of God He will give us Spiritual strength to perform our Duty so far as that we shall be accepted through the Mediation of Jesus Christ If we will not undertake we shall not be able to perform but if we will undertake and bind our selves to do our Duty He will inable us to perform it It might seem a strange thing that God should require of us to bind our selves and undertake to do that which we cannot do of our selves as we do in obliging our selves to all those things fore-mentioned if it were not that the very binding our selves to this does entitle us by the Tenour of this Covenant to Grace sufficient for us In all the Exhortations of the Gospel to any Instance of Duty we may reckon there is comprehended also the Offer of Divine Assistance which shall be afforded to Him who yields in the purpose and desire of his Soul to comply with those Exhortations No Man therefore shall have ground to complain that he would leave his known Sins and do the Duties which he knows he omits but cannot do so For if a Man sincerely desires to leave his Sins devotes himself to his Duty and diligently uses the Means that may inable him to do it That is If he waits on God for this Grace in earnest and persevering Prayer and a due attendance on the Preaching of the Word and the Sacraments that Man shall infallibly come to be able to do what he thus wills and desires For He that hungers and thirsts after Righteousness shall be filled as our Saviour says And God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him It is the Favour of this New Covenant to help us to do what it requires us to do The last Favour and Blessing of this Covenant is an Everlasting Happiness both of Body and Soul in Heaven We are left by it indeed subject to a natural Death to mind us of our guilty Rebellion against God That we may not forget we are Sinners and do deserve an Eternal Death On purpose that the sence of this might quicken our desire and concern to recover the Divine Favour and make us the more ready and willing to submit to the Terms of recovering it But Death shall not long have Dominion over us God will not leave the Soul in Hell that is it shall not be always separated from the Body nor shall the Body be always subject to the Ignominy and Punishment of its Dissolution Since the Sins are pardon'd which did deserve Death the Creature shall be released from it And our Saviour's Resurrection from the Dead does especially assure the Resurrection of those that believe on Him He has also promised that he will give them Eternal life and raise them up again at the last day The Body then however scatter'd and dispers'd and lost to all knowledge of Men shall be gather'd together by the Wisdom of God and be raised to Life by his Almighty Power And it shall be raised with great advantage It was sown a Natural Body it shall be raised a Spiritual Body It was sown in Corruption but it shall be raised Immortal And the Soul shall be again united to it never to be separated more But both shall be taken up to dwell in a glorious happy place where is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore To live in the Fellowship and Communion of kind happy and glorious Angels To dwell in the Presence of God and contemplate and praise and love Him and rejoice in his Love for ever This is now the whole Tenour of the New Covenant which was procur'd for us by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ our kind and powerfull Advocate SECT IX The Sacraments of This Covenant AND this Covenant also hath its Sacraments God has appointed sensible Actions and Signs in and by which it is to be made between Him and us In the use of these Sacraments we must testifie our Consent to this Covenant and signifie that we own our selves engag'd in it And in the use of these must we wait for and expect the Blessings and Favours on God's part to be afforded us It is by these that He has determin'd to convey those Favours which we can at present receive which are the Pardon of our Sins and the Sanctification of our Natures and also to assure that which we are to hope for our Everlasting Happiness and Glory These we must necessarily use then if Means and Opportunity be afforded us to do so that we may be partakers of his Favours And in using them we must sincerely purpose and bind our selves to the performance of our Duty The Sacraments appointed to be as we may say The Instruments of this Covenant since the coming of Christ which are all that nearly concern us are Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. These and these only are now generally necessary to Salvation By Baptism we are admitted into this Covenant and make our first solemn acceptance of it By the Lord's Supper we renew it if it has been broken on our part by any wilfull Sin committed since we were Baptized Or else we therein testifie and declare our continuance still in it and our purpose and desire to do so If any of us have liv'd so happily since we were Baptized as never to violate or break this Covenant by any wilfull known Sin It is true when we are Baptized in our Infancy we are not capable expressly to intend and design the performance of our part in this Covenant because we cannot then understand or know it But this Sacrament is in the purpose of God design'd for the Sacrament of our admission into this Covenant since the Appearance of Jesus Christ in the World And as that which was the Sacrament of this admission under the Jewish Dispensation was by God's appointment administred to Children at Eight days old so the Christian Church has been wont even from the Apostles times to administer Baptism to Infants from whence it is not to be doubted but they learnt to do this from the Apostles themselves And our Saviour gives a plain Encouragement to the practice when he says Suffer little Children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God Our Church therefore as without doubt it ought to do administers Baptism to Infants that they may partake of the Blessings of the New Covenant to their Salvation But because there is an engagement on the part of the Baptized person implied in his receiving Baptism the Wisdom and Piety of the Church has thought fit that it should be express'd too That so the Baptized person may be the better convinced afterwards that he did thus engage himself at his Baptism And because the Infant it self cannot express this the Church has provided that some Christian Friends should do it for us who are also Witnesses that the thing is done And they are bound to take care that as we grow up to the Use of our
hast been at so lately and He was Himself the Feast Jesus prepar'd it out of Love to Thee And because His great Love could not as we may easily imagine provide any thing better He provided Himself to be thy rich and costly Entertainment He has feasted thee with His Body and Blood He has in giving thee that Bread and Wine which was by the Minister according to his appointment consecrated and set apart to represent His broken Body and His Blood shed for Mankind made thee a partaker of the Spiritual Blessings and Benefits of His Death and Passion Oh how great Things has He then bestow'd on thee Where canst thou find again such Entertainment What Enjoyments of this poor World could afford it And if He has given thee never so much of this World He has herein given thee that which is of infinitely greater value And if He has given thee but little of this World thou hast no reason to complain of Him who has been so free so bounteous to thee in so much better things Say then to Him Oh how plenteous how rich is thy Goodness Lord which Thou hast in reserve for those that fear Thee and that hope in thy Mercy He has treated Thee with the Pardon of all thy Sins however numerous however heinous and guilty Canst thou forbear to admire and praise so great a Favour Is it not wondrous that so vast a Debt should be so freely forgiven thee Does not this Forgiveness restore thee to the Almighty Favour and Love of God And give thee leave to ask and ground to expect from Reconciled Heaven all that is good for thee and necessary to thy Salvation Oh say then Bless the Lord O my Soul All that is within me praise his Holy Name Who hath redeemed my Life from Destruction who forgiveth all my Sins Who crowneth me with Loving-kindness and tender Mercies Oh Blessed is the Man whose Transgression is forgiven whose Sin is cover'd Blessed O Lord Jesus is the Man that putteth his Trust in Thee He hath bestow'd on thee my Soul his Holy Spirit to dwell with and to sanctifie thee to fill thee with all Divine Graces To heal all the Distempers of thy Soul thy uneasie shamefull Distempers to make thee tolerable and pleasant to thy self and amiable and well-pleasing to Him Oh happy Souls that are the Temples of this Holy Spirit Where He dwells all things shall be in a beautifull Order all things composed and calm and peacefull all full of Joy There is a Peace which the World cannot give and a Joy unspeakable and full of Glory In them Heaven dwells already They shall be acquainted with its Incomparable Felicities here on Earth and they are seal'd hereby to the Day of Redemption Thy loving Lord then has given thee at this Feast too the Pledges and Earnests of Future Glory and Blessedness He has even united thee to Himself after a wonderfull manner He looks on thee as a Member of his own Body Has made thee Partaker in his Death and intends thee to partake in his Resurrection He will not leave thy Soul in Hell nor suffer thy Dead Body to lie always under Dissolution He will shew thee the Path of Life and thou shalt dwell at his right hand where are Pleasures for ever-more Thou shalt dwell in His presence where is fulness of Joy Oh how like a God has thy glorious and kind Saviour entertain'd thee None could ever bestow such things on thee but He. Thou hast been treated as a Favourite of Heaven who canst not chuse but acknowledge thy self a poor vile and contemptible Sinner All these Blessings and Favours He hath conferr'd upon thee and given thee in this Sacrament sensible Pledges and Tokens of them though thou art unworthy of the very meanest and the commonest of his Gifts to Mankind Assure thy self it was not for any Merit or Worthiness in thee that he has been so Bountifull but of his own free Motion There is nothing of Debt in his Love but thou must look upon it as altogether Obligation And now my Soul thou must consider too the mighty Obligation he has laid upon thee Thou art able to promise to do nothing in return for his Love but what he has infinitely oblig'd thee to Should such a Love as this ever be forgotten or rather should'st thou not resolve that thou wilt always retain a gratefull Sence of it And that such a Love shall be the greatest Joy and the sweetest Delight of thy Life That such a Love shall make an entire Conquest of thee and make thee subject to the pleasant Laws of it through the whole Course of thy Life Thou canst not sure for shame think of a less return than to give up thy self to Him To live to Him that died for thee To study and love what will please Him and do it in all things No thou canst not think of any thing less than of being His Servant who has bought thee with so great a Price Who has ransom'd thee from Hell and Everlasting Misery and that by his own cruel Sufferings and accursed Death And will it ever become thee thinkest thou after thou hast consider'd the cruel Sufferings of Jesus for thy sake to shrink or murmure at Sufferings or guiltily decline them Wilt thou pretend to be Follower a Disciple of Jesus and yet not be able to endure any thing grievous or inconvenient Has he suffer'd very grievous things for thee worse by far than thou art able or wilt ever be call'd to suffer for his sake And wilt thou suffer nothing for Him Was his way to Heaven encombred with sharp Thorns and will it become thee to murmure if thine be not strow'd with Roses Was the Great and Glorious Jesus despised in the World and must thou be mightily respected and honour'd Was Jesus the Son of David a rich and mighty King mean and poor and will nothing serve thee but to be vastly and superfluously rich For shame my Soul These Desires cannot become thee It is enough for the Disciple that he be as his Master and surely 't is an Honour that the Servant be as his Lord. If thou wilt be a Follower of Jesus thou must expect as the World hated Him saw no form nor comeliness in Him so it will hate and it will scorn thee It will not see any thing to admire in thee Consider the Sufferings of Jesus and harden thy self Learn from Him to despise the Inconveniences of this Life learn to despise its Allurements From his Indifferency towards it 't is thy Duty and thy Honour to be very Indifferent too And this as all thy Duty thou wilt find pleasant upon the trial of it and a reward to it self This will give thee an invincible composure and peace of Mind a happy Command and Enjoyment of thy self under all the Vicissitudes and Changes of this mutable uncertain World Consider further my Soul Has He blest thee with the Pardon of all thy Sins And
of his Maker and a perfect Happiness both of Body and Soul upon the Condition that He would continue in the due Reverence and Love of his Maker and Obey his Commands And it was made known to him that He should fall from the best of his Excellency from that wherein He was so pleasing to His Maker and from all his Happiness if he did not continue steadfast in his Duty and perfectly perform it as God had inabled him to do And this is that which is commonly call'd the First Covenant SECT IV. The Sacraments of That MOreover God having made Man to consist of a Body and a Soul and knowing that it is natural to Him for the Objects of his Senses to make great Impressions and to have a mighty Influence upon his Mind His Wisdom and Goodness order'd Matters so as that his Senses might help to admonish him of his Duty and to assure him of his Happiness in the performance of it And this we may suppose was the Reason and Ground of God's separating two Trees in the Garden where he had placed our First Parents for a peculiar and uncommon Use The One call'd the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil the Other call'd the Tree of Life These we may reckon to have been the Sacraments of the First Covenant For in these were Spiritual things by God's appointment represented by outward and visible Signs and Actions Man was assisted to remember his Duty and Obligations to his Maker by that Tree call'd the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. For we may suppose that the Fruit of this Tree was set a-part by God wholly for the following purpose Man was to take care to cultivate this Tree as well as others but he was to offer the Fruit of it at set-times solemnly and religiously to God as a visible Acknowledgment that he owned Him the Maker of all things and the Supreme Lord and the Proprietour of all This was reserved as we may say by God to be a devoted Thing and Man's Thank-offering to Him for all the rest of his Gifts And for this reason Man was forbid to eat of it himself For we find in later Times It was always held a very heinous and guilty Thing for Men to eat of or use what God had separated and reserved to Himself Now such a sensible outward Performance as the solemn offering of this Fruit to God and the looking upon it and using it onely as a Devoted Thing was an excellent and fit Means to admonish Mankind for ever to acknowledge their Maker and Preserver as the Supreme Lord and Proprietour of all things As it was a sensible Declaration that they did make this Acknowledgment so it was a sensible Obligation of themselves that they would continue to do so and the more a help to them to continue it and to answer all the Obligations which naturally result from it in the Course of their Lives And then the other Tree was appointed to assure Man upon his perfect Obedience of his Immortality and Everlasting Happiness So that whilst he continued stedfast in his Duty he had right to take and eat the Fruit of this Tree And he might take it as God's visible and sensible Pledge and as an Instrument of Conveyance of Eternal Life and Happiness to Him In like manner as now we have leave from God to look upon the Rain-bow not only as the natural Effect of the Sun shining upon a falling shower but as God's visible pledge and assurance to Mankind that He will never again destroy the World with a Deluge of Water SECT V. The Sin and Fall of Man THIS account shows the exceeding great Guilt and Wickedness of the Sin of our First Parents Their Sin was that they did Eat of that Forbidden Fruit and so they used and took to themselves what was reserv'd and devoted to God It was the bringing to a Common use that which was separated by his appointment to a Religious one and was the profaning of a Hallow'd or Holy Thing But let it be consider'd a little how monstrous and vile this Sin of our First Parents was How soon had they forgotten the mighty Obligations which the Creatour had so lately laid upon them How bountifull had he been to them How much had he freely given them And He with-held and reserv'd but one Fruit to Himself and this we may say they grudg'd and envied Him They would not be content with so vast a provision as he had made for them but would needs have this afforded too The poor depending Creature that deriv'd his Being and all he had would needs be sole Proprietour and absolute Lord of all things on the Earth and would acknowledge no Superiour They had no need of this Fruit were perfectly happy without it and might have continued so happy if they would have abstained from this But they most unreasonably despised their Happiness and hazarded the losing it for the sake of the Satisfaction and Advantage which they expected from this single Fruit. The Creatour indeed had been so good to them they would not believe he would so severely punish their Eating this Fruit as he had threatned to do and so that which should have oblig'd them to be stedfast in their Duty was most perversely turn'd into an Encouragement of Sin Oh vile and shamefull Wickedness Let us consider from what a vile Original we all spring and be all humbled and asham'd In yielding to this foul Act they lost that Holiness and Righteousness which they had been endow'd with and by which especially they had been pleasing to their Maker In this also they broke the Condition of the First Covenant which requir'd that they should constantly Reverence and Love their Creatour and obey Him in all things And the sad Consequence of this was That they hereby lost the Favour of God and forfeited all their own Happiness They lost all Right to the good things of this World to the Obedience and Serviceableness of the Creatures which God had made for them They became liable to the Penalty which God had threatned to inflict and immediately upon the Transgression did deserve to have been put to Death and to be thrown into the place of Everlasting Punishment prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels SECT VI. The New Covenant AND the utmost severity of the Threatning had been immediately executed in that manner upon them we may believe according as it was said In the day thou attest thereof thou shalt surely die If the Son of God had not become a Mediatour on their behalf And He freely undertook to do what ever might be necessary to render it consistent with the Honour of God to receive his Rebellious Creatures into Favour again to release their Obligation to Everlasting Punishment and restore them to perfect Happiness What He then undertook to do to this purpose we may learn and conclude from what He did in the Fulness of Time And that was
That He would unite Himself to the Humane Nature and would become Man In that Nature He would perform a perfect Obedience to God the Father that He might merit for Mankind the Happiness which was setled to be the Reward of perfect Obedience And to excuse Man from the Eternal Death which He had deserved by his Sin He undertook to suffer Death in his stead and so to make his Death a Sacrifice for the Sins of Mankind Thus much did He very kindly and of his own accord undertake to do for us and he was accepted of the Father and assur'd that He should by doing thus obtain the Favour for us which He desir'd So He procur'd for Man that he should not be utterly cast off and thrown into endless Misery but have other terms of Favour appointed him And this Dispensation or Appointment is that which is called the New Covenant And it is call'd the New Covenant in his Blood because it was procur'd by his Undertaking to shed his Blood in the Humane Nature as a Sacrifice for Sin Upon this our First Parents were permitted to live to enjoy in some measure the Good things of this World for a while and had space allow'd them to make their Peace with God to recover his Favour and their own Happiness We must know that since it was a setled Law before the Fall of Man that He should propagate such as Himself and his Posterity should be reckon'd in the same state and relation towards God with their Father who begat them Therefore when the First Parents of Mankind thus became polluted by their Sin and were fallen into the state of guilty Rebels against God All their Posterity must needs come polluted into this World as unclean things out of unclean and must be born Children of Wrath as the Scripture speaks We therefore have the same task upon us which our First Parents had that is To recover the Favour of God and our Everlasting Happiness by performing now the Terms and Conditions of this Second Covenant Let us see then what the Tenour of this New Covenant is What are the Duties which it requires to be perform'd on our part And what are the Promises of it on God's part the Blessings which it offers to make us partakers of upon the Condition of performing those Duties SECT VII On Our Part. FIrst let us take notice of our own part of this Covenant and observe what it is that God requires of us to whom the Gospel is preached which we must do to be saved And because all Mankind are now consider'd by God as guilty and polluted Creatures as having sinned and being disposed to do wickedly There is first required of us That we repent and turn from Sin In the next place because we must return to God it is required That we do believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And lastly That we engage our selves and endeavour to keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the Days of our Life But because the Heart of Man is deceitfull and wicked and we are so backward to do our Duty that we are unwilling to know it Therefore it will be requisite to mention somewhat particularly the Things contain'd under these three General Heads The First main Branch of our Duty is That we repent and turn from Sin To which purpose we must stand at a defiance with all the Causes of Sin and resolve they shall not govern us Therefore has the Church been wont to express this Branch of our Duty thus We must Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomp and Vanities of this wicked World with all the covetous Desires of the same And all the sinfull Desires of the Flesh so as that we will not follow nor be led by them We must Renounce the Devil and all his Works It was by the Craft and Instigation of this Apostate Spirit the Enemy of our Happiness that Mankind were at first drawn into Disobedience against God We must resolve therefore never to have any Correspondence with him to abhorr and abstain from all those guilty ways of consulting him or seeking his Assistance which the ungodly World have ever practised We must never knowingly or willingly obey any of his Commands nor comply with his Temptations We must resolve to fight against all those Spiritual Wickednesses in our selves which he infects the Humane Nature with such as Pride Anger Envy Treachery Lying Malice and Cruelty Must abhorr to imitate or follow him in the tempting of others to Wickedness or in the Hatred and Persecution of Good Men for the sake of their Goodness We must also Renounce the Pomp and Vanities of this wicked World and all covetous Desires of the same That is We must resolve and engage that we will not let the Love of the World rule in our Hearts which is opposite to the Love of God We will not let our Hearts fix on the Wealth the Pleasures or the Dignities and Honours here below Nor will make the getting of them the Aim and Scope of our chief Endeavour and Care nor let the Enjoyment of them be our chiefest Delight and Satisfaction That we will not be guided by the Customs of the World nor follow a Multitude to do Evil That our dearest Relations or our most necessary and most usefull Friends and Benefactours shall not be able to Influence us against the Will of God and the Dictates of our Conscience That we will be ready to part with all that is dear all that is necessary to us and which we might otherwise lawfully keep and enjoy when they stand in Competition with our Love and Duty to God And we will submit to any Inconveniences in the want even of necessary things rather than do any thing to gain them which is contrary to the Laws of Divine Love We must further renounce mortifie and abandon all sinfull Desires of the Flesh All the irregular and disobedient Inclinations of our corrupt Nature must be mortified and subdued We must chace away those fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul the Love of slothfull Ease and Idleness all Intemperance and Lasciviousness We must forsake and abstain from all those Sensual Sins which abuse and prodigally waste God's good Creatures which enslave the Thoughts and Faculties of the Soul to the Appetites of the Body and which render the Soul unfit for the due Exercises and Operations of its Faculties and which tend to clog and encumber the Body with Diseases We must renounce all these three Sources of Evil the Devil the World and the Flesh and must resolve we will not follow nor be led by them And this is the First main Branch of our Duty under the New Covenant The Second is this That we must believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And this requires of us to promise and perform the Things following That we will seriously apply our selves as our leisure and opportunity will allow us
Reason we may grow also in the Knowledge of our part in this Covenant and may come to Understand what we are bound to And that the Baptized person himself may ratifie and confirm his Baptismal Engagement he must when he can exercise his Reason and know his part of this Covenant readily chuse and consent to it and solemnly renew it And so he must make it his own Act and Deed to devote himself to God This our Church has very justly ordered should be solemnly and publickly done in the receiving of Confirmation A thing alas too much neglected to the great decay of true Christian Piety among us But if this were duly and generally practised we should in all likelihood see more persons live according to their Baptismal Vow and as becomes Christians than commonly do But this Discourse is design'd chiefly to bring Men prepar'd to the Lord's Supper that they may worthily and profitably Receive that And therefore it must not be diverted so as to insist long on any other Subject but what is necessary and serviceable to that design and end of it SECT X. The Lord's Supper a Confirmation of this Covenant I Shall now therefore bring the Discourse more close to this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which has been all this while leading and aiming towards it And I shall begin to discourse particularly of that by showing That it is appointed and design'd by God as a Faederal Rite and is to be used as such by us As a Ceremony wherein this New Covenant between God and Man is renew'd and confirm'd This by a little search we shall soon find to be very Evident in Holy Scripture Our Saviour Himself when He first instituted this Sacrament speaks thus of it as He was delivering the Cup to his Disciples This Cup is the New Covenant in my Blood Luke 22. 20. For what our Translation renders Testament there had been more exactly and properly render'd Covenant Our Saviour's plain meaning is this Take this Cup as the Instrument of Conveyance to you of the Divine Blessings of the Covenant of Grace which are the inestimable Purchases of my precious Blood Again when our Lord says of the Bread in this Sacrament This is my Body which is given for you and of the Cup This is my Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the Remission of their Sins He plainly means That this Sacrament is intended to renew to us the Blessings and Favours which are the Purchases of his meritorious Death and his Sacrifice which He offer'd to God in Dying for us And the Apostle Paul plainly teaches us to understand our Lord thus For He says of the Bread in this Sacrament It is the Communion of the Body of Christ and of the Cup It is the Communion of the Blood of Christ 1 Cor. 10. 16. By Communion he means the Communication of these It is faithfully intended by God that in the Use of this Sacrament those who are fit Receivers shall partake of the Body and Blood of Christ and this Bread and this Cup shall be the Communication of the Body and Blood of Christ to them These outward Elements of broken Bread and Wine poured out shall bring with them to those humble and prepar'd Souls which receive them this Spiritual Grace Which means they shall be partakers of the Benefits and Blessings purchased by the breaking or wounding of the Body and the shedding of the Blood of our Saviour the Blessings procur'd by the valuable Sacrifice of his Death which are the Blessings of the New Covenant fore-mention'd This Sacrament is Ordain'd of God to be a Pledge and Conveyance of these Blessings and shall actually and infallibly be so to meet Receivers God will never be wanting to his Sacraments nor leave them without the Efficacy He designs them for if the Receivers of them be not wanting to themselves He faithfully intends the Renewal and Confirmation of this Covenant with us in this Sacrament and will actually do it if we sincerely intend the same thing And that the Renewal of our part of the Covenant at this Sacrament is expected and required by God cannot chuse but be very easily apprehended When God offers good things upon Terms and Conditions He requires the binding our selves to perform those Conditions if we would partake of those Good Things and our embracing the Offers He makes implies and ought to imply the accepting of those Terms and the engaging our selves to perform those Conditions To be sure God never intends we shall be partakers of those Good Things without performing those Conditions When 't is said God gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask him 't is implied that asking is the necessary Condition and Means of having When 't is said God gave his only begotten Son that they who believe in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life 'T is required that Men believe as a Condition of their obtaining Everlasting Life So when 't is said Jesus Christ is the Authour of Salvation to them that obey Him and Repent that your Sins may be blotted out These things evidently imply that our Sins shall not be forgiven unless we repent of them nor will the Blessed Jesus Himself be a Saviour to us if we do not devote our selves to his Service and give up our selves to follow his Example and Conduct Now this being the constant Tenour of the Gospel We must needs conclude that when we are offer'd to be made partakers of these Blessings in this Sacrament it is required that if we desire them we must bind our selves to perform such Conditions Our receiving therefore of those things which are God's Pledges and Conveyances of those Blessings upon Conditions is an outward profession and declaration that we bind our selves to do what is required of us And if that outward Profession be not attended with an inward and sincere Intention it is a horrid Hypocrisie and makes a Man undoubtedly guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ He is reckon'd to have abused and profan'd the Body and Blood of Christ as did the wretched Men that slew Him The receiving these Elements in the Sacrament is an Outward Profession and Declaration that we accept of God's Covenant and then it certainly binds us sincerely to intend our performance of the Conditions of it The Apostle plainly gives us this Instruction in 1 Cor. 10 in that he intimates the partaking of this Sacrament to be a Rite of the same Nature and Signification with the Eating of the Sacrifices which had been offer'd to any God As the Eating of those Sacrifices therefore signified the Owning Him for God to whom the Sacrifice had been made and so the obliging of themselves to worship and obey Him and the reliance upon that Sacrifice to find Favour and obtain a Blessing from Him so the Eating of the Lord's Supper must be reckon'd to imply and declare the same Professions and Engagements This is the Eating of a Sacrifice
this which afflicted his Body was the least part of the Sufferings He felt He suffer'd more abundantly more than all this in the Sufferings of his Soul For I must consider further that this Death of His was an Accursed one in the account of the Jewish Law that is in the account of God Himself for it was He that had order'd and taught them to account it so on purpose that it might fore-tell and signifie before-hand That the Redeemer of the World should bear in his Death the Curse and Punishment which the Divine Law had justly threatned against the Sins of Men. This then must call to thy Mind the mighty Sufferings of His Soul He was made a Curse for us and God laid on Him the Iniquities of us all By Men was He treated as a Malefactour and by God too The Light of his Father's Countenance and the pleasing Aspects of his Love which had been always the Joy of his Soul and the Reward of all his Labours in his Service and till now had been constantly enjoy'd was now when He wanted it most withdrawn when He was under His sharp outward Sufferings and when He was at the point of Death And in making his Soul an Offering for Sin He was afficted and terrified with God's Almighty Wrath and Displeasure This made Him cry out who was silent before My God my God why hast thou forsaken me He felt the Wrath which our Sins had deserved Oh terrible thing Who can conceive what He endur'd We may believe no Torments can exceed those He felt in his Soul except it be those of Hell if they do Oh wounding Thought This stabs and pierces my Soul This tells me It was not so much the Cruel Jew or Barbarous Roman Souldier that tormented and kill'd the loving Jesus as the vile Sinner It was I among the rest of Sinners that gave Him his cruellest Wounds his sharpest Sorrows It was I that wounded that kill'd my Saviour and Friend I shed his Life's most precious Blood Was there ever such a thing known besides this O Jesu there was never any Love like thine and there is nothing so vile so base as a Sinner Greater Love than this hath no Man that one lay down his Life for his Friend But thou hast laid down thine for Enemies for those that hated thee yea for those that kill'd thee Thou art there on the Cross despised that I might be honour'd Thou art there in pain that I might be at ease Thou art there hungry and thirsty that I might be supplied with all good things Thou art there accursed that I might be blest Thou art there deserted by the Father's Favour and Love that I might enjoy the Everlasting delights of it Thou art there dying that I might live an Everlasting life in Joy and Glory unspeakable and Eternal Oh Jesu Was I more dear to thee than thine own Life Was I to be rather indulg'd than thine own Ease and more to be respected than thine own Honour What am I Lord Oh what is Man that thou art thus mindfull of him There was never Love like thine None but a God could love thus Oh Adorable Mystery Oh Wonder of Wonders Thy Greatness is unsearchable thy Love is incomprehensible and thy Ways are past finding out With profoundest Reverence I Adore thy Incomprehensible Love I leave off to fathom what I can never reach and will give up my self to Praise and Admire for ever SECT XIV An Exercise of Repentance HAve I indeed given my kind and compassionate Saviour so much Grief by my Sins and shall they give me none Oh that my Head were Waters and my Eyes a Fountain of Tears to drench my filthy polluted Soul But alas it is not all the Tears that I am able to shed which could ever make me clean or wash out the stain of any the least of my Sins Oh I am become it seems so exceeding foul and have contracted stains of such a nature that nothing but this precious stream my Saviour's life's Blood can cleanse me How am I fallen from the Dignity and Honour of my Creation I was made little lower than the Angels by my Bounteous Creatour but I have made my self more vile than the Beasts that perish I was made subject to no Creature not bound to pay any Homage or Service towards the Glorious Angels though made lower than them but alas I have made my self a slave to the abject Devil I have refused to serve God my Maker and Friend and have drudg'd for my mortal Enemy Oh wretched Man that I am I have sought his Service while I have declin'd thine and run after his Temptations while I have endeavour'd to evade thy Commands Oh I have been forward to do Evil and backward to all that is Good I have combin'd with my Soul 's great Enemy to hasten and encrease my Damnation Infinite Goodness How unjustly how basely art thou requited for all thy bounteous Love to Mankind Who can conceive or express the Vileness the Enormity of Sin Which is a Contempt of thy infinite Majesty a Rebellion against thy unquestionable Authority an Abuse of thy free Goodness a Defiance of thy Almighty Power a Denial of thy incomparable Wisdom and an Affront to all thy glorious Attributes Which is contrary to that Honour and Homage which I owe thee as thy Creature Wo is me that I should ever offend my Maker so liberal and so gracious a Father Wo is me that I should slight and affront the Love of Jesus my Redeemer as I have done it in cherishing those vile Sins that He came to destroy O Jesu at what a costly rate hast thou lov'd me and merited my Love And how loth how slow am I to entertain the Love of thee Thou hast Loved where thy Hatred has been deserv'd and I vile wretch have hated Him that has infinitely deserv'd my Love Thy Love to me has been a vast Condescension and has caused thy Humility and Abasement yet wouldest thou love the Unworthy But my Love to thee would have been my Honour and Glory my Everlasting Advancement yet have I been unwilling to love thee Wo is me I have been obstinate in Wickedness Oh how have I griev'd the Holy Spirit in neglecting resisting and opposing his good and kind Motions in my Soul turning a deaf Ear to his gentle Admonitions and refusing to be converted and healed Oh my God in our Sins we despise thy Will and do our own We disown thee and make Gods of our selves In our Sins we believe the great Deceiver before the God of Truth and follow his delusive Temptations rather than thy rich and faithfull Promises In our Sins we preferr Earth before Heaven the Creature before the Creatour and reckon there is more Happiness in the Enjoying some of them than in the Enjoyment of Thee the Infinite Fountain of Good Oh how vile how enormous a thing is Sin Who can sufficiently hate it I see O Lord in the terrible
so great a Price beside this paid for any Creature I will live to my Love that died for me I will henceforth look upon my self as a devoted consecrated Thing and will ever endeavour to remain so and to carry my self as such I will never be willingly employed but as thou commandest and as thou allowest Lord for thy sake I will love thy Law and it shall be my Meditation all the day I will love thy Commandments above Gold and all false ways I will utterly abhorr Dearer shall thy Commandments be to Me than Thousands of Gold and Silver and sweeter than Honey from the Comb. I will love nothing but what thou lovest and will hate what-ever is displeasing to thee I am heartily griev'd O Lord that I have ever lov'd any thing but thee while I neglected to love thee I am heartily ashamed to think that I should place no Affection where all I could offer is but due and bestow all where little or none was due Especially does it vex and grieve me that I should be so monstrously ungratefull and mistaken as to love any thing more than the loving Jesus Hereafter dearest Lord I purpose to love nothing but far below thee and for thy sake what-ever I do love And what is most like thee or most serviceable to thy Honour and Glory shall have the most of my Love Henceforth it shall be my Honour that I am a Servant of Jesus It shall be my delight and pleasure to be a lover of Jesus it shall be my most valued Wealth that He is mine and I am His. Whom have I in Heaven but thee O Lord and there is none on Earth that I can desire in comparison to thee And therefore nothing can be so sweet to me nothing can afford me so much satisfaction and joy as to be able to say of thee My Beloved is mine and I am His For me to be thine O Jesu is my Honour my Security my Peace and Happiness everlasting For thee to be mine is health to my Soul strength to do thy Commandments it is Joy unspeakable and full of Glory it is Heaven on Earth and the Heaven of Heaven it is Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption to me O rich and bounteous Love I am thine O Lord with all my Soul that thou mayest be mine Oh how much shall I gain by giving my self to thee I shall gain my self and be saved from Everlasting Perdition and I shall gain Everlasting Happiness in the Enjoyment of thee I am thine O Jesu save me I have sought thy Precepts Lord sanctifie me wholly that in Body Soul and Spirit I may be thine Take a full possession of me for the future and let not any other Lords have Dominion over me O Lord I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy Righteous Judgments I purpose to be stedfast unmovable always abounding in the Work of the Lord as knowing that my Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. I am thine dispose of me as thou pleasest I will bear thy Yoke I will not decline thy Cross I will not despise thy shame The reproach of Christ shall be to me greater Riches than the Prosperity of this World Let but thy Grace be sufficient for me and then call me to what thou pleasest I can do all things through Christ strengthening me Lord I shall not I hope fear or decline to suffer for thy sake No though I should die with thee I purpose not to deny thee But alas it troubles me to think how weak and vain all my Resolutions are and how soon they will come to nothing without thy continual support and assistance This troubles me but it is my comfort that thy Grace is easily obtain'd it may be now had for asking of it O shield me by thy Grace against all Temptations Hold up my goings in thy Word that my footsteps slip not Guide thou me by thy Counsel till thou hast brought me to thy Glory SECT XVI An Exercise of Faith I Believe there is onely one true and living God who is the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost An Infinite Eternal Perfect Being the Maker and Preserver Owner and Governour of All things Who has right to the Homage Worship and Obedience of Mankind Who has laid upon us his Laws and takes notice of our Behaviour That his Eyes behold all the Dwellers upon Earth and try the Children of Men That He is always nigh to every one of us for it is in Him that we live move and have our Being I believe O Lord that thou art and art a Rewarder of those that diligently seek thee Thou hast appointed a Day wherein thou wilt Judge the World in Righteousness and render to every Man according to his Works That those who are found wicked in that Day shall go away into Everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal But I believe also that to the Lord our God belong Mercies and Forgivenesses though we have rebelled against Him if in the way of his appointment we seek his Pardoning-Mercy Thou hast O Lord Blessed be thy Name preclaim'd thy self a God forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin And declarest that thou desirest not the Death of a Sinner but had rather that he should turn from his Wickedness and live O wonderfull Condescension and Goodness Oh how sweet is thy Mercy How glorious and great The exceeding vileness and the unreasonableness of our Sins do magnifie thy Mercy beyond all Comprehension and Praise Favour and Forgiveness to a base Sinner is that the Sinner could not expect till thou hadst declar'd it should be obtain'd and didst graciously offer it When we were sunk into the most abject Misery by a vile Rebellion against thee had render'd our selves obnoxious to thy Eternal Hatred and Wrath and deserv'd to follow the Apostate Angels in their Fate and Damnation as we had follow'd them in Rebellion Then did thy Infinite Wisdom contrive how to show us Favour in a way consistent with thine own Honour Thou didst find out a way to spare Us and to punish our Sins to glorifie thy Justice in taking Vengeance on our Inventions and thy Mercy in saving the wretched Sinners And God so lov'd the World that He gave his onely-begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Everlasting Life Thou gavest O Father thine Onely-begotten Son to the Condescension and Meanness of taking our Nature upon Him and to die a Sacrifice for our Sins and on him thy well-beloved Son didst thou lay the Iniquities of us all And in his Death thou hast receiv'd a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World Thou hast laid our Help on one that is Mighty and able to save to the uttermost all that come into God by Him We adore thy Incomprehensible Goodness and Compassion to Sinners Thou art abundant Oh God in Goodness and Truth Thy Mercy is over all
Let thy Gospel of Holiness Peace and Love O Jesu run and be glorified from the rising of the Sun to the going down of the same With great Trouble and Concern O Lord I consider how much of the wretched World lies in Wickedness O how sad a Thought is it that such a Saviour should be offer'd to Men and so few receive Him How sad is it to think that so many Thousands of Souls for whom Christ died are likely to go down into the dismal Caves of Hell that so many who might be Eternally happy and praise thee for ever will destroy and throw themselves into Everlasting Misery Rivers of Waters run down mine Eyes because Men make void thy Law A Law so rich in Love and so condescending in Grace I am troubled O Lord because they do not love thee and because they will destroy themselves Because they affront and rebell against thy most obliging Goodness and neglect so great Salvation as it offers them Oh that I could save many precious Souls from their Destruction Oh that I could pluck them as Brands out of the Burning As far as I am able and as becomes me to do in my place and station I will endeavour to cure the Epidemical Wickedness of the Times I live in I will earnestly endeavour to keep those Souls that are under my Authority and Power and that are of my Neighbourhood and Acquaintance and whom I can have any influence over from going down to Everlasting Perdition I will follow all that I may with Advice and Counsel and those that I may not pretend to advise I will endeavour to entreat that they would be saved And those whom I ought to do this to I will reprove and correct for any Wickedness that I observe in them I will propagate as well as I can the saving Knowledge and the Love of thee among the Ignorant and Careless and those whom their Poverty hinders from providing for themselves By giving among them according to my Ability such means of their Instruction and Reformation as thy Favour has afforded the Publick I am greatly troubled and concern'd at the Miseries and Calamities which I hear of or see in the World That thy Creatures whom thou didst make that thou mightest love them and that they might be happy should pull upon themselves so much Misery from thy just Wrath and deserved Vengeance Oh how sad is it to think of Thousands of People going down alive into the Pit swallow'd up by sudden Earthquakes and in a moment snatch'd hence into Eternity without any time to prepare for their Departure How it grieves me to think of the sad Effects of Pining Famine in some places of Infectious and Pestilential Diseases in others It wounds my Soul to consider the wofull Calamities and Desolations that attend Horrid Wars Oh how deplorable a thing is it that Men should seek to spill the Blood of Men and give the Carkasses of their own Kind for a Prey to Birds and Wild Beasts Lord rebuke the proud Disturbers of the World abate their Pride asswage their Malice and confound their Devices Grant that Wars may cease in all Lands and gentle Love and happy Peace abound Prosper good Lord those that Endeavour for a just and safe Peace that they may attain it and scatter thou the People that delight in War Oh that thy Judgments which are abroad in Earth might make the Inhabitants of the World to learn Righteousness and turn themselves to thee who hast smitten them that thou mayest head them As a Member of thy Blessed Church I am particularly concern'd for the Tranquillity and Peace and the true Spiritual Glory and Prosperity of that O Lord purge out of thy Church what-ever does displease thee and is destructive to the Souls of Men. Purge out of it what-ever is an Offence to those without Possess all Christians with this That they are oblig'd to Endeavour that their Carriage may adorn and recommend their Religion in the sight of the Infidels and to take care their Light may so shine before Men that they seeing their Good Works may Glorifie their Father which is in Heaven Purge thy Church we pray thee from all false Doctrines and Heresies from Prophaneness and Persecution from Superstition and Cruelty from Envy Hatred Malice and all Uncharitableness Bring into the Way of Truth all such as have erred and are deceived Raise up them that are fallen confirm and strengthen those that stand in Piety and Vertue and Profession of the Truth Comfort those parts of thy Church that mourn and are oppress'd under a Barbarous Persecution And let thine own Right-hand and Holy Arm in thy due time give them a mighty Salvation O God of Love O Prince of Peace and God of Order we pray thee let thy Gospel abundantly promote these good things in thy Church Grant that there may be no hurting nor destroying in all thy Holy Mountain That all the Members of the Church as Members of the same Body and of one another may have a Cordial Affection to each other Carrying themselves with all lowliness and meekness to each other and with long-suffering forbearing one another in Love Grant that as there is but one Lord Jesus Christ whom we all pretend to Love and Reverence as there is but one true Faith one Baptism one God and Father of us all so we may all with one Mind and one Mouth glorifie thee our God Grant that every Member of the Church may so know and keep its preper place that there may be no Schism in the Body O Jesu King of Love fill with thy kind and gentle Spirit all Christian Kings Princes and Governours Let no proud Wrath no malicious Envy no greedy Covetousness no turbulent Ambition reign in any of them Grant that they all knowing whose Ministers they are may above all things seek thy Honour and Glory And that they may study to preserve the People committed to their Care in Wealth Peace and Godliness That they may truly and indifferently administer Justice to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the Maintenance of thy true Religion and Vertue Especially O Lord we intreat thee to regard with pecullar Favour thy Servants WILLIAM and MARY our most Gracious King and Queen Let thy Wisdom direct them in all their Administrations Thy Almighty Power promote their Good Designs that under them we may be Godly and Quietly Govern'd Let thy Bounteous Goodness shower upon them abundantly all Personal Blessings for their Bodies and for their Souls to their long Prosperity in this Life and their Everlasting Happiness in the next Since by their Wisdom and Care by their Love to Thee and Goodness to Us with thy Blessing upon their Endeavours we enjoy the happy Liberty of thy House and these thy Blessed Ordinances to the joy and comfort of our Souls we will never fail to remember them in all our Prayers and Supplications unto thee Pour down an Abundance of thy Spirit we pray thee
it into a Prayer thus O God that searchest the Hearts and triest the Reins of Men and who hast commanded us to come to the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ Thou knowest I have diligently Examin'd my self before I would presume to eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup and have endeavour'd that I might with a true penitent Heart and lively Faith receive this Holy Sacrament that so I may to my great Benefit and Consolation spiritually eat the Flesh of Christ herein and drink his Blood that I may be one with Christ and Christ with Me And that I might not receive the same unworthily nor which I dread to speak be guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ my Saviour and so eat and drink my own Damnation not considering the Lord's Body That I might not kindle thy Wrath against me but find favour in thy sight That I might not provoke Thee to plague me with Temporal Afflictions but obtain the continuance of such Comforts as I enjoy and the bestowing of such as Thou seest most convenient for me That I might not provoke Thee to cut me off by an untimely Death I have according to the direction of thy Apostle seriously judg'd my self Do not thou enter into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no Man living be justified I have repented my past Sins and do repent of them I have endeavour'd to be possest of a lively and stedfast Faith in Christ my Saviour Lord encrease my Faith I resolve to amend by the Assistance of thy Grace what-ever Evil I shall be convinced of in my Life And I heartily seek thy Favour upon this just and reasonable Condition of being in Charity with all Men. O Lord I forgive let me be forgiven And after all I most humbly pray Thee who alone canst do it to make me a meet partaker of these Holy Mysteries Above all I give most humble and hearty Thanks to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost for the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of our Saviour Christ both God and Man Who did humble Himself even to the Death upon the Cross for us miserable Sinners Who lay in Darkness and the shadow of Death that He might make us the Children of God and Exalt us to Everlasting Life I desire at this time with all Thankfulness to remember the Exceeding great Love of our Master and only Saviour in his thus Dying for us and the Innumerable Benefits which by his precious Blood-shedding He hath obtain'd to us I heartily give Him thanks too for that He hath further shown his Love to wretched Sinners in his Instituting and Ordaining Holy Mysteries for Pledges of his Love that we might have the move full Assurance of it and for a continual Remembrance of his Death to our Great and Endless Comfort To Him therefore with the Father and the Holy Ghost I gave as I am most bounden continual Thanks submitting my self wholly to his Holy will and Pleasure and purposing that I will study to serve Him in true Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of my Life Amen In the next place you are to join with the Minister with all Humility and true Godly Sorrow in a Confession of Sins and to receive by Him God's Absolution To the Sentences of Holy Scripture which He next recites to encourage our Faith and Hope in God it may be proper to make in your Hearts some such Answers as these To those Words of our Saviour Come unto me c. Answer Behold O Lord I come Jesus thou Son of David have Mercy upon me To those Words God so loved the World c. Answer O Father of Mercies have Mercy upon me and give me that Faith in thy Son that I may not Perish but have Everlasting Life To the Words of St. Paul This is a true Saying c. Answer Lord I believe the Truth of this and thankfully embrace so Important a Truth O Christ save me one of the chiefest of Sinners To the Words of St. John If any Man sin c. Answer Be Thou O Jesus the Righteous my Powerfull Advocate with the Father O Father accept of his Death as a Propitiation for my Sins To what the Minister says next you are to make the Answers directed and to join with Him in the Praises and Prayers following After that the Bread and Wine is by the Prayer of Consecration set apart to represent the Body and Blood of Christ and while the Ministers are receiving you must look upon the Elements with an Holy Awfull Reverence and sadly call to Mind the Scourging the Buffetings the Crown of Thorns the cruel Nails and Spear which wounded and bruised which tore and kill'd the Loving Jesus You may remember the more terrible Sufferings and sharp Agonies of his Soul which He endur'd especially when He made his Life an Offering for Sin And you should call to mind it was your Sins that gave Him all these Sufferings and Griefs that yet He endur'd them for your Advantage And He was Scourg'd that by His stripes you might be healed He shed His Blood to ransome you from Hell and Misery and died that He might obtain for you Everlasting Life and Happiness And while the rest of the Company are receiving if they are a good Number you will have leisure and may very profitably entertain your self with reading over the foregoing Exercises of Thankfull Remembrance Faith c. And in reading them you may Exercise those Graces as you ought to do If there will not be time to repeat them all you may do well to chuse some such a one or more of them as is most suitable to the present State and disposition of your Mind For the Devout Soul may be at one time more taken up in Admiration and Praise of the Dying Love of Jesus Christ At another time it may be especially possest with a deep Humiliation and Repentance at another time it may be elevated with the Hopes and Joys of Believing Or engag'd in making Earnest Resolutions of Love Obedience and Gratitude to the Great Redeemer Or in Exercises of Charity to the miserable and sinfull World And your Entertainment at this spare time may be chosen accordingly Only this must be advised in relation to this matter That you should make Observation of your self whether you do not too commonly fix your Meditations upon one and the same of these Exercises and so neglect the rest For this must not be allow'd But you must constrain your self if need be to use sometimes one and sometimes another of these that so you may at times Exercise every Grace and by the Exercise encrease in all When you go to Receive and see the Minister approaching with the Sacred Bread which represents the broken Body of our Lord look on it and say Behold my Soul the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing Oh come Lord Jesus take possession of my Soul and dwell Thou for ever with me that I may be the more fit for such a Happiness transform me into thy Likeness by the renewing of my Mind Open ye everlasting Doors of my Heart that the King of Glory may come in When He delivers it to you join with Him and say The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for me preserve my Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life And as you are eating it say within your self O Jesu Thou art the Living and Life giving Bread which cometh down from Heaven which whosoever eateth he shall live for ever Thy Flesh is Meat indeed and thy Blood is Drink indeed On Thee my hungry Soul shall feed by my Faith with hearty Thankfulness Let me tast and find that Thou Lord art Gracious Thou that fillest the Hungry with good things replenish me abundantly with thy Grace Oh let this Divine and Spiritual Food afford me much Spiritual Strength and Refreshment When He delivers the Cup join with Him and say The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for me preserve my Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life And when you have drank it say Thy Love O King of Saints is better than Wine As the Apple-tree among the Trees of the Wood so is my Beloved among the Sons We will remember thy Love more than Wine The Remembrance of thy wondrous Love shall be the frequent and the most pleasant Entertainment of my Life Thy Love O Jesu shall comfort me in my Sorrows shall strengthen me in my Weakness shall quicken and cure my Sloth and Backwardness to my Duty Oh let thy Love even transform me into Love Amen O Father of Mercies and of our Lord Jesus Christ whom thou hast set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood behold I beseech Thee this precious Sacrifice of thy Son Behold it I pray Thee and turn away from me thy poor feeble Creature all the Wrath and Vengeance which my Sins have deserv'd This is that on which I firmly and solely rely to find favour with Thee and this is that in which I know Thou art well-pleased Oh Father of Mercies have Mercy upon me Deal always with thy Servant according to thy Mercy And teach me thy Statutes that I may hereafter serve and please Thee in Newness of Life And I humbly hope and desire to be accepted with Thee through the Merits and Mediation of thy beloved Son who died for our Sins and rose again for our Justification is now set down at thy right hand and ever lives to make Intercession for us Amen Taking notice of the Sacrament deliver'd to others you may thus improve it Jesus the rich and bounteous Lover has good things in store for as many as come unto Him Jesus is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him Of his Fulness do all we receive and Grace for Grace See my Soul see here thy Master's Bounty and Love See Him here giving even Himself to His Friends My Soul if Jesus so lov'd us all we ought also to love one another This Commandment has He left us that He who loves God should love his Brother also Study then what Offices of Love and Kindness it may lie in thy Power to do to any of these thy fellow Communicants and resolve upon it for the Kind Jesus will take it as even done to Him If thou love Him truly thou must needs love those whom He loves Thou must pity them in all their Distresses Spiritual and Temporal whom He has pitied in their Misery at so costly a Rate Thou must learn to forgive those whom He forgives Thou must be liberal according to thy Power and their Necessities to those whom thou seest the Objects of his Bounteous Love And especially thou must charge thy self not to Hate not to do any Despite or Injury to any of these for even that too would He take as done to Himself Thou must not despise any of these for their mean Condition in this World He may have made the poor of this World rich in Faith Thou must not envy nor grudge at any of them whom the Providence of God has favour'd more than He has done Thee in the Blessings of this World Thou must take heed always that thy Carriage be not a Scandal and Occasion of Sin to any of these that thou destroy not Him whom Christ died for And blessed be thy Name O Lord for these sweet and pleasant Laws I willingly bind my self O Jesu to Observe these thy Laws of Love Oh thou great Pattern of Love learn me to Love O Kindest Jesu thy Body was broken and is divided amongst us to unite us to Thee and to one another Let it be amongst us a Common Incentive of Mutual Charity Let it be in its Effects Unity of Spirit among us a Bond of Peace and all Righteousness of Life in our Carriage one towards another O Thou the Great Fountain of Love pour it abundantly into my Heart and into the Hearts of all thy Faithfull People That we may abound in Love one towards another and by thus bearing thy Glorious Character and Likeness in Love may show to all Men that we are indeed thy Disciples Amen When all have Communicated and the Minister begins the Prayers that remain you are to leave off all private Devotions and to join with Him and the Congregation to the End After He has pronounced the Blessing you may privately say To Him that loved us and wash'd us from our Sins in his own Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father To Him with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen Then rising from your Knees kindly and courteously salute your Fellow Communicants at the parting of the Congregation Some Private Devotions at Home after the Communion SECT XX. A Meditation on the Communion OH my Soul seriously consider how thou hast been honour'd how thou hast been entertain'd in the House of God this Day Thou hast been a Guest to the King of Saints the Lord of Life and Glory Divine Love has been thy Heavenly Entertainment and Man did eat Angel's Food Thy Saviour thy Friend has brought Thee into his Banqueting-House his Banner over Thee was Love Thou canst not surely very soon forget the Pleasures of this Feast Has it not left behind it a very pleasing relish Has it not put thy Mouth quite out of tast towards the things of this World It is very fit that it should do so It would become Thee for some time after this to account this World's best Delights to be but four and infipid and certainly if thou meditate upon the good Entertainment thou hast had it will be so Jesus the Glorious Son of God was Master of the Feast thou