mystery of it The CONTENTS In the Primitive Church the Eucharist was always taken with the Hand This Simplicity in progress of Time abandon'd and as the Veneration of External Symbols advanced the Bread received in certain Vessels and sometimes upon Linen Cloth The Superstition of the Church of Rome of putting the Bread into the Mouth of the Communicant laid open and the Vanity of it shewn The Mystery of Taking the Eucharist with our Hands set down in three Particulars viz. To put us in mind with what Alacrity we are to accept of the Mercy offered us to testifie our appropriating of that Mercy to our selves and to hold it fast when we have received it Of God's Liberality in bidding us take the best Gift he hath to bestow The Impiety of those that take Christ for their Redeemer and continue disobedient discovered The Prayer I. 'T IS certain that Christ said Take and eat which the Primitive Church understood of taking the consecrated Elements with the Hand And to this purpose saith Tertullian We receive the Eucharist from none but from the Hands of the President or Minister of the Ordinance It was for this Reason that in the ancient Liturgies the Deacons cried to the People or Communicants Extend your Hands And upon this Account it was that St. Ambrose expostulating with Theodosius about the barbarous Slaughter he had been guilty of tells him How can you stretch forth your Hands from which as yet innocent Blood drops down How can you with such Hands receive the Body of the Lord Nor do even the Papists themselves who will not suffer the Lay-Communicant to touch the Wafer with his Hand but put it into his Mouth deny it Whether every one in the Ancient Church did take the consecrated Elements with his own from the Priest's or
the Alphabet that we might not look upon Letters in a Book without thinking Lord be thou the First and the Last in all my Actions Let me begin with thee and end with thee Be thou my Book let me read the Characters of thy Love and rejoyce in thee for ever For this Cause he is styled a Shepherd that whenever we cast our Eye upon a Man of that Employment we may beg of Christ to feed us with his Spirit And a Lamb that whenever we see one we may intreat him to cloath us with his Innocence And a Sower that whenever we see the Husband-man throwing Seed into the Ground we may beseech him to manure the Ground of our Hearts that we may be neither barren nor unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he that thus remembers him in Season and out of Season will without dispute be the better able to remember him in this Sacrament And to such a Soul David's Saying may justly be applied The Righteous shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance surely he shall not be moved for ever Psal. 112. 6. The PRAYER O Blessed Redeemer who didst remember me when I had forgetten thee and thoughtest of me when I did not regard thee When I lay buried in the common Mass of Corruption thou didst not disdain to think on this forlorn Creature Thou didst pity me thou sawest my Misery and it grieved thee at thy Heart Thy Bowels yearn'd over me and thou didst spread thy Mantle over me O happy Remembrance I had been lost if thou hadst not looked upon me I had been undone if thou hadst not cast thine Eye upon me yet how loth have I been to think of thee What an Aversion have I had from remembring thee How have I shifted off all serious Reflections on thy Love I have more delighted in Trifles than in thee How sweet have the Thoughts of my Corn and Wine and Oil been to me and how tedious how irksome all Contemplation of tbee When thou hast sometimes put me in mind of thy Sufferings how have I suffered Worldly Thoughts to drive thee out of my Mind How justly mightest thou turn thy Eyes away and hide thy Face from me O Sweet O Glorious Object Appear in thy Beauty appear in thy Glory to my Mind that I may be throughly convinced that nothing deserves my Thoughts so much as thy self I am resolved to remember thee with greater Delight and Constancy Help thou me Should not I remember thee who hast in a manner forgotten thy self to remember me I can remember a Temporal Deliverance and shall not the Deliverance of my Soul procured by thy Death be remembred by me I can remember a Disaster which hath some Years agone befallen me and shall not I remember the infinite Misery from which thou camest to rescue me I will think of thee in the Night-Watches I will think of thee when I lie down when I awake when I rise again In the great Ordinance of thy Supper I will in a most solemn manner think of thee Teach me to remember thee here with Joy with Pleasure with Comfort to my Soul Here let my Thoughts of thee be sweet Whenever I think on thy Cross let me remember how by thy Charity I was freed from the Curse of God Thou becamest a Curse for me Ought not this Mercy to be remembred for ever Write it in my Mind engrave it upon my Heart let this Remembrance be easie to me Chase away all Unwillingness all Backwardness to this Duty from my Soul Oh let it become natural and make this Remembrance profitable to me that my Inward Man may be renewed by it Day by Day and abound in Love and the longer I live the more conformable I may be to thee sweet Jesu to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen CHAP. XIII Of the other Element or Part of this holy Sacrament viz. the Wine and the Cup Christ made use of in the Institution of the Eucharist The CONTENTS Red Wine in all probability made use of by Christ in the Institution of this Sacrament As also Wine mixed with Water Too great a Stress laid upon this Mixture by the Roman and Eastern Churches The Cup Christ used in this Sacrament pretended by the Romanists to be in their Possession The Cups made use of by the Ancient Churches what Matter or Substance they were of examined On the Sacramental Cup anciently was engraven the Figure of a Shepherd and a Lamb. The Cup in process of Time changed into Silver Pipes Christ gave the Cup to the Disciples as well as the Bread for weighty Reasons to shew that the Bread and the Cup are of the same Worth and that those who receive the one should receive the other also The Abuse of the Church of Rome in denying the Cup to the Laity laid open Their Reasons and Arguments answered Why Christ made use of Wine in this Sacrament discovered in five Particulars The Reasons why he made use of a Cup and no other Vessel An Enquiry made why Christ took the Cup after he had done with the Cup in the Passover The Cup in this Sacrament contrary in its Effects to Circe's Cup among the Heathens None fit to drink of this Cup but Men of Valour and Courage This Cup very comfortable to all distressed Spirits The Prayer I. THough it be not very material to know what Wine it was Christ made use of in the Institution of this Sacrament what Colour it was of or whether it was pure and unmix'd yet we have Reason to believe that it was Red Wine and Wine mix'd with Water Red because this was the usual Wine among the Jews and therefore called The Blood of the Grape Gen. 49. 11. And when the Royal Prophet would express God's Vengeance upon the Wicked and Incorrigible by Wine he saith The Wine is red Psal. 75. 8. And this sort of Wine did best represent the Blood of Christ which was to be spilt for the Sins of the World and to make a considerable Figure in this Sacrament And to this purpose is that famous Prophecy Esay 63. 1 2 3. Who is this that comes from Edom with died Garments from Bozra Wherefore art thou red in thy Apparel and thy Garments like him that treads in the Wine-Fat Which Words as by the Consent of Interpreters they relate to Christ's Death and bearing the Burthen of God's Anger for our Transgressions so they at once express the Blood of Christ and the Colour of the Wine that was most in use among the Jews and consequently 't is very likely that Christ made use of Red Wine in this Ordinance And as it was Red so it is probable it was Wine mixed with Water this also being customary in that Country as we see Prov. 9. 2. in which our Blessed Master lived during his Abode in the World The Evangelists indeed mention no such Thing but in general only tell
the Church of Rome at this day is nothing else for they keep it in Boxes or Chests that they may carry it about and promote the Adoration of it in the Circumgestation and when any great Fire or Wind or Tempest happens this is pretended to have great Virtue either to lessen or avert those evils It is pleaded commonly that the Laity may with greater convenience receive only in one kind and with as much profit to as if they received in both but that this is false appears from hence 1. Because nothing can be convenient for the Laity that is against Christ's Institution and Command and as the Bread is to lead them to the contemplation of Christ's Crucified Body so the Cup is to direct them to fix their Thoughts on the Blood he spilt for them And if this way of reasoning were just why should it not be as convenient for the Priest to receive in one kind as for the Laity 2. Because the Profit that is to be received by the Communion must be received in that method and order that Christ hath thought fit to dispense it and since Christ thought it most proper that this Profit should be received by communicating in both kinds to expect Profit contrary to Christ's design and intention is to deceive our selves Some of the Papists themselves grant and it was asserted by several in the Council of Trent That greater Grace and Comfort was to be received by Communion in both kinds than by Communion in one only and there were some of the Primitive Fathers that thought that the Bread extended its Virtue to the Body only but the Wine to the Soul and if this were to be allow'd of the Laity in the Church of Rome must be either supposed to have no Souls or that their Souls receive no Profit by the Sacrament since they are denied the Wine But however if Communion in one kind be so profitable for the Laity why should it not be as profitable for the Clergy V. Why Christ made use of Wine in the Institution of this Sacrament several Reasons may be given As 1. One great property of Wine is to give Man a chearful countenance and to make glad the Heart Psal. 104. 15. And surely this was to let us see what joy our Souls are to express at the remembrance of God's Compassion and Charity a joy which will appear very rational if we frame right apprehensions of our natural condition for let me take a view of the state of my Soul abstractedly from Christ's mediation and God's Love I shall appear to my self a creature forsaken of God destitute of Mercy deprived of hopes of Pardon an object of Wrath a scorn of Angels the sport of Devils a companion of Reprobates a prey to ravenous Birds an heir of the burning Lake a subject of Damnation a slave to the worst of Masters hated by Heaven condemned by mine own Conscience and in a worse condition than the Beasts that perish and let me suppose that I were surrounded by Wolves and Lions in a barren Wilderness Vipers and Serpents crawling about my heels every moment in danger of being torn to pieces and in danger of a cruel lingring and barbarous death and in these sad circumstances should some kind Deliverer leap from behind a Thicket or come riding toward from afar to rescue me from this impendent ruin how should I rejoyce at the unexpected and unlook'd for Providence My case by nature is much worse for wild Beasts may devour me and make an end of my pain but here I find my self beset with hellish furies so far from being willing to make an end of my life and pain together that they seem resolved to increase it daily and no Angel no Lazarus no Messenger out of the Clouds vouchsafes a drop of Water and therefore in so deplorable an estate to see the Son of God spriging in and flying to my rescue and crying I will heal thy backslidings and unto my Enemies round about me O death I will be thy Plague O grave I will be thy destruction what joy what gladness what comfort must this cause 2. By Wine he represented the everlasting joys he intended to purchase for his followers by his bitter death and passion he himself gives us a hint of this Matth. 26. 29. I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of this Vine until the day that I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom i. e. Of this material Wine I shall after this drink no more in your company but when you are advanced to the Joys and Glories of my Father's Kingdom then I 'll Drink and Feast with you again and the Wine I will then give you to drink of shall be new Wine infinitely different from this Wine which shall have others effects and other operations Wine which the dull World is a stranger to Wine which Glutâ—ons and Drunkards shall never taste of Wine that shall fill your Souls with the purest Joy's with Delights purely Spiritual and Celestial so that these everlasting Joys may be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wine fulfilled as St. Luke speaks of the Bread Luke 22. 16. And then the Wine may be said to be compleated and fulfilled when that which is represented by it is actually fulfilled and conferred on the person who are counted worthy of it The Joys above are the Wine of Angels this Wine is the clear vision of God or the Glorious sight of the Fountain of Light and Beatitude this inebriates their Understandings irrigates the Spirits of Men made perfect makes them drunk with Joy and their Reason is lost in Raptures and Extasies and therefore justly styled Joy which Eye hath not seen and Ear hath not heard and Heart cannot conceive The Souls of Men it seems are channels too narrow to hold those joys they over-run the Banks and as the flame of a Candle is lost in the brighter Sun-shine so the Divine Light in Heaven shining upon Souls they are as it were lost in that Glorious splendor 3. Wine is the Emblem of Wisdom too so much we may guess from what we read Prov. 9. 1 5. Wisdom hath built her a bouse she hath hewen out her seven Pillars she hath kill'd her Beasts she hath mingled her Wine she cries Come eat of my Bread and drink of the Wine that I have mingled So that we have reason to conclude that our Saviour in using Wine in this Sacrament would express the necessity of a vigorous application of our Minds to spiritual Wisdom even to that Wisdom which drives out sensuality expels the Wisdom of the Flesh despises the Wisdom of the World and values Christian simplicity above all words which human Wisdom teaches Wisdom which seems folly in the eyes of the World but is really an effect of the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding Wisdom which concludes If Christ hath done for me what the Scripture saith he hath laid down his life spilt his blood sacrificed himself given himself
suffer and so it came to pass Let me for ever believe thy promises In all Dangers in all Troubles in all Necessities let thy Promises be for my Comfort Let me never mistrust thy Goodness after so great an instance of thy Goodness as the Gift of thy Son must be How can I despair of Mercy upon unfeigned Repentance when in this passion Mercy was drawn out to that length on purpose that it might reach the greatest Sinners O Jesu thou hast defeated all mine Enemies Thou hast evacuated all the obstacles of my Salvation Let me pretend and plead excuses no more Now let me run with patience the race which is set before me the way being open'd into the Holy of Holies encourage me to walk in it with all that wait for the Salvation of God Affect my Heart with a Religious Fear and let thy humble Passion kill my Pride Let my Sins appear more dreadful to me when I contemplate thine Agonies and let the World with all its deceitful Vanities become loathsome to me when I see how little thou didst regard it Let every thing die in me that is not agreeable to thy Life that when thou who art my Life shalt appear I may also appear with thee in Glory Amen Amen CHAP. XIV Of the Covenant represented by the Cup in this Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS A seeming contradiction betwixt the Evangelists reconcil'd The Greek Word which we render Testament prov'd to signifie a Covenant too The manner of making Covenants in ancient times applied to the Covenant made in this Sacrament The difference between the Old and New Covenant discover'd In this Sacramental Covenant the parties mutually engaging one to another proved to be God and Man Under what Notions both parties are to be consider'd explain'd The nature of this Sacramental Covenant its beginning and first rudiments in our Baptism the necessity of renewing it when we come to some maturity of Understanding Our consent to it and how that consent must be qualified This Covenant if broken after a due ratification of it whether it may be renew'd What things do not break or null it What Sins they are that make it void How it may be renew'd by sincere Repentance and what kind of Repentance it must be Great presumption to enter into a Solemn Covenant with God and not to consider the wieght and importance of it The great misery and wretchedness of Men who are not actually in Covenant with God How necessary it is for persons when young to make or renew their Covenant No impossible thing to come to a rational Confidence that we are in Covenant with God The Mercies and Advantages of being God's faithful Confederates The Prayer I. CHrist in describing the Nature of this Sacramental Cup or the Wine in the Cup tells us as St. Matthew and St. Mark relate it This is my Blood of the New Testament or as St. Luke and St. Paul rehearse it This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood St. Luke being St. Paul's companion in Travel it 's like the Apostle made use of St. Luke's Commentaries which he had by him though perhaps they were not yet published to the World nor must we therefore suspect a contradiction in these different expressions for the Evangelists in their Histories do not always tye themselves to the very number and order of Words and Syllables which our Saviour spoke but many times think it sufficient to express the Sense and that the Sense is the same here though the Expression be different will easily appear to an impartial Reader though it may be said that Christ might very justly use both expressions one after another say that which St. Mark and St. Matthew mention and afterwards that which St. Luke and St Paul take notice of by way of explication and for brevitys sake one Evangelist might set down one and another the Sense being the same another II. The word which we render Testament is in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which indeed in some few places of Scripture particularly Hebr. 9. 15. is us'd for the last Will and Testament of a Testator but for the most part stands for a Covenant answering to the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Berith and imports a compact or contract of two Parties mutually engaging to one another to do and perform what is proper convenient and fit to be done and this by the consent of all Interpreters is the chief signification intended here and that which will give Light to this Notion is the custom of the first Ages of the World For Covenants in antient times were usually made by the slaying of a Beast and shedding its Blood which was to put the Confederates in mind that if they broke the Articles agreed upon they must fear as base a death as that Beast did suffer◠and Providence would not only take notice of the violation and revenge it but by the ceremony they imprecated themselves that in case they prov'd false to their promise such a sudden violent death might seize on them Among the more barbarous sort of Mankind when in these cases they had slain the Beast they pour'd the Bloud of the Hog or Calf or Ox that was shed into a Cup and the Confederates drank of it to make the tye stronger and the execration more dreadful and consequently more forcing But the civiller sort after they had kill'd the Beast to seal the Covenant instead of Blood fill'd the Cup with Wine and the respective Parties drank of it which they thought and believ'd to be as obligatory as the other In a word hereby both parties express'd their resolution and serious intent to perform the mutual Engagements and tacitly wished Death and Judgment to themselves in case of nonperformance of the Articles And though this cannot be applied in every circumstance to the Covenant made betwixt God and Man in every particular God not being capable of imprecating himself and his Word being of greater weight and moment than all the Oaths and Execrations Man can take yet from the premises we may easily guess that Christ alludes to these practises of Mankind in saying This is my Blood of the New Testament and that in this Sacrament Men enter into a Covenant with God or rather confirm the Covenant made betwixt God and them by the Mediation of the Blood of Jesus who was the innocent Lamb slain from the foundation of the World for it is with regard to that Blood that God is not only willing to enter but actually enters into compacts and contracts with lapsed Man and as in the afore-mentioned federate Rites and Ceremonies the parties engaging to one another drank of the Blood of the slain Beast or of the Wine which was in lieu of that Blood thereby to confirm their mutual promises so they that come to this Holy Sacrament are not only admonish'd by drinking of the Cup or of the Wine in the Cup representing the Blood of Christ to enter into solemn
Engagements and Promises to be true and faithful to that God who bought them at so dear a price as the Blood and Death of his own Son but in actual drinking of it profess and declare that in case they prove false and treacherous to their great Confederate break their promise wilfully and allow themselves in it that they deserve that everlasting Death and Damnation from which that Blood was intended to deliver them and besides it is a tacit imprecation too if they be not true to their Engagements that then those Agonies and Miseries and dreadful Death the Son of God endured shall fall to their share and portion which illustrates the Apostles saying 1 Cor. 11. 29. He that Eats and Drinks unworthily Eats and Drinks Damnation to himself But of this I shall have occasion to Treat professedly in the sequel III. There is frequent mention made in Scripture of the Old and New Covenant By the Old is meant the Covenant or Compact God by the Ministry of Moses made with the Israelites as they were a Common-wealth whereof God himself was pleas'd to be the King and President This Covenant was fitted to the slavish temper of the People God had to deal withal and as God promised them temporal Felicity eating the Good of the Land a plentiful Harvest increase of their Kine and Cattle full Barns and a rich Vintage multitude of Children and protection from their temporal Enemies so it requir'd in the Consederates or Jewish People an exact compliance of their outward Man with the Precepts Laws and Statutes God appointed and gave them The New Covenant is that Contract which God makes with Mankind in Christ Jesus wherein he promises to admit sincere Believers into his special Favour and for Christ's sake to bestow upon them the riches of Grace and Glory and on our side requires renouncing all Love to a sinful Life and resignation of our Souls Spirits and Bodies to his Will and Government It 's call'd New in opposition to the Civil or Political Covenant God made with the Jewish People as they were a Nation immediately under his Jurisdiction for both the Promises and Obedience under that Dispensation were different from the Promises and Obedience of the other one promising only Temporal Blessings and requiring External Obedience the other promising Spiritual and Eternal Blessings and requiring Internal and sincere Obedience and though the New Covenant which God makes with the People under the Gospel had its beginning already in Adam's time immediately after the Fall and was again publish'd in the days of Abraham Yet notwithstanding all this it may justly be call'd New because of the clear and fuller Revelation of it when Christ the foundation of it appear'd and by his Death confirm'd all the Predictions Prophecies Types and Prefigurations of it before and under the Law of Moses for then was made a new publication of it new Witnesses were made use of and new Motives and Encouragements were given and new Sacraments as Seals of that Covenant were added And this New Covenant the Blood or Wine the Embleme of it in the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper relates to and he that drinks of that Wine or Blood represented by it confirms that Covenant professes that he approves of it will stand to it and acknowledges the justness of his threatnings denounced against those who count this Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing Even the Civil and Political Covenant which God made with the People of the Jews was solemnized by Blood which is the reason of that passage Exod. 24. 7 8. And Moses took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the audience of the People and they said All that the Lord hath said will we do And Moses took the Blood and sprinkled it on the People and said Behold the Blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words And as in their suffering themselves to be sprinkled with that Blood they declared their unfeigned assent and consent to the conditions of that Covenant and profess'd that it was just with God to inflict death and ruine upon them if they did not study to obey that Covenant so in the New Testament in this Holy Sacrament those that come to be Partakers of it are sprinkled as it were with the invaluable Blood of Christ and by that own their hearty consent to the Conditions of the New Covenant and ratifie their Obedience and God's Promises and Threatnings too which are the Sanctions of this Covenant IV. In this Covenant the Parties concern'd are God and Man yet from hence no Person is to conclude that God stood in need of this Alliance We indeed had need of it and it was our Interest that God should do so His vouchsafing to come to such a Contract speaks his Goodness and there is not a greater Argument of his Clemency and Compassion He could have been Great Glorious and Magnificent without us and what need had he of the Friendship of such miserable Creatures as we are that was All in All His Excellency and Beatitude receive no addition by this Covenant and what had it been to him if we had been left in the common mass of Corruption and Perdition What could he have lost by our Eternal Groans or what disparagement could it have been to him to let us sink into the Gulph when our Sins and Offences were the meritorious cause of it It shews his infinite Goodness and condescention that he will enter into promises and engagements with his Creatures and we are Brutes if the thoughts of his Mercy in this particular do not force our Tongues to break forth into admiration of it Our Misery and Wretchedness required such a favour and without it we must have been as great strangers to happiness as we were to power and ablility to help our selves Commisseration to our Poverty and undone Condition moved the Almighty to come to terms with us and this Covenant is our advantage and emolument God gets no profit by it and though it is a publication of his Goodness and proclaims the Wonders of his Loving-kindness yet God might have found out other ways to manifest that and it 's we that are the Gainers by this Contract V. In this Covenant God must not be considered only as an infinite most perfect and most excellent Being but more particularly under that threefold Relation of 〈◊〉 Son and Holy-Ghost Man also is not only to be looked upon as Gods Creature but as a Sinner fallen from God apostatiz'd from Righteousness and standing in need of Gods Help Assistance Grace and Reconciliation and as one who of a Child of Wrath is to be made a Child of God of an Enemy a Friend of an Heir of Hell an Heir of Heaven and Co-heir with Christ And accordingly this Sacramental Covenant is nothing else but a mutual Promise of an offended God and the offender whereby both Parties do unfeignedly and without guile or fraud
a Month is a just distance to take notice what progress we make in Goodness and what effects the last Communion hath upon our Spirits and though I can alledge no express Command for it out of the Word of God yet there is a Command which imports as much even this Obey them that have the Rule over you in the Lord and submit your selves for they watch for your Souls as they that must give an account that they do it with Joy and not with Grief Heb. 13. 17. But these Arguments are needless to a Soul that hath a lively Sense of the Love of God Love will run without a driver and there needs no pulling or haling him to the Communion who hath seen and tasted how sweet and how gracious the Lord is That inward Sense will make him come frequently whether his Superiours command him or no. He that doth nothing in Religion but what his Governoâ—s force him to doth not yet understand what that means The Love of God is shed abroad in our Hearts He that hath this Sense finds a Law within stronger than the Law of all Superiors and which hath greater power with him than all external motives He that loves Christ fervently will love to be with him frequently and since the Communion Table is the place where Christ hath promised to him he 'll be as often there as he can except Sickness or some such inevitable impediments hinder him the rather because here Men hear the joyful sound of Pardon and walk in the light of Godâ—s Countenance Psal. 89. 15. IV. But because I foresee it will be objected here That frequent Communicating will abate our esteem and veneration of this Sacrament as all things when grown common and familiar are apt to breed contempt and carelesness It 's fit I should answer and remove that pretended stumbling-block And therefore 1. It cannot be frequent Communicating consider'd in it self that abates our Zeal and Fervor to this Ordinance for let the Communion be never so frequent the Arguments and Motives are still the same their Grandeur Strength Force and Power is still the same still these are able to kindle holy Fire on the Altars of our Souls to raise admiration of God's Mercies aud to enliven our Spirits into Conscientiousness and severity of life and if this be the natural tendency of these Motivies at one time it is so to another and consequently the abatement of our esteem and veneration is not the necessary effect of frequent Communicating and in this the Primitive Believers are a signal instance who though they Communicated some every day some every Lord's day yet did not that frequency lessen their Veneration of these mysteries It rather increas'd and cherish'd it and we have reason to ascribe their contempt of Sublunary Contents their Courage in Adversity their Valour in Persecution their ardent desires after another Life their invincible Patience under reproaches their Constancy in the severest Tryals their wonderful Joy in Troubles and their prodigious Self-denials to this frequent Communicating This as it was a means to set their Master always before their Eyes so it left an aw upon their Spirits not to dishonour him by their lives This was a perpetual curb to their Lusts and having his Image constantly before them made them walk as Children of their Father which is in Heaven so that if frequent Communicating be not the necessary cause of an abatement in our veneration of this Sacrament it must be some other accidental thing which may be remedied that must occasion it And therefore 2. Some decay in the Receiver some indisposition in the inward Man must be charged with this dis-esteem of the ordinance and it is not the frequent Communicating that is the cause but want of care and watchfulneâ—s in the Communicant Indeed where People approach this Holy Table frequently and bring no Hearts with them no desires after a better Life do not think it worth while to spend serious thoughts on the Death they are going to remember come to it without any design of being like Christ premise only a few Prayers out of Custom touch the Ark with unwashen hands dive not into their hearts nor do prepare themselves for this Banquet thrust themselves in as the Guest in the Gospel without suitable Ornaments do not plow up the fallow Ground or do not make it soft and Mellow with Meditation and Praises and consider not what they come for or to what end and purpose they give their attendance at the Altar there we need not wonder if frequent Communicating abates their esteem and veneration of this Sacrament but this is their Sin and frequent Communion is not to be blamed it 's their love to the World that will not suffer them to bring that attention watchfulness and devotion with them as is requisite to the comfortable use of this Ordinance a Sin which must be deplored and like the cursed thing in the Camp of Israel removed before they come to see the goings of God in the Sanctuary The Covetous Man abates not in his esteem of his Wealth and Treasure though he look upon it every day and the reason is because his Affections are set upon it and were our Affections set upon him from whose fulness we all received Grace for Grace our frequent Communicating would be so far from lessening our esteem of this Sacrament that it would render it more lovely and more amiable to our Souls Two Men of the same Trade live together the one grows rich the other continues poor the one thrives the other decays because the one is industrious the other lazy one minds his business the other lies in Ale-houses and Taverns This is the Case here if some fall into a disesteem of the greatness of this Ordinance by frequent Communicating it is because they take no pains with their Souls before they Communicate whereas others who are laborious and careful though they recieve never so often they go on from strength to strength till every one of them appears before God in Sion V. But since frequent Communication requires frequent Preparation and frequent Preparation is a thing that Persons who have much business in the World cannot attend how can it be supposed necessary for such to Communicate frequently Though Preparation be a Subject that I intend to spend a distinct Chapter upon yet something may be said of it here by the by and by way of anticipation to shew the weakness of this excuse and the vanity of this exception And therefore 1. Business is either lawful or unlawful If it be unlawful no conscentious Man must either involve himself in it or continue to mind it for whoever applys his Thoughts Desires or Affections to any business of that nature puts himself in a state of Damnation and hangs over Hell fire by a very weak and feeble Thread even this Transitory Life which if it chance to break his Soul is lost in a word unlawful business makes a
Perfections but to have thy Imperfections supplied Thou comest not hither to boast of thy Cleanness but to be washed from their Sins Thou comest not hither to glory in thy Merits but to receive an Alms at thy great Master's Hands his Grace his Love his Compassion will make thee worthy Thou comest not to give him an Account of thy Riches but as an hungry Beggar that wants Bread to feed on the hidden Manna All that is required of thee is to look upon thy Redeemer as thy greatest Friend and to use him like a Friend to make his Friendship an Enforcive to love him and so to love him as to hearken to his Counsels to be govern'd by his Directions to bid farewel to all things that will destroy that Friendship to repent of thy Unkindnesses to him and to prefer his Advice before that of Flesh and Blood to hearken to his Instructions more than to the false Suggestions of the World and so to remember that thy Sins have contributed to his Crucifixion as to punish them with Frowns and Mortifications If thou art willing to this he will supply thy Defects he will satisfie thy hungry Soul he will feed thee from his Storehouse and make thy Soul Partaker of his purchased Possession Let not thy Unworthiness discourage thee 'T is confessed thou art a poor vile Worm a Sinner a wretched Creature not worthy of the least of all his Mercies not worthy to be taken notice of not worthy of the least Glimpse of his Favour but still if he is pleased to count and esteem thee worthy it is Contempt of his Love if thou dost not accept of this gracious Offer and come and liâ—t up thine Hands towards his holy Oracle If thou wilt but look upon thy Sins as Enemies and if they do assault thee wilt vigorously oppose thy self against their Attempts and if they do surprize thee once or twice wilt renew thy Courage against them and do any thing rather than yield to them and set up this Resolution in thy Heart that the Lord shall be thy God thou shalt be worthy he will give thee Grace which shall make thee worthy His Flesh shall nourish thy Soul his Blood shall enrich the Ground of thy Heart his Presence shall give thee Life his Assistance will make thee spiritual his Spirit will enable thee to rejoyce in him that made thee make thee a worthy Conqueror worthy of the Tree of Life and worthy of that Pardon he hath purchased for thee on the Cross when in his own Body he bore thy Sins upon the Tree that thou being dead to Sin mightest live unto God III. Among the various sorts of Persons that are loth to come to this holy Sacrament those betray strange Imprudence as well as Obstinacy that are loth to part with their Sins and therefore are loth to come for fear they should eat and drink unworthily and make themselves guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord and eat and drink their won Damnation But O Generation of Vipers Who hath told you that this is the way to escape the Wrath to come Who hath been so wise as to inform you that this way you may flee from the Indignation of the Lord In what Scripture have you read that your not coming to this Sacrament because you are loth to prophane it by your Sins will save you from Perdition 'T is very true and you are in the right when you suppose that your Refractoriness to Reformation and Amendment makes you unworthy Receivers But can you imagine that you are ever a whit the safer for not coming Will not the Sins you live and continue in do your Work for you and make you Heirs of Damnation The wilful Neglect of this Sacrament is a damnable Sin And can you think that your not coming will make your Condition more easie and tolerable 'T is true you pretend you will not prophane it and therefore do not come You are sensible it requires Reformation and because your Circumstances will not permit you to lead better Lives you are loth to add to your Danger by eating and drinking unworthily But when your not coming to this Sacrament makes you miserable as well as your coming and receiving unworthily 't is strange that the Point of adding some Grains to the Bulk of your Misery should make you afraid of coming I will not deny but Eating and Drinking unworthily doth in some measure aggravate the Evil a Man lives in because he adds Scorn to his Impiety but as long as his Impenitence without coming and his coming unworthily do both involve him in the Danger of Damnation it is a foolish Plea to preted you dare not come for fear of aggravating your Condemnation as if Damnation were tolerable and the Degrees of it only intolerable But we see what you drive at You hope some time before you die and when you will not have those Opportunities of sinning that now you have you may receive it and save your Souls at last But to hear Men talk of what they shall do hereafter when they have not one Minute of their Lives at their Command is so ridiculous that it needs no Answer This is certain your Sins are sweet and your evil Lives make you fit to live in the World and therefore you will not come But will this Argument hold Water do you think when God shall plead with you Surely your Sins are very precious things that you dare refuse coming to this holy Ordinance for them The Scripture calls them Filth and Poyson for so they are in the Eyes of an holy God And are they dearer to you than the Love of God They are perfect Leprosie And had had you rather be full of Sores and Boyls than come hither to be made clean They crucified your Saviour And will you keep that which murther'd him They are the Disgrace and Reproach of your Souls And will you delight in your Infamy They are the things that separate betwixt a glorious God and you And will you uphold that fatal Distance and Separation They exclude you from the Kingdom of Heaven And will you be content with that Exclusion Are you wise and understanding Men And will you not open your Eyes and see your Danger What do you call Contempt of God if this be not it What do you call slighting of Incomprensible Mercy if this do not deserve that Name Can you hope for God's Pardon at last that refuse to accept of it in this Ordinance Do you believe you have Souls and that it is your Interest to secure them against Mischief And will you prefer a few airy volatile Joys before their Safety Sinner When is it that thou dost intend to reform Is it when an angry God looks thee in the Face and an evil Conscience upon thy Death-bed presages thy future Torments Is it possible that an offended God will then fly into thy Embraces whom thou didst not care for all thy Days Behold in this
Virgin of that Town whom he courted and loved entirely but the more he courted her the more refractory she was till she even abus'd him and reproach'd him and shut the door against him The Priest seeing no way to compass his designs consults his Oracle and Idol but receives no answer In the mean while a killing sickness seiz'd the Town a Distemper which made People mad and dye raving The evil being become universal and spreading daily more and more some of the chief Men of the Town resolve to send an Embassie to one of the Heathen Gods in another City which gives them this Answer That this Plague should not cease till one Callirrboe a Virgin in that Town were offer'd in Sacrifice or some Person for her The news of the Oracle being noised about the Town Callirrboe goes to all her Friends to see whether any would suffer for her but finding none so fond she prepares for deâ—th and coming forth at the day appointed dress'd in her Funeral Robes Coresus that was to be the Executioâ—er appears with his Sword to cut off her Head for it was his Office upon such dreadful Solemnities but as he is preparing to give the fatal blow his Bowels began to yearn and to destroy a Person whom he had loved with most cordial affection was so severe a tryal to him that rather than be guilty of so barbarous a Fact in the presence of the whole Assembly he runs the drawn Sword into his own Bowels and as the Blood was now issuing in Rivers from his Body professes to the Damfel that he dyed for her so sincere so strong so fervent was his Love Callirrhoe astonish'd at the sight and confounded with the enterprize her stubborn Heart melts and now would have saved his Life with her own but it was too late yet to make him amends her Love to him on a sudden grows so violent that she resolv'd not to out-live him and at the same instant made her Life a Sacrifice to bear him company Meditation of Christ's Passion produces in a manner the same effect for as it represents Christ's dying for the stubborn sinner and â—ying for love of him it raises reciprocal flames in the considerate Soul It puts the case Suppose there should be a King most Wise most Rich most Potent most Beautiful most Gracious in the very flower of his age who being about to Marry should cast his Eyes and Love upon a poor Country Maid his Subject and withal very much deformed homely ignorant despised and disregarded by the meanest Men adorned with no good Quality that should cause attraction and solemnly Marry her What an obligation would that be to that poor infirm Creature advanced to a Throne from nothing from worse than nothing to entertain that Royal Husband with marvellous respect and to behave her self in his Presence with all possible Reverence and Love and Modesty considering what she hath been and what she is come to by his means What an obligation to Treat him with all Respect Honour and Humility What an obligation to love him with a most ardent most tender and most affectionate Love and to be most true and faithful to him loving none like him who has deservâ—d so much at her hands What an obligation to commend and praise him and to express her Sense of his unspeakable Favour to her What an obligation when he is sick to tend him to be about his Bed to declare her Sorrow and Grief and Compassion by her Tears especially since he hath humbled himself beyond example to espouse her What an obligation when he is absent to speak of him to long for him and to be impatient for his return What an obligation to sing his Virtues his Condescension his Mercy and his Charity and to magnifie his Wisdom his Goodness his Beauty and his Love to her What an obligation to give him content in all things and to deport her self every where so as to please him What an obligation if she have committed the least offence to think of it with great regret and remorse to beg his Pardon and to implore his Mercy What an obligation to endure any thing any trouble any cross any inconvenience for his sake and to think her self happy that she is in a capacity to suffer any thing for his Name What an obligation to be entirely subject to him and to yield to all things he desires of her Finally What an obligation to think her self most happy in his love and to rejoyce in being thus advanced by him to a state she could never have wish'd or hoped for Meditation having put this case applies it to the present occasion and saith Thou O my Soul thou art that poor despicable contemptible Maid that the Monarch of the Universe the Wisest the most Potent the greatest Prince in the World did fall in love with There was no Beauty no Wisdom no good Qualities no Perfection no Amiableness in Thee for which he should think of thee for his Spouse and that which surpasses all admiration this Sovereign Prince this Prince of Princes could not gain this wretched Maiden but by enduring a Thousand Torments by spilling of his Blood and hazarding his Life and he freely and cheerfully Sacrificed himself to obtain thy Love He required no Dowry of thee for he was infinitely Rich and thou miserably Poor He loved thee not in a foolish Passion for he is infinitely Wise He chose thee not for his Pleasure for thou wert defiled to a Prodigy and himself is happy and was happy in himself from all Eternity nor did he Marry thee by force for he is Omnipotent but it was mere Love mere Charity mere Compassion that he set his Affections upon thee and by his Marrying thee he hath ennobled thee aggrandiz'd thy Fortune made thee Wise and Rich and Great and Beautiful and hast not thou reason to love him with all thy heart and with all thy strength And by such Meditations of Christ's Passion the Soul is enflamed with the Love of the Lord Jesus Add to all this 3. What can be a more proper preparative for this Sacrament wherein the Passion and sufferings of our Lord are most solemnly remembred than a previous Meditation of his Sufferings For hereby the Soul will be more expedite in that remembrance and remember that Death not only with greater facility but with greater Sense and greater Affections too It is so with Men that are to speak in Publick they premeditate what they are to say and think much of the thing they are to be upon when they come before the Assembly and I see no reason but this may be a good preparative for acting in publick too Certainly he that actuates his Faculties thus in private will be better able to exercise them in publick for hereby the Heart is season'd and when it appears before God in this Ordinance the sense which the private Meditation hath lest upon it fits it the better for participation of
Judge and he that thus condemns himself judges himself IV. The third act of Judging our selves is to inflict Judgments upon our selves By which I do not mean maiming or wounding our selves or cutting off an Arm or a Leg or whipping our selves but inflicting such Judgments on our selves for the Sins we have been guilty of and so often fallen into as are neither hurtful to the Body nor unprofitable nor prejudicial to the Soul but serve rather to bring the Soul into an excellent temper These Judgments though the design of them is to meliorate the Soul yet they are in a great measure to be inflicted on the Body because the Body tempts the Soul to great extravagancies and by presenting a thousand pleasant Objects to her leads her into Nets and Snares and Dangers The Judgment therefore must be laid upon that part which is the tempter and that being under restraint the Soul may more freely move toward her Center God blessed for evermore It 's true naturally no Man hates his own Flesh but cherishes it and makes much of it but Grace and the Gospel teaches us to treat it with greater rigour To be too fond of the Body in St. Bernard's sense is a Charity which destroys Charity a Mercy which is full of Cruelty for this is to serve the Body in order to kill the Soul Is this Charity saith he to tender the Body and to neglect the Soul To caress the Handmaid and to let the Mistress starve Let no Man think that for being thus merciful he will ever obtain mercy So that the Flesh and Body are to be treated as a wild or unruly Horse if we curb him not he will give us a fall Our Bodies are greater Enemies than we are aware they are friends too but the hurt they do too often to our Souls shews they are greater Enemies than Friends and therefore the Fathers do so often call the Flesh the Grave of the Soul a Prison where we are held Captive and a Dungeon where we sit in Darkness The Platonists used to say that our Souls deriving their Original from Heaven are sent into this World to shew forth the Praises of God here on Earth as the Angels do in Heaven but the Body the Soul is in is a kind of Inchanted Castle in which the Soul through the flatteries of the Flesh forgetting too often her nobler Extraction is diverted from her glorious Designs and debased to vile Employs And to this purpose Seneca That the Body is the weight and punishment of the Soul lying heavy upon it ready to link it and putting Shackles upon her if Philosophy do not make a Reformation The Body therefore being such a treacherous Servant must feel the effects of our Justice as it hath been the great instrument of the Sins we have committed that it may be more modest in its Desires And accordingly we find that good Men in all Ages when they have sate as Judges upon themselves to shew their detestation of the Sins they have been guilty of have inflicted Judgments on that part which is most sensible of any thing that is uneasie not out of any ill will to it for it is God's Creature but to preserve both Body and Soul unto Salvation So David punish'd himself for his Sins sometimes by mingling his Drink with Weeping Psal. 102. 9. Sometimes by making Sackcloth his Garment Psal. 69. 11. Sometimes by weakening his Knees with Fasting and Prayer Psal. 109. 24. Sometimes by making his Bed swim with Tears Psal. 6. 6. Sometimes by great acts of Self-denial as overcoming Shimei ' s Malice with Patience and Meekness 2 Sam. 16. 10. And delivering him that without cause was his Enemy Psal. 7. 4. And keeping Fasts and Humiliation Days for the recovery of those that were his Enemies Psal. 35. 13. Sometimes by lying all Night upon the Earth or Floor 2 Sam. 12. 16. Sometimes by rising at Midnight to praise God Psal. 119. 61. So the Penitent Publican punish'd himself by a violent smiting his Breast Luke 16. 13. So Mary Magdalen punished her self by washing the Feet of the Lord Jesus with her Tears and wiping them with the Hair of her Head Luke 7. 37. So Zacheus punish'd himself by giving the halfe of his Goods to the Poor and by fourfold Restitution Luke 19. 7. So St. Paul punished himself by keeping under his Body and bringing it into subjection 1 Cor. 9. 27. By making himself a Servant to all that he might gain the more 1 Cor. 9. 19. By labouring Day and Night that he might not be chargeable to the Church 1 Thess. 2. 9. By denying himself in Marriage 1 Co. 9. 5. So Daniel punished himself for his own and his People's Offences three Weeks together by eating no pleasant Bread by avoiding Flesh and Wine and forbearing to anoint himself Dan. 10. 2 3. So the Primitive believers punished themselves by various Self-denials in the Pleasures Satisfactions and Recreations of the Flesh and of the World thereby to express their Anger either against Sin in general or against some particular Sins they had run into But the most usual Judgment that good Men have ever inflicted on themselves as a Testimony of their Displeasure against themselves for offending God hath been Fasting and Prayer or chastening their Flesh by frequent Fasts spent in deprecations of God's Judgments and in other exercises of Humiliation and when Men have said to them Why are you so cruel as not to spare your Flesh They have answered We spare or use it as we do the Earth which we plough and cut with Coulters that it may bring forth more Fruit. V. This judging our selves in all its acts is certainly very pleasing to God especially before we come to the Holy Communion else St. Paul would never have told us in the passage mentioned in the beginning of this Chapter that by doing so we do put a stop to God's judging of us So that we have reason to believe that God upon our accusing our selves or humble Confessions stops the mouth of the Accuser of our Brethren which is open against us who this is we may learn from Rev. 12. 10. even the Devil who brings severe Accusations against us before God night and day and as he wants neither Wit nor Malice to do it so we have an instance of it in the History of Job Chap. 1. Ver. 9. Where appearing among the Sons of God whether wrapt up in a dark Cloud or in the form of an Angel of Light is not said but among the Angels that gave an account of their Negotiations here on Earth to God he appear'd and as those Ministring Spirits were commending Job for his exemplary Virtue so he displeased at the fair Character immediately seeks to blast and sully it by aspersions and misconstructions and thus we must suppose he deals with other persons that have the same inclinations to Virtue for those Examples are recorded in Scripture not only to tell us what happened just at
such a time but what will happen in future Ages under the same Circumstances And therefore though our actions be never so innocent nay though our good Works be never so sincere yet they shall not want his false Glosses and Comments and Misconstructions and where our Actions are ill we must expect he will aggravate them make them worse and blacken them to an high degree But where the Penitent says all the ill he can of himself gives as bad a description in a manner of himself as the Enemy can do prostrates himself before God grants all that is brought against him by the Devil with any colour of Truth is so for far from palliating his Follies that he unfolds and lays them open before God and makes as full a Narrative of them as he can pleads guilty to all that is laid at his door This ingenuous accusation or confession dashes the Devil's attempts and at the sight of it the Bowels of Almighty Mercy yearn and melt and the Enemy is bid to spare his pains and the Accusations that drop from the Penitent's Mouth are much sweeter in the ears of God than those which the base Foe brings forth from an envious and malicious Breast This self-accusation in the Penitent is pleasing Rhetorick in Heaven God hears the humble Orator is delighted with his sincerity and charges the Enemy to hold his Peace And as this self-accusation renders the accusations of the Devil against us ineffectual so our condemning our selves blots out the Hand-writing that is against us and makes void the sentence of Condemnation our Sins have deserv'd and this is to conform to God's Justice as well as to his Precepts God looks upon our Sins as having deserv'd unquenchable Fire and by his Conscience tells the Sinner Thou art an Heir of Damnation and a Child of Wrath and where the Sinner eccho's the Thunder of God and answers in the same Voice and Language of Condemnation is both sensible and owns that he hath deserv'd the Punishment that Rebels do this makes admirable Musick in Heaven Musick so delightful that God changes the voice of Terror into a still one and the Accents of Wrath into softer strains of Mercy In this Self-condemnation if it be hearty God hath his end for when he threatned the Sinner with Condemnation it was to oblige him to condemn himself the End being gain'd God's Condemnation ceaseth and as it was at Athens a free and ingenuous confession of a fault saved the Malefactor's Life so this condemning our selves and throwing a black Stone into the Box against our selves renders God so favourable as to let us draw out a white one the sign of a gracious Absolution our adjudging our selves to the everlasting Prison frees us from it and our sentence against our selves makes so great an alteration in God's Sentence against us that Justice gives place to Mercy the Judge descends from the Tribunal gives us his hand and talks of nothing less than gathering us with everlasting kindness The same must be affirmed of inflicting Judgments upon our selves It is of that power that even the Temporal Judgments which were design'd against us are either with-held or remov'd upon it or if not all yet such as would have been most afflictive and painful and most durable in doing so we do that which God would have done and doing it voluntarily and of our own accord we escape the Judgment of God For God having a mind to stop us in our sinful career intended to deprive us of our ease either by Sickness or by Losses or some other trouble and disaster and since we voluntarily deprive our selves of our ease and quiet and sensual satisfaction and repose by inflicting something that 's irksome to Flesh and Blood upon our selves God looks as it were upon his Judgment as needless and supersedes it The King of Israel 1 King 21. 27. makes but an external shew of afflicting himself and he got the fearful Judgment threatned him by Elijah transferr'd from himself to his wicked Posterity what then may we think of these Acts of vindictive Justice upon our selves if the Heart joyn with the outward Man and the Soul bear her share in the Mortification as well as the Body How the Pagan King of Niniveh his Nobles and his People punish'd themselves for their sins is graphically described Jon. 3. 6 7 8 9. And what follows v. 10. God saw their Works that they turned from their evil ways and God repented of the Evil he said he would do unto them and did it not VI. That which renders this judging our selves so acceptable to God next to the merits of our ever blessed Jesus with whom alone God is well pleased and for whose sake it is that he is kind and favourable to us as to any thing we do That which next to this renders this accusing condemning and inflicting Judgments upon our selves so acceptable to God are 1. The Humility that appears in it That 's the pleasing sight and the glorious thing which the high and lofty One delights in That 's the Flower God loves to smell to the beautiful Garment he loves to see the King's Daughter in the sweet Frame he hath made so many gracious Declartions to He sees the Soul abominating her self for her Abominations an huge sense of her own vileness over speads all that is within her He beholds what lowly thoughts the penitent Creature hath of himself and how despicable he is in his own Eyes and what strong apprehensions he hath of God's Greatness and his own vileness That attracts the Divine Favour that inclines and draws that Sovereign Benevolence that in a manner compels the Almighty into thoughts of Peace toward him This Humility is the Image of his own Son and with that Face he is ever pleased The Soul having no opinion of her self God conceives the greater of her The Waters of Heaven stay not upon the tops of Mountains but roll down into the humble Valleys there the Rain gathers and causes Fertility and a nobler Verdure 2. There appears in this judging our selves a willingness to do any thing to be reconciled to God and that 's another thing which very much takes with the Father of the Spirits of all Flesh He that accuses condemns and inflicts Judgments upon himself discovers a longing desire to be receiv'd into God's Favour upon any terms and shews That he cares not whatever it cost him so he may be but so happy as to enjoy that Sun-shine His great concern is how he shall be pardon'd for what 's past as for the future he will make no bargains with his God but is content to hear his Voice in all things that he shall say unto him He is willing to run upon what errand soever God shall think fit to send him willing to be advised counselled and directed by him willing to forego all Interests so he may but have one in his love and kinder smiles and may have leave to call him
love thee feel XI O Saviour Gentle as the Spirit that in the shape of a Dove lighted on thy Sacred Head Teach me that Meekness which look'd so amiable in thy Life Expel the evil Spirits of Wrath Anger and Pride and Envy out of my Soul Speak the word and these Winds and Waves will obey thee Let thy gentleness make me great When I shall have overcome my wrathful and proud Inclinations and O! let the Sacrament I am going to help me in the Conquest then shall I be great and glorious in thy sight XII Great Shepherd of my Soul whose Wounds are full of Sweetness full of Mercy full of Charity Let thy Wounds prove the most powerful Remedies to rid me of my Corruptions When any impure Thoughts rise in me let thinking of thy Wounds crush them when sluggishness in Religion assaults me let thy Wounds and the remembrance of them make me vigilant in thy service and when in the Holy Sacrament I think of thy Wounds let all my vain imaginations expire XIII Great Friend of my immortal Soul Such a friend is not to be found in all the World as thou hast been to me for thou hast laid down thy Life for me O let me make much of thy friendship and cherish it by being meek and humble and merciful and patient as thou wert that thou mayest be my Friend when I dye and after Death receive me to thy self O confirm and seal thy Friendship to my Soul in the Blessed Sacrament and let the same Spirit move in me which raised thee from the dead XIV O Thou who hast wash'd me from my Sins with thine own Blood chuse I beseech thee my Heart for thy Dwelling place adorn and replenish it with thy Gifts and Graces make me to loath all transitory things make me poor in Spirit cure in me the itch of Self-love throw down all pride and eagerness after the Riches of this World and make the Holy Sacrament I am going to a mean to adore thee in Spirit and in Truth and to persevere in Goodness to the end XV. Great Comforter of all weary and laden Souls Circumcise my Heart from all evil Thoughts and Words and Actions and Comunicate thy self unto me that I may never be separated from thee or ever be deprived of thy Comfort Draw my Soul after thee in the Holy Sacrament and let that Blessed Ordinance powerfully stir up my Heart to love thee XVI O Thou who art the door of thy Sheepfold By thee let me have access to thy Father's Love And as in the Holy Sacrament thou openest thy Bosom to me so let me run and seek shelter there Chain me to thy self by Bands of Love and let no Temptation defile me O keep me that I may never cowardly faint at any adversity XVII Thou who hast endured contradictions of Sinners against thy self Be thou ever in my mind and teach me to bear Calumnies and Reproaches with great tranquility of Mind Let me refer all difficulties to thee and with silence expect thy Grace and Comfort and let the Blessed Sacrament so influence my Soul that I may fear none but thee XVIII Great Captain of my Salvation I am going to learn to fight the good fight in the Blessed Sacrament of thy Love Let thy great example there encourage me to fight against all Ambition and Ostentation against Censoriousness and Uncharitableness against all Intemperance and Gluttony against all proud and covetous Thoughts against Guile and Hypocrisie against discontentedness and misitrinst of thy Providence Against such Enemies give me grace to fight over these let me triumph that having striven lawfully I may at last be admitted to the Glorious sight of thy Sweet Self and be charm'd with thy Love for ever CHAP. XXVII Of the proper Acts of Devotion when we come to the Holy Table The CONTENTS Private Acts of Devotion must be forborn while the Congregation joyns in common Addresses to Almighty God General Acts of Devotion relating to the wonderful Love of Christ and our Love to him Particular Acts of Devotion at the Consecration and Receiving of the holy Symbols I. THE following Acts are fittest to be used before the Prayers of the Church usual at the Communion do begin or before the Minister of the Ordinance comes to us with the sacred Symbols and while others are Communicating II. While the Minister of the Ordinance is engaged in the Prayers of the Church these Ejaculations must be forborn our Duty during the publick Devotions being to joyn with the Congregation in their common Addresses to God These Acts of Devotion are either General or Particular The General I call those which respect the Love of the Lord Jesus The Particular those which are to be exercised at the Consecration and Receiving of the Consecrated Bread and Wine General Acts of Devotion at the Lord's Table I. GReat Saviour of the World Thou art infinitely amiable worthy to be loved by all to whose Ears the joyful Message of thy Love doth come I rejoyce in the Knowledge of thy Love I count my self happy that I am born under the Shadow of thy Gospel in which thy wonderful Love to the Children of Men is manifested I desire no other Knowledge 'T is enough that I know thou hast loved me beyond Example I desire to count all things Dross and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ. II. O my Jesus I am not worthy to love thee Yet because thou biddest me love thee and hast told me that my Soul was created on purpose to love thee I chearfully resign my Love and Affection to thee I desire to love thee I wish for nothing more than that I may passionately love thee Whom have I in Heaven to love but thee And there is none on Earth that I desire to love more than thy self For thou art altogether lovely and thy Love surpasses all the Love of Friends and the dearest Relations I have III. O my blessed Redeemer I desire to love thee with all my Heart and with all my Strength Thou gavest me this Heart and this Strength And on whom can I bestow it better than on thee the Author of it Oh that all that is within me might be turned into Desires and Inclinations and Sighs and Languishings and Breathings after thee For I cannot express what thou hast done for me What thou hast done for me is beyond all the Kindness that the greatest Men ever did or can do for the meanest and poorest Creatures IV. Great Advocate of my Soul Thou seest my Desire to love thee Make it strong and powerful Take a Coal from the Altar and give it Fire that nothing may hinder the Flame from mounting up that nothing may weaken this Desire nothing may break it nothing may tire it nothing may mingle with it that is unclean or contrary to thy Love V. Great Object of my Desires Make me a Martyr of thy Love Make me willing even to die for love of thee Raise a