Mercies by endeavouring to out-vye them with my Sins what can I expect but to find a Judgment worthy of God such an irreversible ruine as might render me an astonishing instance of thy severity to the whole Earth Thou hast attested thy self to be indeed a Father of Mercies and yet I who enjoy the benefit of them neither consider them as Blessings nor thee as a God but Atheistically defie that providence by which I subsist Thou givest me a time for Repentance but I 'm unwilling to throw off this Bondage of Sin and think it a hardship to submit to that Yoak whieh is easie and delightful and if I cou'd stifle the Terrors of my Conscience wou'd glady proclaim Licence to my Lusts These are the base returns I have made thus have I requited the Lord and incur'd his Displeasure yet I am fearless of his Wrath and can't repent me of my ways nor consider the Evil I have done Surely my Heart is heardned and I am nigh unto Cursing O Lord what can I plead to avert the sentence who am as far from Penitence as Innocence How can I pray against that Vengeance which I make it my business to pull down if thou O Lord shou'dst spare me what wou'd it avail if it serve but to set me at a greater Hostillity with thee O merciful Saviour who gavest thy self a ransom for Sinners look again with compassionate Eyes on me who needs now a second Redemption even a rescue from my self Lord thou seest the miserable state to which I am reduced Where is thy Pitty and the sounding of thy Bowels towards the Afflicted Oh! bow thy Heaven and come down hear the Prayer of a distressed Sinner deliver me from that misery I have involved my self put thy Laws a new into my Heart and write them in my Mind O blessed Mediator who prayedst for thy Crucifiers interceed also for me who have under the name of a Disciple crucified thee afresh and tho' I have nothing to say for my self cannot pretend that I knew not what I did yet let thy Stripes and Wounds thy Cross and Passion plead for me Oh! let thy Blessed Spirit breath again upon me that even these dry Bones may live in thy sight Let him so effectually convince and reprove illuminate and excite me that I may cleanse my self from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit walk worthy of the holy Vocation whereto I am called and evidence my relation to the Prince of Peace Oh that my ways were thus direct but alas how little Disposition have I towards it This change must be only the work of that mighty Power which is able to subdue all things to it self and yet O Lord with what face can I beg of thee to force me to that happiness which I still resolve to resist What can I say to thee O thou preserver thou redeemer of men who have put my self beyond all the ordinary means of thy grace I can only lay my self at thy Feet display my misery and leave thee to consider thine own compassion Oh let that move thee to do for me whatever my wretched state is in need off O Lord Hear O Lord forgive consider and do it for thy name sake Thou art Jesus a Saviour save thy servant from his sin and let me not slide back by a perpetual backsliding Oh abandon not thy poor creature Lord carest thou not that I perish Turn thee again O Lord sanctifie and cleanse me for I am exceeding sinfull create a new Spirit within me melt my obdurate heart into contrition and if it cannot be done without the rigour of thy Laws Lord do that or any thing with me so that I may become a Vessel of honour meet for thy Service But O Lord if thy gentler method may have any effect be pleased to continue thy Long-suffering and though I have no pretence to mercy yet do thou assert thine own work be merciful because thou hast been so dispence to me whatever thou seest most apt to reduce me and that thy outward applications may be no longer in vain enforce and enliven them with thy free Spirit subdue my obstinate perversness and give me at last such Grace as I may not turn into wantonness Oh thou to whom all things are possible who hast been so merciful to me work again greater miracles in me and of a prophane ungrateful wretch make me a penitent and obedient servant that I may study as much to please as I have to provoke thee by a continuance in well doing may obtain the Crown which thou hast laid up for those that serve thee and possess eternal joys in the Kingdom of thy Father which thou O blessed Jesus hast purchased with thy blood and sealed by thy Spirit To which blessed Trinity be ascribed all praise honour Glory now and to eternity Amen O Lord God I am Ashamed and Blush to lift up my Face to thee for my iniquities are increased over my Head and my Trespasses grown up unto Heaven O my Soul what Fruit have I reapt from all the pleasures of Sin but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit Lord I am ashamed of my own Folly Madness and Disingenuity when I call to mind how greedily I have sucked in my own Pollution how treacherously I have betrayed my own Soul to Temptations and combined with the Devils to hasten and increase my own Damnation how obstinately I have fled from thee when thy Mercy persued me with promises of Pardon how unworthily I have abused thy Goodness and Forbearance and Long-sufferings which should have led me to Repentance Son of David Blessed Redeemer Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the World have Mercy upon me O Jesu be a Jesus unto me Thou that sparedst thy Servant Peter that denied thee thrice thou that didst cast seven Devils out of Mary Magdalen and forgavist the Woman taken in Adultery and didst bear the convert Thief from the Cross to the joys of Paradise have Mercy upon me also Though my Offences are greater than these yet not their Sins nor mine nor the Sins of the whole World can equal thy Glorious Mercy which is Infinite and Eternal as thy Self I acknowledge O Lord that I am Vile but yet redeemed with thy precious Blood thou O Lord lovest to shew Mercy behold then a fit Object for thy pitty My sins are so great and many that to forgive me will be a glorious act of mercy Dispise me not O Lord for I am thy Creature dispise me not for thou didst die for me cast me not away in thine Anger for thou camest to seek and save me Say unto my Soul I am thy Salvation let thy Holy Spirit lead me from the Error of my ways into the paths of Righteousness to great degrees of Repentance and thro' all the parts of a Holy Life to a Godly and Holy Death Grant this O Blessed Jesu for thy Mercies and for thy pitty sake Amen Most merciful and indulgent Jesus hear the
complaint of a sad and miserable Sinner I have searched into the secret recesses of my Soul there I find nothing but Horror and a barren Wilderness a neglected Conscience overgrown with Sins and cares beset with fears and sore Amazement I tremble when I remember that sad Truth If the Righteous scarcely be saved where shall the Wicked and Ungodly appear I know O Lord that all my secret impurities shall be laid open at thy dreadfull Judgment O just and dear God! how shall I appear who shall plead for me who am loaden with Impurities Vanity Ingratitude Malice and the Terrors of an affrightning Conscience Wilt not thou answer for me O Jesus thou art my Judge and my Advocate thou art to pass Sentence upon me for those Sins for which thou diest O reserve not my Sins to be punished in the life to come for then I die Eternally but bring me in this World to a severe Repentance Behold I am in thy hand grant I may so Weep and be contrite for my Sins that in the hour of my Death I may find Mercy and in the day of Judgment be freed from the Terrors of thy Wrath and the Sentence of the Wicked Thou hast spared me all this while and not taken me off in the midst of my Sins which is an unspeakable Mercy for if thou had dealt with me according to my Deserts I had been now at this instant sealed up to an Eternity of Torments hopelesly miserably fearing the Revelation of thy day with an insupportable Amazement But now under the sweet influences of thy mercy I am praying to thee confessing my sins with Sorrow for my ingratitude but with a full hope in thy Mercy O my dear God let thy Grace speedily work that in me for which thou so long hast spared me even a true Faith and Holy Life establish in me a great contrition for my Sins lead me on to an humble Confession and let thy Grace make me bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance O Blessed Jesu who liveth and reigns ever one God world without end Amen I hate all evil ways O Lord But thy Law will I Love O God with shame I confess that other Lords besides thee have hitherto had Dominion over me Miserable Wretch that I am that I should begin so early to offend my Creator and sin so much in so short a time Lord I fear I never yet throughly considered how evil and bitter a thing it is to depart from thee O make me every day more and more sensible of the Error of my ways and of my own infinit Vileness Miserable Wretch that I am that ever I should commit those sins which expose me to all the vials of thy Wrath to all the curses of thy Law to all thy judgments Temporal or Spiritual in this life and to all the Horrors and Despair and Torments of the Damned in the life to come Miserable wretch that I am that ever I should transgress that Law of thine O God which is so Just Holy and Good perfect and so condescending to my Infirmities and in keeping of which there are so great so unconceivable rewards O Blessed Saviour how can I ever sufficiently lament the guilt of my Sins which was so great that nothing but thy own inestimable Blood could expiate O Blessed Spirit instil true penitential sorrow into my Soul make my Head Waters and my Eyes Fountains of Tears or do thou supply the want of them with Sighs and Groans unutterable But alass I know all the Tears I can possibly shed can never wash away the least of my Sins 't is thy Blood only Lord that can do it O Heavenly Father in the defect of my own Tears I offer thee the Blood of thy own well beloved Son for his sake have mercy upon me I have been in the snare of the Devil and been led Captive by him and sin hath reigned in my Mortal Body and I have obeyed it in the lust thereof but from henceforth I resolve to serve none but thee and from this very moment I utterly forsake all my sins and turn to thee I do from my heart renew my Baptismal Vow I do for ever renounce the Devil and all his Works and the Vanities of this World which may pervert me from thy Service and all the sinfull Lust of the Flesh O my God I do steadfastly believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith I will keep thy Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my life All this I am bound to do and believe and by thy help so I will and I heartily thank thee O Father who hast called me to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ my Saviour and I humbly pray thee for his sake to give me Grace to continue in the same to my lives end O Lord God I have Sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy Righteous Judgments but alass I 'm not able of my self to do nothing that is Good not so much as to think one good thought and I no sooner shall rise from my Knees but I fear I shall be tempted to those very sins I have now so solemnly renounced and those Temptations will certainly overcome me unless thou Lord do'st reasonably interpose thy Grace to with-hold me but I can do all things through the strengthning me do thou then O Blessed Saviour perfect thy strength in my weakness for in thee only is my trust O my God thou hast promised to give thy Holy Spirit to those that ask it Behold Lord I do Humbly I do Earnestly ask thy Holy Spirit now of thee O fullfil thy gracious Promises to me O vouchsafe me that Holy Spirit I pray for to purifie my corrupt Nature to strengthen my Weakness to comfort me in Troubles to support me in Discouragements to succor me in Temptations and to asist me in all the part of my Duty Thou O searcher of hearts knowest the sins I 'm most inclined to here name them herein will lie my greatest danger of Back-sliding but O my God I beg a double portion of thy Spirit and invisible aid against them hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my Foot-steps slip not O work in me that victorious Faith by which I may overcome the World the Devil and my own corrupt Nature My help standeth in thee O great Creator of Heaven and Earth and I commit my Soul to thy keeping O thou that art Faithful as well as Almighty keep that safe which is committed to thy Trust watch over me that I may not be beguiled by the deceitfulness of Sin or betrayed by my own treacherous heart or surprised by my Ghostly Enemies and give me grace to Watch and Pray incessantly my self least I enter into Temptation O Heavenly Father for thine own infinit Mercy sake for thy Truth and Promise sake for all the Merits and Sufferings of the Son of thy Love in whom thou art always well pleased pardon all
inhumanly defile his Face with Spittle After the Horrid Pomp of this Solemnity was over they divested him of this Dignity and proceeded to treat him like a Slave and that his Death might appear more dreadful they usher it in with all its Terrors with Stripes and Scourges and all the Torments their malice could Inflict Thus bruised and wounded with the weight of our Transgression he ascends the last steps of his Passion and without the least Reluctance stretches out his Arms to be fix'd on the most painful instrument of Death where O my Soul behold the Son of Man lifted up O dearest God who wast Wounded Despised Crucified and Crowned with Thorns and for my sins wert Nailed to the Cross I beseech thee by the Merits of them all O sweetest Jesus to pardon my Offences His Death was now a hastning on and their Diversion near to a Conclusion they were resolved to make the best use of their time and make their ingratitude last as long as his life they rail on Him treat him with all the marks of Infamy and continue their Revilings to his dying Minute Their Madness Folly and Aggrevations reached Heaven put the World into disorder and turned the Day into Night but could not move his Soul he saw their Madness felt the weight of their Offences and only prayed for their Forgiveness he pittied their Misery and when they endeavor'd to pull the Vengenace of his Blood upon their Heads he was sheding it as Sacrifice for their Wickedness But when the Majesty of Heaven grew Angry and exerted his Fury and laid on him the iniquities of us all he trembled at his Wrath cou'd not bear the direction of the Deity and groan'd away his Soul when God with-drew his presence from his support yet neither the Frowns of his angry Father nor the Rage of Men or Devils could make him sink till all was fullfil'd which the Scriptures spake concerning him when that was finish'd he only tarried to recommend his Mother to the pious care of his beloved Disciple bowed his Head and gave up the Ghost O crucified Jesus let thy Blood wash my Scul I am not ashamed of thy Cross but adore thee in thy Passion and acknowledge thee to be God Let us now turn the Scene and think how we have offended this God and lived in a continual Rebellion and then of what punishment ought we to be thought worthy who have Slighted Contemned and abused such infinite Mercy Who have returned the Love of God with the basest ingratitude and had no other reason for our Wickedness but that God was Good What an inconceivable Mercy is it that we are not this minute in those unquenchable Flames where the exquisitness of the Torment should oblige us instead of crying for Mercy to breath out horrid Blasphemies And as we slighted his Government here Curse and Dam his severity thee still sinking our selves deeper in the intollerable Misery where will be no Mittigation of the Torment nor end to our sad Affliction Let us constrain all the forces of our Soul to praise God that we are alive entreating his Pardon Let us beg Pardon even for taking that liberty to praise him and withal that he would still help us to praise him more O let us reflect on every thing that may move us to confess our Wickedness and be sorry for our sins The thoughts of these things may well enough put us in a heat and when our Passions are throughly urged vent themselves in Sighs and earnest desires of Reconciliation that both of them may meet with success let us add alms to our Fasting and Prayer for when our Petitions are thus assisted the mercy of God will not deny us a suitable return therefore in the entrance to our Devotion let us set apart something for the Poor and humbly offer it up in the following form O God Blessed be thy Name all things come of thee and of thine own do I now give thee O let this Alms be as an Odour of a sweet smell and acceptable in thy sight Preparitory Prayers before the Communion ALmighty Eternal God thou art the comforter of all that call upon thee thou hast concluded all under sin that thou mightest have Mercy upon all Look upon me O God and have pitty on me lying in my Blood and Misery in my Shame and in my Sins in the fear and guilt of thy Wrath in the shadow of thy Death and in the Gates of Hell I confess to thee O God what thou knowest already but I confess it to glorifie thy Mercy who hast spared me so long I am guilty of the vilest and basest Follies which usually dishonour Fools and the worst of Men I have been Proud and Covetous Envious and Lustful Angry Indevout and Irreligious restless in my Passions Sensual hating wise Counsels and soon weary of the Offices of a Holy Religion I cannot give an account of my Time and I cannot reckon the Sins of my Tongue my Crimes are Intolerable my Imperfections Shameful and my Omissions Innumerable What shall I do O thou preserver of Men I 'm so Vile I cannot express it so Sinful that I 'm odious to my self and I 'm much more Abominable in thy sight I have sinned against thee without Necessity sometimes without Temptation only because I would Sin I have been so Ungreatful Foolish and Unreasonable that I have put out my own Eyes that I might with confidence and without fear sin against so good a God so mighty a Redeemer my sin is grown shameful and aggravated even to Amazement O God I 'm amazed and confounded in thy presence BUT yet O God thou art the healer of our Breaches and the litter up of our Head I must not despair I 'm sure thy gooness is infinite thou doest not delight in the Death of a Sinner my sins though very great are infinitely less than thy Mercies I 'm not worthy to look up to Heaven but be thou pleased to look down into the Dust let me not perish in my Folly or be consumed in thy Displeasure give me time to Repent give me the power of thy Spirit that as by thy Gift and Mercy I intend to amend what is amiss so I may indeed have Grace and Power faithfully to fullfil the same Inspire me with the Spirit of Repentance and Mortification that I may always fight against my sins till I be more than Conqueror Support me with a Holy Hope confirm me with an excellent Operative and unreprovable Faith enkindle a bright and burning Charity in my Soul and grant by the power of thy Spirit I may overcome all Carnal and Spiritual Wickedness be wholly delivered from sin preserved from thy Wrath and at last pass on to the Glories of thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ my Saviour A Meditation of St. Austin BEfore thy Eyes O Gracious Lord we bring our Crimes before thee we expose the Wounds of our bleeding Souls That which we suffer is but little that which we
frustrate thy Mercies to me and since thou hast appointed this Spiritual Feast for rich and famished Souls let my desires be answerable to my need of it and do thou qualifie me by thy Grace to receive the full benefits of it O Christ hear me and grant that I may approach thee with more sincere and fixed Reasolutions of an intire Reformation and let me receive such strength from thee as may enable me faithfully to perform them Lord there are many old Habitual Diseases my Soul groans under and though I lie never so long at the pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy Table unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing Vertue they will still remain uncured O thou Blessed Physician of Souls heal me and grant I may so touch thee that there lothsome Issues may immediately stanch that these Sicknesses may not be unto Death but to the Glory of thy Mercy in pardoning so polluted a Wretch Lord have Mercy on me and grant I may approach thy Holy Table with such Humlity and Contrition Love and Devotion that thou mayest vouchsafe to come unto me and communicate to me thy self and all the Merits of thy Passion I acknowledge to my shame and sorrow that this Feast has often been prepared and I have with frivolous excuses absented my self or if I have come it has been rather to defy than adore thee I have brought such Troops of thy professed Enemies unrepented sins along with me as if I came not to commemorate but renew thy Passion of what punishment ought I to be thought worthy who have trampled under foot the Son of God counted the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing by defiling my self with sensual pleasures and breaking my holy Vows since I received the blessed Sacrament and thereby have incurred the greatest danger by receiving that Unworthily which can take away the guilt of my Sin yet O merciful Jesus this Blood is my only refuge let this make my attonement or I perish Eternally Wherefore didst thou shed it but to save Sinners O let me find its saving Efficacy let not the price of thy Blood be utterly lost but Pardon that heap of sin which I bring to thy Cross to be forgiven that so I may be an acceptable Guest at thy Holy Table which I beg for thy Compassion Sake Jesus my God and Saviour BLessed and all sufficient Saviour I the unworthiest of thy Servants prostrate my self at thy Mercy Seat humbly imploring that Pardon and Forgiveness of my multiplied Transgressions which render me unfit to receive the least of thy multiplied Kindness much less of being made a partaker of the greatest in the participation of the Sacred Body and Blood in the Holy Communion Dear Redeemer let me approach this Divine Institution with a prepared Heart and a purified Soul O that infinite Justice of the Almighty in taking so full vengeance upon sin even upon thee his only beloved Son that we might fear and tremble at the sad Effects of sin O the infinite Mercy of the Almighty ever to think of such a remedy for miserable Man's Restoration O the equal Goodness of thee our dearest Lord who wast a willing Sacrifice who wast Content Ambitious Hungring and thirsting after our Salvation by thy dreadful Passion for which let me how my self at the Footstool of thy Cross and mourn for thy Sufferings as occasioned by my Sins O let the drops of thy Blood trickle down into my Bosom and wash out the stains of sin there let thy Thorns pierce me to the Heart and thy Nails fasten me to thee as much as ever they did thee to the Cross Thou that didst entertain Judas with Tranquility and sufferest him to kiss thy Cheek reject not me thy unworthy supplicant but kiss me with the Benediction of thy Lips and with the Affections of a Saviour thou that dist permit the Soldiers to bind thee to satisfie for my looseness and abused liberty bind me now unto thee with the Chains of Love let that Holy Union dissolve the Cords of Vanity and subdue my Passions and unruly Desires Dearest Lord as in my Body of sin there is no part free so in thy suffering Body there was no whole part nothing but Sores and Stripes Wounds and Bruises I have offended in all my parts thou wast tormented in all thine so that with shame and sorrow I confess that my sins inflicted the misery of thy Passion by the hands of thy barbarous Enemies O let the Spear that pierced thy Heart sweetest Jesus pierce mine with true Sorrow let me contemplate on thy Passion with infinite hatred of sin that occasioned it and with infinite gratitude to thy Love for performing the same I adore thee O Lord Blessed Jesus for instituting the Holy Sacrament strike an awe into my Soul when I approach it and create in me Heavenly dispositions to celebrate so Heavenly an institution let me verily believe that if with due preparation I come to thy Altar as certainly as I receive the outward sings so certainly shall I receive thy most blessed Body and Blood to receive which inestimable Blessing O merciful Lord do thou fit and prepare me for thy mercy sake in Christ Jesus our Lord. O All sufficient Saviour teach me by thy great good Examples Obedience and Submission to thy Divine Will I humbly beseech thee so to prepare my Soul to the due receiving of the Holy Sacrament worthily that I may thereby effectually feel tast and feed on thee my Saviour Christ that I may be thee have Eternal Life Pardon O Lord pardon my unpreparedness to come to so Holy and Divine a Mistery make thy Word and Sacrament always so powerful and effectual in my Heart that I may thereby be sanctified and renewed unto all Holy Obedience unto thy Will in the mortification of my sinful Corruptions renewing of thy perfect Image in me unto Holiness Righteousness Sobriety Truth Knowledge Faith Temperance and Chastity O Blessed Jesus by thee let me have access to thy Heavenly Father that by thee he may accept me who by thee is revealed to me let thy Innocence and Purity procure pardon for my uncleanness and disobedience let thy Humility extinguish my Pride and Vanity and thy Charity cover the multitude of my Faults and that thou wilt with the hands of thy Mercy immediately after this life receive my Soul into everlasting Joy and Felicity there to Reign with thee for ever A Concluding Prayer O Lord God into thy hands I commit my Body Soul and Spirit my Thoughts Words and Works desiring wholly to be thine O my God Gracious and Merciful accept me in thy beloved Jesus Christ for his sake let me not go from before thee without a Blessing a Blessing of Pardon and Peace a Blessing of thy Spirit and of thy Grace to come Holy to thy Table a Blessing of thy favour and of thy love in the Lord Jesus thus Lord say of me that thou hast Blessed me and I shall be
When shall I fully please thee O that I could always serve thee that I could perfectly obey thee Grant me O my only Love that I may continually reverence and adore thee Permit me not O Lord Jesus ever to be seperated from thee Teach me inlighten me direct me and assist me in all things but especially at this time that I may do or say nothing but what is agreeable to thy blessed Will Amen I Have made a large Collection of Meditations and Prayers because of the difference of Congregations some are very numerous and I esteem them pertinent to regulate our thoughts in that interval before we go up to the Altar the lesser Congregations and they who are desirous to be first at the Holy Table may have advantage of variety and make use of them as their inclinations and opportunity will give leave Our thoughts are not always upon the wing we require diversity of Arguments to press us to a forwardness besides they are not designed that our mind should be wholly taken up with them that we should read them all and then think we may safely go up to the Altar of God The best composure in the World will be insignificant if we don't offer it with Devotion Sincerity and Affection one of these Petitions rightly performed is of greater Efficacy than the whole repeated in a rambling disorder Lord have mercy upon me a miserable sinner said with humility was more prevalent than the long Prayer of the wordy Supplicant God knows our necessity before we ask and if we ask with Faith depending on the incercession of our Saviour he will grant our Petitions even before they are ended so that I would have some of them repeated with deliberation and between them call in our thoughts reconcile them to our reason and faith and then offer them up with earnest devotion and so shall we be prepared to receive the Lord of Glory When we have made an end of these Meditations and are ready to go to the Holy Table rising from our Knees with Reverence let us say GReat Captain of my Salvation I am going to learn to fight the good fight of faith in the blessed Sacrament of thy Love let thy great Example there encourage me to fight against all Ambition and Ostentation Censoriousness and Uncharitableness against coveteous lustfull and blasphemous Thoughts against guile and hypocrisie discontent and mistrust of thy providence against such enemies give me Grace to fight over these let me Triumph that having striven lawfully I may at last be admitted to the sight of thy sweet self and be charmed with thy Love for evermore Having thus began our Warfares and declared our chiefest Enemies let us approach the Holy Altar that there we may put on the Armor of God and being endued with Righteousness from above may walk more securely and be defended from the subtilty of Men and Devils therefore as we are going up let us turn our thoughts to God in the following manner As we go up to the Altar I Come Lord Jesus O take me to thee for thou lovest me and hast prepared a Table for me in the seat of thy Love in the multitude of thy mercies O Lord God do I now approach thy Altar O pardon my Sins and receive me graciously if thou shouldst be extream to mark what is amiss O Lord who may abide it but with the Lord is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption Lord hast thou set open this fountain and wilt thou let a wretched creature die for thirst in thy presence Hast thou prepared such Balm to heal me and shall I languish here before thee I know if thou wilt thou canst make me clean here is the very instrument Grant therefore holy Jesus that I may duly apply it and rightly use it and then it shall prepare me for thee and unite me to thee by such inseperable Bonds as shall never brake unless Eternity have an end Blessed are they who so eat thy Flesh and drink thy Blood so as thou requirest and so as thy Saints have done for they have been cleansed at this fountain and here there Union with thee first began O happy opportunity Lord let me do it well this once and I am thine for ever Let us now kneel before the Lord and say O Jesu Son of God everlasting King receive my Spirit O my Life take my Soul my Joy draw my heart unto thee thou that art my Head direct me Light of mine eyes enlighten me O my comfort rejoice me my sweet Food let me eat thee O Word of God refresh me O Light Eternal shine thou over me that I may understand know and love thee After we have thus dedicated our selves to God let us humbly represent to him the occasion which drew us hither and beg for his promise sake that we may not be sent Empty away O Lamb of God thou hast said he that eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood hath eternal Life behold thy Servant O Lord be it unto me according to thy Word O Lord God I desire to renew my Covenant with thee and to seal it now with this Sacrament Lord put thy Laws into my mind and write them in my heart and for the passion of thy dear Son which I now commemorate be merciful to my Unrighteousness my Sins and Iniquities do thou remember no more but be thou my God and I will be thy Servant The Minister now approaching us we ought with the Centurion in the Gospel to acknowledge our unworthiness to receive so glorious a guest and after such a Humilliation let us look up with confidence and represent to the Father of Heaven the prevailing sacrifice of his Son LOrd I am not worthy thou shouldst come under my roof but speak the word Lord and thy Servant shall be whole Behold O Lord the sacrifice of the everlasting Covenant the Lamb that takes away the sins of the World Oh let all the World feel the power of his Intercession hear good Lord the cry of his Wounds and deny me not since I bring thy Son with me let us all know that he lives that was dead and is a live for evermore O holy Bread which camest down from Heaven and givest life to the World come into my heart and cleanse me from all defilements of Flesh and Spirit enter into my Soul heal and sanctifie me within and without O my Soul taste now and see how gracious the Lord is Whence is it that my Lord himself should come to me Let us now with steadfast Faith repeat after the Minister bowing our Bodies The Body of our Lord Jesus c. After we have received the Bread let us lift up our Souls in thankfullness and say Hail Holy Lamb of God thrice welcome art thou to a poor perishing sinner Glory be to thee O Lord who feedest me with the Bread of Life let thy crucified Body deliver me from this body of death Before the Cup. I Will receive the
and Reformation But 't is uncertain whether we shall come thus to our selves till Death overtake us or since we resolv'd to sin till we could sin no longer whether there will be Place found for our Tears Therefore let every Man call his Ways to remembrance But they who are thus enslav'd in Sin let them make haste to deliver themselves from the Wrath to come their Case is very dangerous they seem to be destin'd to Destruction for they have so long suffer'd their Lusts to have Dominion over them that they know not how to free themselves from this Tyranny of Sin But blessed be God who has provided a Lamb for the Sacrifice there is yet a Way for our Redemption God has not wholly left us without Help in this World Though the Prayers of the Wicked are an Abomination yet those of the Penitent are not so If we are so happy as to stop in this Career have but so much Resolution to begin a Reformation God is so merciful as to add his Grace to help us forward to Repentance But 't is only when God sees us set about it in earnest for he knows our Hearts and Thoughts long before Therefore let us embrace the first Thoughts of Repentance and carry them on to a sincere Reformation Let us retire from the World and humble our selves in Fasting and this not once or twice but often for we have need to cry mightily to God Day and Night to be redeem'd from this worse than Egyptian Bondage On the Day of our Humiliation that the Misery of our Condition may oblige us to the greater Penitence let us first consider the Odiousness of Sin that we may learn to detest it the Aggravation of it by being committed frequently presumptuously and against Knowledge that we may abhor our selves for our Folly and Ingratitude Then let us reflect upon the Number of them which being infinite ought to lay us in the Dust and confess our selves to be worse than nothing Reflections of a true Penitent upon his first Conviction O God! to what an amazing and miserable Condition have I brought my self I stand exposed to thy Severest Judgment here and am liable to thy Indignation hereafter I know I am not in a State of Salvation and yet can't lament my Misery I am a Sinner and reflect upon the evil Consequence of Sin yet am neither Terrified or Sorrowfull What a heap of Contradiction and Wickedness am I made up of that believe the Pleasures of thy Law and yet depart from thy Commandments that fear the Justice of thy Anger and yet can't be perswaded to forsake the Evil of my Ways Thus miserable O God do I behold my self but thou seest that I am infinitly more vile than I can imagine Though my Crimes appear to me beyond my expression and my Heart thus condemns me thou art greater than my Heart and knowest all things Thou knowest how often each Sin has been repeated and the vileness of that Sin and how much more heinous by the habitual Repetition when my Depraved Nature will neither let me know the Baseness of the one or the Ingratitude of the other I am insensible how much thou art offended by one Sin and am forgetfull how often I have repeated that Offence and can only tell that Sin in me is above measure sinful O! that there was a Heart in me even to apprehend this that I cou'd say with a sincere Heart and pensive Soul Lord I am a miserable Sinner But this is not in my power I can only reflect upon my Sins at a distance as if they did not concern me and my poor Soul was not to answer for them at thy Tribunal O God thy Hand is heavy upon me I know my Sins are abominable in thy Sight and that thy Judgment inflicts this Hardness of Heart and that thou art resolved to try me no longer Thou seest that I am Grounded in Wickedness that evil is continually with me that if thou shou'dst forgive I shall revolt again and wherefore shoudst thou withhold thine Hand O my God I have nothing to offer to put a Stop to thy Vindictive Justice but confess I deserve Eternal Damnation But who can be content to dwell in Everlasting Burnings Is there then no Way to escape thy Vengeance Wilt thou be angry for ever Yes O God unless I repent thou wilt bring me to worse than nothing for thou wilt condemn me to Eternal Torment How can I repent unless thou change my Nature and give me a Heart to be sorry and abhor the Evil of my Ways But why should I expect this Mercy that have abus'd all others I can't look up to thee with any Confidence to beg thee to have Patience with me for my Prayers must be an Abomination and my Devotions no way pleasing in thy Sight Oh! the Misery that I have brought my self into God has withdrawn himself and taken his Holy Spirit from me there remains only that I be reserv'd against the Revelation of that Day in which the Righteous Judgments of God will appear to condemn me and all such ungrateful Souls to the Torments of Hell Righteous art thou O Lord and in the midst of Flames will I confess thy Justice Fear is come upon me and thy Judgment is the severer in that I am not sensible of the Danger Wilt thou laugh at this my Calamity And shall not mine Eyes be open till the Flames of Hell terrifie them Wilt thou suffer me thus to sink down into Torment and despise the Groans of a Soul in an Abyss of Misery Oh I cou'd be content to yield to thy severest Inflictions here if I cou'd be brought to the favour of God But I dare not ask of Thee to correct me least thou do it in Judgment and yet I dread thy Rod that it will come and how can I bear to fall into the Hands of the Living God Who can deliver me from thy Power Oh thou Omnipotent God What can I do when Misery thus abounds and each Reflection presents Damnation to my view Surely if I was truly affected with my Condition it would work upon my Spirit and when my Soul was sensible of Sin and how bitter a thing it is to depart from God it would cause such Relentings and Tremblings such Contrition and Humiliation as becomes a Soul loaded with my Crimes Oh that my Conscience wou'd rise up against me and call me to the strictest Account that my Soul was wounded within me That I had the fear of an angry God deeply imprinted upon my Soul Oh that I was a sorrowful Sinner Oh that I could grieve as never Man griev'd but alas 't is not in my power thus to afflict my self and what would it avail me if I could wrack my Soul and put my Nature into terrible Conflicts Can the Sighs and Groans and torturing Convulsions of such a Sinner move Compassion in the Most High will not God be Deaf to my Complaint and regardless of my
my Wickedness and be sorry for my Sins I will pour out my Prayers in the bitterness of my Spirit and therefore now Lord call my Sins to my Remembrance and when thou hast so done blot them out of thy Remembrance and Pardon me A Confession of Sin O Thou great Judge of Heaven and Earth before whose glorious Majesty even the good Angels who never sinned fall prostrate and tremble with what debasement and dread ought I to appear before thy awful Presence who am but Dust and Ashes and which is infinitely worse a miserable Sinner Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity with the least approbation the way of the wicked and the sacrifice of the wicked is an Abomination unto thee Wo is me then O Lord Wo is me for I have inclined unto Wickedness but for the sake of thy well-beloved Son cast not out my prayer nor turn thy mercy from me Miserable wretch that I am I have gone astray from the very Womb I was shapen in Wickedness and in Sin did my Mother Conceive me Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean What is Man then O God that he should be Clean or he that is born of a Woman that he should be Righteous Thou Lord puttest no trust in thy Saints The Heavens are nor clean in thy sight and the very Angels thou chargest with folly How much more abominable than am I who daily drink iniquity like Water Lord Pity cleanse forgive and save me for thy mercies sake I know O God that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for when I would do Good Evil is present with me and I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind bringing me into Captivity to the Law of Sin Lord have mercy on me and deliver me from this body of Death from this tyranny of Sin Alass my whole Nature is corrupt infinitely prone to all Evil and a verse to all that is Good my Understanding is full of Ignorance and error my will perverse my Memory tenacious of all things that may pollute me but forgetful of my Duty my Passions are inordinate my Senses the inlets to all impurity I have abused all my faculties and am unclean unclean Lord pity cleanse forgive and save me for thy mercies sake O Lord God how have I through my whole life violated the sollemn Vow I made to thee at Baptism by eagerly persuing the Vanities of this Wicked World by early yeilding to the Temptation of the Devil by greedily indulging my own carnal Desires and Lust by a fruitless and dead faith and by a disobedience to thy holy Will and Commandments Father I have Sin'd against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son I have Sin'd O Lord God I have Sin'd against Thee By c. Here make your confession of Sins against God and then add O Jesu Lamb of God Son of the Father let thy Blood cleanse me from these sins O pity forgive and save me for thy mercies sake I have sin'd O Lord God I have sin'd against thee and my own self By c. Here confess your sins against your Self and then add O Jesu Lamb of God c. I have sin'd O Lord God I have sin'd against thee and my Neighbor By c. Here confess your sins against your Neighbor and then add O Jesu Lamb of God c. O Lord God my wickedness is exceeding great and my iniquities are infinite they are more in number than the hairs of my head and my heart would fail me but that I know thy mercies are greater than my sins Have mercy upon me therefore O God according to the multitude of thy mercies do away my Offences Who alas can tell how oft he Offends Oh cleanse thou me from my secret faults from all my sins of Ignorance or Infirmity or Omission or which I have not observed or which I have forgot Lord lay none of them to my charge Father forgive me Lord Jesus have mercy upon me O remember not the sins and offences of my Youth but receive me O heavenly Father into the Arms of thy Fatherly compassion and forgive me all my Transgressions for the merits of Jesus thy Son and my Saviour Amen O Lord God of Mercy and Pardon give me a just remembrance and sad apprehension of my sins teach me to bewail them with as great indignation and bitterness as I have committed them with complacency and delight Let my Prayer and Confession come into thy presence and obtain mercy and pardon for me Let not thy Justice and Severity so remember my sins as to forget thy own mercy and though I deserve to be condemned yet thou canst not lose that glorious attribute whence flows comfort to us and hopes of being saved Spare me therefore O merciful God for to give pardon to a sinner that confesses his faults and begs remission is not impossible to thy Power nor disproportionate to thy Justice nor unusual to thy mercy Blessed Jesu acknowledge in me whatsoever is thine cleanse me from whatsoever is amiss Have pitty on me now in the time of mercy and condemn me not when thou comest to judgment for what profit is there in my Blood Thou delightest not in the death of a Sinner but in his Conversion is joy in Heaven and when thou hast delivered me from my sins and saved my Soul I shall praise and magnifie thy Name to all Eternity O Jesu God be merciful to me a miserable Sinner O Lord who art the God that hearest prayers and alone has power finally to forgive sin I beseech the mercifully hear and graciously answer these my Petitions for pardon I am a sinner and deserve punishment but O Lord remove my guilt and spare me who do now confess with shame and sorrow my sins unto thee that I whose Conscience by sin is accused so justly now before thee by thy merciful pardon may be absolved from my Guilt for the sake and through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. By thine Agony and bloody Sweat by thy Cross and Passion by thy precious Death and Burial Good Lord deliver O Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World Have mercy upon O Christ hear me Lord have mercy upon me Christ have c. Lord have mercy c. Our Father which art c. A Prayer O most gracious God who out of thy boundless Compassion to thy Creatures art never wanting in any means that may draw them to thy self I the unworthiest of thy Servants desire to give Glory to thee in a hearty acknowledgement that thou hast afforded me all the methods that might either force or allure me to Obedience but I have resisted that goodness of thine which should have lead me to Repentance Thy compassion has been affronted by my continuance in sin and thy forbearance only serv'd to harden me in Iniquity I have lived to provoke thy
deserve is intolerable We fear the Punishment of our Sins but cease not pertinaciously to proceed in sinning Our Weakness is sometimes smitten with thy Rod but our Iniquity is not changed When thou smitest us then we confess our Sins but when thy Visitation is past then we forget that we have wept When thou stretchest forth thine Hand then we promise to do our Duty but when thou takest it away we perform no Promises If thou strikest we cry to thee to spare us but when thou sparest we provoke thee again to Anger Thus O God the Guilty confess before thee Unless thou givest us Pardon it is but just we perish But O Almighty God our Father grant to us what we ask even though we deserve it not Pardon us O Gracious Father and take away all our Sin Destroy the Work of the Devil let the Enemy have no part in us Acknowledge the Work of thine own Hand the Price of thine own Blood and the Purchase of thine own Inheritance and bring us to the Place which thou hast design'd for us by the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant by the Pains of thy Cross and the Glories of thy Resurrection O Holy and Blessed Jesus our Redeemer MOst merciful God and Father I thine unworthy Servant render my humblest Thanks to thy Divine Majesty that it has pleas'd thee notwithstanding my Unworthiness to give me a Heart to approach thy Blessed Sacrament Give me thy Grace that I may be a curious Spender of my Time this Week so as I may best resist or prevent all Temptation Let thy Grace so perpetually assist and encourage my Endeavours conduct my Will and fortifie my Intentions that I may persevere in that holy Condition which thou hast put me in by the Grace of the Covenant and the Mercies of the Holy Jesus Oh let me never fall into those Sins and retire to that vain Conversation from which the Eternal and Merciful Saviour of the World hath redeemed me Let thy Preventing Grace dash all Temptations in their Approach that my Hopes be never discompos'd my Faith weaken'd my Confidence made remiss nor my Portion be lessen'd in the Covenant Give me Grace to put on the Wedding-Garment And since thou hast commanded me to examine my self let me seriously consider and review my Life and Actions and how I am prepar'd for so weighty an Action I desire to do this O Lord help my weak Desires Give me Power to live more exactly than I have done I confess O Lord I am by Nature a Child of Wrath give me therefore a True and Lively Faith that I may be spiritually join'd to thee by the Visible Signs of Bread and Wine And so cleanse my Soul that thou mayest take up thy Habitation within me I know O Lord I am unworthy of this Blessing yet for thy Name sake bestow it upon me And when I present my self before thee at thy Table restrain my Wandring and Idle Thoughts let them be seriously fix'd on the Death of my Saviour And as I receive this Bread and Wine for Bodily Sustenance so cause me to feed on the Body and Blood of my Saviour that it may be real Nourishment to my Soul Which I beg for the sake of him who offer'd both his Body and Blood for my Salvation Jesus thy Son and my Redeemer Amen O Most Good and Gracious Jesus how excellent was thy Love towards us thou leavest thy Body and Blood to be our Food to Nourish us O thou true Food of my Soul receive me who am to receive thee quicken me with thy Spirit feed me with thy Flesh satisfie me with thy Blood and let me receive Life from thee to act and live unto thee O my Lord give me a Heart that I may think on thee a Soul that I may love thee and a Mind to remember thee Let me find thee O my hearts desire let me hold thee O thou whom my Soul doth love O my life for whom all things live by which I live without which I die O my Lord let me renew this life of mine by coming to thy Holy Sacrament Where may I find thee but here O that I may faint in my self and depend on thee O Lord let me love thee because thou didst first love me Where shall I get words to express the signs of thy particular great love towards me I bless thee for my Creation Preservation and all the Blessings of this life but most of all for my Redemption and the benefits convey'd to us in the Holy Sacrament O let me go to thy Holy Table to receive Life and Salvation O that I may cry after God even the living God that I may watch for thee more than they who watch for the Morning and that my delight may be in thy Commandments O God I Dare not presume to come to thine Altar Most Holy Lord God before I have cleansed my Mouth by confession of my Sins washed my Hands in Innocency and purified my heart by profession of my Faith in my Redeemers Blood for thy sacred Word teaches me that Holy Thing must not be given to Dogs nor Pearls cast before Swine with loathing of my self and greatest detestation of my rebellious corruption I confess that never Dog so oft returned to his Vomit nor Sow to wallowing in the Mire as I have to sin and sensuality I was at first conceived in Lust and since Lust has conceived in me and brought forth sin and sin had long ago brought forth Death if thy Grace and Mercy had not prevented it I am not able to conceive what sin I have conceived in my heart or uttered with my tongue my best actions are tainted how much more my defects my Prayers against sin are through their many imperfections unless thou cover them abominable in thy sight how much more the sins themselves against which I pray All the remedies which thou hast prescribed in thy Law against the maladies of my Soul have increas'd them and so improv'd my sin that sin is become above measure sinful O Lord thy Commandments are exceeding Broad and extends not only to our Words and Actions but to our Thoughts Desires and Affection the smallest desire of sin is sin the very inclination to sin without consent of the will the delight in sin against the consent of the will our vain fancies by Day and dreams by Night though not in our power to prevent are pollutions in thy Eyes who are purity it self Who then can say his Heart is clean or who knoweth how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret Faults Pardon all my known and unknown Transgressions whether they be Omissions of any duty Commanded by thee or Commissions of any thing forbidden O loose me from those Bonds wherewith Satan and my own Lust have bound me thou seest I have abundant need of thee but am so cloged with Guilt that I am not able to move towards thee O let not my impenitence and unworthiness
our Lights may shine before men and the world may see the love of God dwelleth in us by our readiness to perform his commands but what need we of Arguments to press us to that which is so reasonable in it self which the Law of Nature teaches we ought to do But a sad experience informs us that neither the law of God nor nature is sufficient to oblige some tempers to compassion but let all such remember however serviceable their Estates are to them in this World they will turn to their destruction in the other their full Barns that have been shut at the knocking 's of the Poor will then be of no advantage nor the multitude of their riches prevail for their security both of them will turn to their reproof the rust of the one and fullness of the other will sink them into despair and exclude them to Eternity from the Happiness of God We have been taught that no one must approach this sacred Feast in bitterness of Spirit we must have love towards the Brethren and if we are in charity with all men shall more especially have bowels of compassion to those who are in want therefore let us while we have opportunity impart of our abundance and bless God for enabling us to do good to the House-hold of Saints and this coming from us so readily will be the more acceptable sacrifice for God loves a chearful giver and that our Alms ascend not alone 't is necessary we accompany them with Prayers and though we have no Angel to assure us they come up before God yet we need not doubt their acceptance for God himself has assured us with such sacrifices he is well pleased therefore let us humbly say at the giving our Alms. Blessed be thou O Lord God for all things come of thee and of thy own do I now give thee O let this Alms be an Odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing in thy sight After the sentences are read we have nothing to do but devoutly compose our selves and joyn with Reverence to the Prayers of the Church if we consider the substance of this excellent Office we shall be freed from the interruptions which often occur in our devotions for when our minds are wholly taken up with the signification of the words we shall have less room for wandrings When the Prayer for the whole state of Christ's Church is begun let us interest our selves in that excellent form that when the Priest comes to beseech God to accept our Alms and Oblations let us in our minds humbly beg it for Jesus Christ his Sake and that together with them God would receive our Prayers for the Universal Church for we can't but enlarge our Passions and desire the good of all Mankind not only of those who confess Christ but that the Heathen may be brought into the Possession of our Saviour and agree in the Truth of his Holy Word we must desire the Well-fare of Princes because they are set over us by God for the punishment of Vice and the praise of them that do well and for the Pastors of the Church there is a great deal of reason for us to pray for them that they may duly administer this Holy Mystery and by their Example and Doctrine both save themselves and those who hear them they who are in Affliction call for our fellow-feeling and since we are all of one body we can't let any member be in disorder and neglect to procure its remedy we are passionately to desire the Health and Salvation not only of those we know want present relief but to all that are in any danger Sickness or other Distress considering it may be our condition and we must desire it with the same Ardour as if it was for our selves and since God has given us the example of good Men who are gone before us we ought to pray that we may follow their steps that so we may arrive to the same degree of Blessedness and to obtain all this more certainly we are to beg it in the name of Jesus Christ believing that God will never refuse any thing that is convenient for us when we call upon him in that most prevailing Name especially since he is our Advocate we have the assurance of his intercession and God can deny nothing to the Son of his Love After this excellent Prayer is over we are exhorted by the Minister to a more serious preparation to the Communion though 't is supposed that every one who approaches this Holy Table has considered before repented and got a competent understanding in this sacred Mystery yet it is very necessary we should attend this Exhortation and Re-examine our selves whether we are such as the Gospel requires The Church has taken care to instruct us in this Duty in such a manner that we can't easily deceive our selves she encourages us with rewards and sets before us the dreadful consequence of our carelesness or neglect We may be over aw'd in our private Examination by the Dominion of our Lusts or perhaps the love of our selves may incline us to think better than we are but when we hear God's Minister urging us to this Duty and powerfully representing those things we have prevailed with our selves to pass over and that God is immediately present to acquit or condemn us we are obliged to confess our Wickedness and be sorry for our sin this is the Repentance we shan't be ashamed of that will put us in a state to be reconciled with our Saviour and make us fit to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and the benefit of that is the becoming one with him and to be pertakers of his Everlasting Glory therefore when we hear the Priest exhort us Judge therefore your selves Brethren let us humbly say I confess my self a sinner and condemn my ingratitude Repent you truly of your sins past c. I repent O Lord and am sorry for my Wickedness Have a lively and steadfast Faith c. I believe O Lord help my unbelief Amend your lives c. O grant me thy Holy Spirit to amend my life Be in perfect Charity c. I forgive all Men their Trespasses Lord do thou forgive me So shall ye be meet partakers c. O make me a worthy Communicant Ye must give most humble and hearty thanks c. I adore thy infinit love to Mankind in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus who did humble thy self to the death upon the Cross c. By thy Cross and Passion sweetest Jesus deliver me He hath c. and ordained Holy Mysteries as pledges of his Love c. I remember thy exceeding Love to us miserable sinners and adore thy infinite compassion in dying for Mankind To thee therefore O Jesus with the Father and the Holy Ghost let us give as we are most bounden continual thanks submitting our selves wholy to thy holy Will and Pleasure studying to serve thee in true
we like his Disciples at the last Supper are waiting to be fed with the Bread from Heaven when we hear the Priest saying Who in the same Night he was betrayed took Bread c. Let us adore that inexpressible love of our Saviour which was working our Salvation when his cursed Enemies were contriving his Crucifixion let us bless the goodness of God and admire the Humillity of our Saviour that would be represented by no richer preparation than Bread Here is no costly sacrifice to exhault our Treasure That we may bestow upon those that want it the poor which we have always with us but for the representation of himself he chuses what is necessary for our sustinance to show us that his Body is as necessary to the strengthning of our Souls as Bread for the support of our Life And when he had given thanks he brea kt it c. O blessed Jesus doest thou give thanks for my Redemption behold I joyn my praises to thine and bless thee with all my Soul O shew thy acceptance of my praises by hallowing these Elements to the purposes they are designed Saying Take Eat this is my Body which is given for you c. Here let us reflect upon the passion of our Saviour and imagine we see him in that unspeakable Passion offering up his pious Soul upon the Cross Do this in remembrance of me O Jesus let me never be so ungrateful as to forget thee likewise also after Supper He took the Cup and when he had given thanks c. Our Saviour was not content to give us his Body alone but to pour out his Blood for us and has chosen Wine for the Commemoration of that inestimable mercy O let our Souls thirst after this Cup of Salvation and when the Minister holds it out to bless it let us call upon the Name of the Lord He gave it to them saying Drink ye all of this c. Do this in remembrance of me This is the time to Exercise our Faith and therefore let us believe they really are to us what they represent and say a hearty Amen for it is unto us according to our Faith if we believe 't is unto us the Blood of Christ indeed that no doubting nor infidelity may unhallow these sanctified Elements to any of our Souls Let us say A Prayer after Consecration LOrd it is done as thou hast commanded and I doubt not but the Mystery is rightly accomplished I am perswaded that here is that which my Soul longeth after a crucified Saviour communicating himself to poor penitent Sinners O let me be reckoned among that Number and then I shall assuredly receive thee Holy Jesus Amen O Holy Saviour I behold thee stretch'd upon the Cross with thy Arms spread ready to embrace all Mankind Glory be to thee O Lord Jesus Lamb of God Son of the Father who didst offer thy self a sacrifie to take away the sins of the whole World Lord have mercy upon me and take away mine also When the Minister is a Communicating let us humbly desire that God would hear his Prayer The Lord hear thee and remember all thy Offerings and Sacrifices grant thee thy Hearts desire and fullfil all thy mind The Lord perform all thy Petitions which thou hast made at this time for thy self for us and all Persons Amen We have nothing to do now but compose our selves for the acts of holy Communion remembering we are to feast with God by Silence and Heavenly Contemplation let us reflect upon the mercies of God in this Sacrament and when we have by Faith beheld the Glory of the Lord confess our unworthiness to appear before him and acknowledge his goodness which gives us the opportunity of adoring his inexpressible Love While others are Communicating O How dreadful is this place Seemeth it a small thing unto thee O my Soul to be feasted with God waited on by Angels fed with the Body of Jesus and refreshed with the Cup of that saving Blood which hath attoned for the Sins of the World What meaneth this secret that so poor a Wretch and sinful a Rebel should receive so mighty a Favour and be received to so near Embraces How can I approach to these terrible Mysteries till I have pulled back the Vail and worshipped him that feeds my Body to convey Grace to my Soul and make that stoop to the Eye of sence which Angels cannot behold with open Faces Here is represented the Almighty Love of an infinite Being here the God of Gods appears all Bloody to fright thee from thy sins here the All-merciful Saviour of the World is as it were crucified before thine Eyes that contemplating the horrid Aggonies of the Cross and remembring the cause of his cruel Sufferings thou mayst mourn for thy ingratitude that brought him to the torments of that inexpressible Passion here the Holy Jesus appears loaded with all the Blessings of Heaven here the everlasting Trinity seems to use his utmost endeavour to perswade thee into a Heavenly Conversation To thy Holy Altar O Dear Redeemer I am coming to renew my Baptizmal Vow to enter into a Solemn Covenant with God and faithfully to promise thee to resign my self intirely to thee to fall out with thee no more to be faithful to thee to vindicate thy Glory to live up to those Laws which thou hast sealed with thy own Blood To this end I eat of thy Bread and Drink of thy Wine and so seal my Covenant with thee Quicken me O Lord and make me more earnest and zealous in thy Service and as thou hast sent thy Son to bring me to thy self do thou likewise send thy Holy Spirit to sanctifie me for thy self and then I who of my self can scarce move unto thy Altar by the assistance of thy Grace may run the ways of thy Commandments Having declared the reasons of our approaching this Holy Table and beg'd God's blessing upon us let us Meditate after this manner Thou O my God hast prepared a Table for me and hast promised whosoever eateth thereof shall never Hunger and drinketh shall never Thirst This consideration alone is sufficient to furnish us with matter for Contemplation The mercy of God in preparing this Sacred Feast the benefits we receive from it and the time in which it was institued when he was surrounded with the Horrors of Death and began to feel the weight of our Transgressions are enough to put us in a confusion and constrain us at once to humble our selves even into our first nothing for abusing such goodness and then adore that amazing constancy of our Lord that in the greatest of his Agony could endure yet more for our sakes and resign himself to the Cross notwithstanding the contradiction of sinners O let us consider this price with which we were bought and glorifie God in our Bodies and Spirits which are his therefore bowing our bodies before the Lord let us consider the wonder of his love BEhold what kind of love
they had never felt before vigorous as a mighty wind chearing as the morning light inflaming their hearts with zeal and filling their mouths with Anthems indited with the Languages of all the World O wonderfull Change their Ignorance is turned into Learning their mistakes into infallibility their fear into courage their weakness into strength their sorrow into joy and they in a moment made able to confound the Arts and conquer the Oppositions of the Heathen world and maugre all the divices of Satan to set up the Kingdom of the Lord Christ and shall we not praise thee for these miraculous dispensations by which the gospel was made known even to us in the most utmost corners and last of times yes Holy Jesus we will also meet thee with one accord at thy table not doubting but thou would give us the measures of thy Spirit there if our duty or our necessity did require it it is enough to us that thou knowest our need more than will supply them we dare not ask lest thou wilt not give thou hast given us thy self wherefore we believe thou wilt not deny us thy Spirit without which we can have no Intrest in thee nor benefit from thee We come not gracious Lord with the carnal Jews to devour thy Flesh but to partake of thy Spirit which only giveth life the flesh profiteth nothing behold thy Spirit hath converted Millions Let me therefore together with thy precious Body receive here such proportions of thy holy Spirit as may suppress my evil Affections revive my dead heart comfort my dejected mind and turn my ignorance into knowledge my knowledge into practice and make that practice so sweet and easie that this may be a day of joy to me also solemnized in the white Garments of Sanctification and rejoycing and finally let not this Heavenly Inspiration be only expressed in Ecstasies and only fervours this day but let thy Spirit rest upon me and dwell in me for ever so shall I always have cause to bless thee for so incomparable a gift Methinks I feel already the force thereof bearing down my corruptions and the bright beams driving the mists of Sin and Error I find its flames warming my heart with Zeal and charity and its quickning power opening my sealed lips to shew forth thy praise A Meditation for the Communion on Trinity Sunday O Admirable mystery to be adored in the profoundest silence by the contemplation thereof when I am struck with amazement I can learn humility and discover mine own Ignorance and I have the opportunity of exercising a Nobler faith than if I could comprehend it with my shallow reasonings and imperfect demonstrations the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity hath been derided by the Heathens and endeavoured to be perplexed by the Wits of all kind of Hereticks but it sufficeth me Blessed Jesus that thou hast revealed it and thy Holy Church divided into many other things hath universally agreed in thy great Truth and I am the more confirmed in it because I learn by it to worship with a regular devotion from hence I am the more confirmed I am taught to pray to the Father in the Name of the Son through the assistance of the Holy Ghost and as long as I live will I praise thee and magnife thee in this manner I will bless thee particularly at this Holy Feast for so excellent a revelation for this Ordinance it self contains many things above my understanding and its all mystery the Trinity is the Article and thy Sacrament the Rite which do distinguish thy true Riligion from all the sects in the World wherefore by observing this Rite I do embrace this Faith and upon the representation of thy death I do profess to live in it and die for it resolving never to have other Lords when I find the Father giving the Son giving and the Holy Ghost dispensing that Gift unto my Soul in this sacred Communion it shall be a greater confirmation to my faith in divine Mystery than can be acquired from the most curious search into it However I am resolved my Reason shall vail to thy word and I will be content to stay for a full apprehension of this sublime truth till I am advanced to a State of Angelick perfection and come to hehold the glories of the true God till then I will bless thee for what I know and believe more than I can conceive and I will worship the same Majesty which the Heavenly Choir doth in these Addresses THE Church has now done her part and leaves us to discharge the rest she has told us the benefits and forewarned us of the danger let it be upon our own Heads if we have drunk Christ's Blood unworthily therefore let us as soon as possible retire and examine our behaviour during the Celebration of these Holy Mysteries How our thoughts were employed and how earnest our longings were after this Bread of Heaven whether we had duly examined our selves before and repented as we ought in what part soever of these things we have done amiss let us ask pardon and endeavour to come more prepared the next time This will show that we are sincere with God and don 't come out of custom but for his Grace and Mercy and let us take every opportunity to ask that for Christ is now come very near us therefore let us lay before him all our wants that so we may be fill'd with his Heavenly Benediction let us not lose a minute on this day but be earnest in all manner of supplication for we must not leave our Devotions with the Church that would be setting open the door indeed that Satan might enter into us but I hardly believe they who have had their hearts kindled at the Altar can suffer them to grow cold before they get home therefore let us retire before Dinner and after we have thus seriously reflected upon what we have been doing let us add to our thoughts the following Meditation A Meditation before Dinner WHen I compare thy acts with mine Holy Jesus I am exceedingly ashamed to behold so a vast a disproportion thou givest me thy Merits and Graces thy Life and Love at present and hast promised to me thy Kingdom in reversion and I have scarce return'd this with the intire devotion of one half hour O how little is my obdurate Heart affected with the sence of my own Guilt the fears of thy Divine Wrath or apprehensions of thy sufferings yet Lord I desire and did endeavour to praise thee so that I hope thou wilt consider my infirmities with much compassion and measure my services not by the exactness of my performance but by the sincerity of my wishes so shall I be accepted before thy Heavenly Father and by the mercy of that acceptance be obliged to thee for ever O Most merciful Lord God I am amazed at the mighty favours which thou hast shew'd to me a sinful wretched Creature I cannot but acknowledge thy
thy Blessed for ever pardon the defect of Prayers my Coldness and Wandring in my Devotions and deal with me according to thy Mercies in Christ Jesus who in compassion to my infirmatives has taught me to call thee Father and when I pray to say Our Father c. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. Having performed these Devotions faithfully let us wait for the Blessing of the Lord if we would have a speedy answer to our Prayers let us have respect in all our Conversation to what we have been doing 'T is not sufficient that we passionately beg God's Favour we must endeavour to deserve it by performing his will and when God sees that we choose him he will not deny us the Blessings that are needful for us 'T is not to be supposed that Man is serious who can be earnest and zealous in his Closest but loose and intemperate in the World or that he is heartily desirous to be eased of his burthen who makes no other attempts to acquit himself but when he is upon his Knees Can we think God will hear the Prayer of a Man who only asks to be freed from his Infirmities When the wicked Man turns from his Wickedness and does that which is Lawful and Right be shall save his Soul and not before If a Man that is an Adulterer Lascivious or Unclean would have his Vices routed out he must first set himself against the Sin endeavour to mortifie the Lust and avoid the occasion of his Folly and then he may expect God's Pardon for the past and assistance for the future He ought during the time of his Tryal to beg God's Grace to help him in the conquest of this Enemy and if he is sincere may be sure in a little time that he will be more than Conqueror but don't let us fly to God to save us from those Evils we voluntary run into which we don't care to avoid and which are no longer uneasie than they sensibly affect us We shall but mock God and provoke him to give us up to the deceits of our own Heart but 't is hoped they who are arrived so far in Vertue as to set their Resolutions to approach the Altar of God have no such custom that they truly are sorry for their Offences and intend to lead a new life that their Faith is such as overcomes the World that they have brought under their unruly Appetites and are zealous of good Works These are the things about which we ought to Examine our selves let this be our study the nearer we approach this Solemnity that so we may search every Corner of our Hearts and when we have set our ways before our Eyes there is no doubt but we shall bewail the iniquity of them and raise in our Souls an ardent love to Christ who is so ready to relieve us and has done so much to bring us into Favour with God Our unworthiness and his Mercy are sufficient to exercise our thoughts our whole lives we are astonished at the one and confounded at the other but when we consider his mercy extends to the other World even to the making us happy for ever we know not what to say are desirous our Eternity should be passed away in his Praises and even wish for the order of a Seraphim to express our grateful acknowledgments in Joyful Halelujahs they who consider the dignity of this Sacrament will be desirous of approaching thither with all possible purity and endeavour to cleanse themselves according to the Purification of the Sanctuary In short let us but get a true understanding of the Sacrament and that will teach us our Duty Let us add the following Form to our Devotions on Saturday Evening O What shall I do to have my Soul wholly possest with thee but by coming to thy Holy Communion there to seal the promises I have made to thee this Week for the future to live more Godly Suffer me thy justice laid aside to speak unto thy mercy me Dust and Ashes yet suffer me to speak being 't is to the mercies of God say unto my Soul I am thy Salvation and hide not thy face from me let me see it though I die least otherwise I die so as never to see it the mansion of my Soul is to marrow to entertain thee O let it be enlarged by thee by my coming to thy Table it is very ruinous be thou pleased to repair it cleanse me O Lord from my secret sins from my presumptuous wickedness deliver thy Servant I have confessed these my sins unto thee and hope thou hast forgiven the iniquity of them I do not contend in judgment with thee for thou art the Truth If thou Lord shouldst mark iniquities who may abide But we have confidence in thy mercy through the merits of our Saviour and Mediator who was also made known to the Saints of Old that they by the Faith of his Passion to come as we by the Faith of it past might obtain Salvation As he was Man he was Mediator but as he was the Word so he was no midling Person because equal to God and God with God together with the Holy Ghost one God How far hast thou loved us O thou good Father who sparedst not thine only Son but delivered him up for us ungodly How far hast thou loved us for whom he who thought it no Robery to be equal to thee was made subject even to Death upon the Cross Therefore do I justly repose strong hope in thee that thou wilt heal all my Diseases which are very great but much greater is the cure which thou hast provided This is my great delight and so often as I can be released from necessary affairs I will repair to this pleasure of coming to thy Table neither find I in all these things which I run through any settlement for my Soul save only in thee Behold O Lord I cast all my care upon thee let me live and I will consider the wonderful things of thy Law thou knowest my Ignorance my Infirmities teach me heal me O Jesus in whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom Redeem me with thine own Blood for I meditate on it I Eat and Drink at thy Table and desire to be satisfied therewith amongst those who Eat and are satisfied Oh! Lord thou seest how much I have left behind after all my dilligence to cleanse and purifie my Soul Alas all my thoughts of thee are but Dreams my Desires but a Vapour my love but a Flash my Prayers are but a Breath and my Tears will scarce fill a Buble my Sorrow is no bigger than a Sigh all that I do I am ashamed of it my self and thou mayest much more loath and dispise it Come thou O Lord therefore and search my heart try me and know my toughts see if there be any way of wickedness in me and lead me in the way Everlasting Do thou awaken in me most lively thoughts do thou inkindle