Eyes all things lie open If we were to pass the strictest humane Examination our thoughts would be unobserved and unpunished but we are now to pass a nearer Scrutiny for in this Ordinance our God comes into see the Guests Math. 22.12 and as the Priest in the Temple to search the very Inwards of those who are about to offer up themselves to him Secondly If we complain that our hearts are deceitful Jerem. 17.9 so that we have neither strength to root out nor skill to discover all the Corruptions that are lodged there Let us look up to him who is able to help us in cleansing this Augaean Stable for we may be assured if he see it is our unfeigned desire to be purified his Omnipotence shall not be imployed to ruine us but to destroy our Lusts and his Omniscience not to find them out to our shame but to our amendment And thus the same Attributes that did terrifie us from rude and impure approaches will incourage us again to draw near by shewing us how we may be cleansed § 4. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the Inspiration of thy holy Spirit This Petition is the Paraphrase of Davids Prayer Psal 51.6 7. Make me a clean heart c. and the moral of all those c Psal 26.6 Lavabo ut rem divinam faciam Plaut procul ite profani washings used by Jews and Gentiles before they came to the Altar And it is the more necessary for us because we are not only entring upon the most solemn part of Gods worship but also in hope that Jesus himself is coming to lodg in our hearts Wherefore being conscious that we are overspread with the Leprosie of Sin while we are yet a great way off Luke 17.12 13. We cry out unclean unclean Levit. 13.45 46. And do call upon Jesus saying Lord if thou wilt thou canst make us clean Mâ—th 8.2 For unless he cleanse us before we come too near He will either abhor us and our offerings Or at least those impure thoughts like Abrahams Fowls will steal away the benefit and the Comfort of our Sacrifice and while our bodies are in the holy place d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo leg Allegor carry our minds after abominable things leaving a Carcass before the Altar And therefore that no filthy imaginations may defile us nor secular thoughts disturb us Let us pray to be inspired with that purifying Spirit Psal 51.10 11. which will not only eject but keep out all evil affections and preserve the possâ—ssion for the blessed Jesus For he that took up a pure lodging for our Lord in the Virgins Womb must also prepare his Apartment in our Souls if ever we have his Company It is not with Notions or sublime Revelations but with holy inclinations and pure affections that we desire to be inspired which are more excellent in themselves and more necessary for this Heavenly Feast § 5. That we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy Name throuâ—h Iesus Christ our Lord Amen It is a great affliction to a truly pious man to find that his heart retains the least affection to iniquity since he desires to love God with all his Soul and with all his strength and to worship him with all his power But whilest sin hath a party within and is a Rival to our Lord We cannot perfectly love him nor worthily praise him no not in this holy Sacrament in which we ought to profess that we love nothing more than God nay nothing equal to him and to shew forth the greatness and goodness of our Redeemer to all the World We are therefore taught to intreat so earnestly for a pure heart lest by any secret delight in wickedness our protestations of love should be adjudged feigned and our praises hypocrisie by him that sees we affect something more dearly and magnifie and esteem it more highly than we do God himself We cannot indeed love God so much as he deserves but if we love him sincerely that is accounted perfectly And although we cannot sufficiently set forth all the praise of which he is worthy e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non semper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed qualemcunque convenientiam denotat Grot. in Math. 10.11 Bene itaque Graeca versio Petlaei hoc loco 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet when we value him in our hearts above all things we are accounted to magnifie him worthily f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non magnum efficere sed magnum praedicare Deum Psal 34.3 Act. 10.46 that is suitably in some measure to his goodness Now since it is such a happiness thus to love and thus to praise God we must desire a clean heart the necessary means thereof through the merits and for the sake of Jesus Christ and then we may be assured that so excellent a thing asked for so noble an end and by so powerful and ingaging a name can never be denied to us and so this Prayer shall have its desired effect Amen The Paraphrase of the Collect for Purity § 6. O Almighty God whose power is terrible to all that approach thee with polluted Souls because thou art that Majesty unto whom the thoughts and imaginations of all hearts be open and apparent all Desires and wishes after any evil are known and evident And the God from whom no secrets in word or deed are hid or by any policy can be concealed The remembrance of our impurity makes us fear to draw near to thee till we have implored thee who alone art able to help us herein to cleanse and purge out all the thoughts of evil which are so commonly the Guests of our hearts lest they provoke thy pure Eyes to pass us by with abhorrency and deprive us of the comfort and benefit of this Communion Blessed Lord prepare thy lodging in our Souls by the inspiration of those pure thoughts and Heavenly desires which are the fruit of thy holy Spirit and the Harbingers of the King of Glory that we may as it is our unfeigned desire at all times and above all things most sincerely and perfectly love thee that thou maist have no secret lust to be thy Rival in our hearts and that we may also especially in this Sacrifice of Praise worthily magnify and agreeably set forth the glory of thy holy Name in giving so illustrious a Salvation to us through Christ Jesus for whose sake we beseech thee to hear us for he is thy Son and shall be our Lord for ever Amen SECT III. Of the Ten Commandments § 1. AS Moses by the special command of God did sanctifie the people before the first promulgation of this Law Exod. 19.14 15. So it is our care in the preceeding Collect that all may be pure which are now to hear it For Gods Law is so holy that such as have hearts defiled with the love of Sin are neither a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato Psal 19.8 9. worthy to
Blessed Sacrament on purpose to purifie us and unite us unto our dear Redeemer Why then do we stand looking one upon another Gen. 42.1 and not rather look up to him that only can help us all will not our own necessities open our mouths nor his tender mercies incourage us to call upon him to give us grace that we may eat and live We do intend to eat but we had better not eat at all than not eat So k 1 Cor. 11.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So let him eat Psal 26.6 So will I compass c. as God requires and So as to be bettered thereby Now to the pure all things are pure but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure Titus 1.15 In vain therefore should we desire in the following Prayer of Consecration that these Elements should become the body and blood of Christ if we did not first pray that we might worthily receive them There must be a change in us or else though Christs natural flesh and blood were here and we should eat and drink thereof every day we could not partake of Christ l Qui discordat à Christo nec carnem ejus manducat nec sanguinem bibit etiamsi tantae rei sacramentum quotidiè indifferentèr accipiat Prosp sent 341. It is our eating with Faith and penitence love and holy purposes that makes it to be Christs body and blood to us most wisely therefore hath the Church ordered that before we pray for the Consecration of the Symbols we should desire to be Consecrated our selves Thus St. Ambrose in that Prayer said to be used by him before he Communicated saith 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 Let us consider the spots and stains the foulness and diseases with which our bodies and Souls are overspread and then behold this salutary and living Manna which hath power to restore us to an excellent purity and to make us amiable in the Eyes of God and then we shall heartily put up this Petition we shall hunger and thirst after it groan and long for it m Famelicus accedo ne recedam impastus si antequam comedam suspiro da vel post suspiria ut comedam August Med. c. 39. as it is reported St. Catherine was wont to do with the same passion that the Child doth for the Breast of its Mother Let us come then with most ardent desires and summon up all our Powers now the Angel is so near who makes our Bethesda Medicinal let us passionately cry out and say 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 in thy hand 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 inseparable Bonds as shall never break unless Eternity can have an end Blessed are they that So eat thy flesh and So drink thy blood So as thou requirest and So as thy Saints of old have done for they have been cleansed at this Fountain and here their Vnion with thee first began Oh happy season Excellent opportunity Lord let me do it well this once and I am thine for ever Amen The Paraphrase of the Address § 6. Holy God! thou mightest justly wonder to see so many grievous Sinners daring to come so near but We do not impudently rush upon these dreadful mysteries nor do we presume to come to this thy Table where Angels do attend as if we deserved this Honour O merciful Lord We do not approach trusting in our own Righteousness for alas we have done nothing which can bear that name but that which drew us hither was our confidence in thy manifold and great mercies which exceed our manifold and great offences And now that we are before thee we must still confess whatever favours thy goodness heaps upon us that we are not worthy by reason of our sinfulness and backslidings so much as with the Dogs to gather up the Crumbs which fall under thy Table not fit to receive the least mercies or measures of grace from thee much less to sit as guests before thy Majesty at this Heavenly Feast But yet we make bold to do this because thou art not to be changed by our sins being ever the same Lord whose property is to be unwearied with well-doing and never wanting in pity and thou art wont always to have mercy on those who confess their offences as we have done Grant unto us therefore gracious Lord by the present assistance of thy holy Spirit so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Iesus Christ spiritually in this Sacrament and so to drink his blood as that we may receive all the benefits of his Cross and Passion even that our sinful and defiled bodies may be made clean by his holy and immaculate body and our Souls which are polluted in every faculty washed through his most precious blood which taketh away the sins of the World Let us be so wholly purifyed that we may now begin to be inseparably united to Jesus and that we by Faith may evermore dwell in him abiding in his love and that by his spirit he may dwell in us always Amen SECT II. Of the Prayer of Consecration § 1. AFter all this Preparation we need not ask with Isaac Gen. 22.7 where is the Lamb for the Burnt-Offering for God hath provided his own dear Son whose blood being already spilt is so efficacious and all-sufficient that there is now no need of any other but this unbloody Sacrifice a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril cat Myst 5. incruentam oblationem Liturg. 5. Marci sacrificium absque sanguine Liturg. S. Basil to be offered and that in memorial of that great Sin-offering which taketh away the sins of the World 1 Pet. 2.5 And for this purpose Christ himself hath b Ille mirabilem quandam victimam pro nostra omnium salute obtulit memoriam nobis tradens loco sacrificii continuo offerendam Euseb praep Evang. l. 1. c. 10. appointed these Creatures of Bread and Wine ordaining that because they are designed to express so great a Mystery they shall have a peculiar Consecration The antient Greeks and Romans would not taste of their ordinary Meat and Drink till they had hallowed it by giving the first parts thereof to their Gods c Romani Graeci in convictu familiari ciborum particulis vino in ignem conjectis libamina Diis dabant Alex. ab Alex. gen dier l. 5. c. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porph. de abst l 2. c. 20. The
we follow the example of Jesus who though he was able by his very word to make the Elements what he pleased yet he did first give thanks or crave a blessing to shew us what we must do m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theoph. in Math. 26. He had given thanks in order to the Passover before Luke 22.17 and therefore it is likely that he made a peculiar Thanksgiving now relating to this mystery n Vid. Buxt Synag Jud. cap. 13. for so the Jews were wont to have several forms for the Passover o Super Pacifica benedicunt cum comedunt ea hoc modo Benedictus tu Domine Deus noster qui sanctificasti nos praeceptis tuis mandasti nobis comedere de Pacificis R. Salom. for the Peace-offerings yea distinct Graces for the meat and for the drink What the very words were with which our Saviour blessed God is not recorded so that all Churches have used their liberty in the manner of expressing this with some variety in the Phrase but as to the substance and design they are the same nor doth any Liturgy want some such supplication The Latine Church saith We humbly beseech and intreat thee O most merciful Father by Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord that thou wouldst accept and bless these gifts c. in St. Ambrose Make this our Oblation valid reasonable and acceptable which is made for a figure of the body and blood of Jesus Christ In the Liturgy of St. Basil We beseech thee let thy holy Spirit come upon us and upon these gifts here set forth to bless and sanctifie them c. And to name no more in that called St. Clements We offer to thee O Lord our King according to his institution this Bread and this Cup and we beseech thee vouchsafe to look graciously upon these gifts set forth in thy sight Now it is requisite that the whole Congregation should in heart join in this part of the Prayer to make it the more prevalent with Almighty God Math. 18.19 And to quicken us to ask with the greater Ardency let us consider how great a thing it is which we desire how earnestly did Moses pray when he was to bring water out of the Rock how fervently did Elijah call on his God when his sacrifice was to be kindled from Heaven but we do now beg a greater matter and for a much more noble end We behold the Creatures of Bread and Wine and we know them to be as yet no more p Antequam ergo consecretur panis est Ambros de sacr l 4 c. 5. But we desire they may be made the body and blood of Christ to us that although they remain in substance what they were yet to the worthy Receiver they may be something far more excellent which nothing can effect but that word q Si ergo tanta vis est in sermonibus Domini Jesu ut inciperent esse quae non erant quanto magis operatorius est ut sint quae erant in aliud commutentur Idem which made all things out of nothing We are not now begging for the meat that perisheth but for that which endureth to everlasting life John 6.27 yet we ought to hope he will grant us this request because we are about to partake of this Ordinance both in a right manner as Christ did institute it and to a right end viz. for a memorial of his Death we long after our Saviour with a mighty Passion and in this manner he hath chosen to communicate himself therefore we may chearfully request that by the receiving this Bread and Wine which he hath chosen we may become partakers of his most blessed Body and blood for St. Paul assures us the Bread thus blessed is the Communion or Communication of Christs Body There needs no real change in the substance of the Elements for this participation is not by sense but by Faith This lively representation by the operation of the Spirit gives us a fresh remembrance of the Love and Merit of our Redeemers Passion so that by Faith we lay hold upon him as the only satisfaction for our sins and then the Power of God doth by these Symbols communicate our Lord unto us and convey unto our Souls all the salutary benefits of that great expiation We have all the real effects the virtue and the comfort of receiving Jesus though we do not tear his flesh with our teeth And if it may please God to make us partakers of the benefits of Christs Passion we will not inquire into the manner but we will believe because we feel the effects and rejoice in the graces that flow from him nor shall we desire more § 7. Who in the same night that he was betrayed took Bread The best pattern for the Celebration of this mystery is to be taken from the divine Author thereof our Lord Jesus whose Words and Actions are in this particular so punctually related in the Gospels on purpose to direct us in this solemnity and when the Rite was disordered in the Church of Corinth St. Paul 1 Cor. 11. sends them to the first Institution as to the Rule and Canon by which they ought to rectifie all that was amiss and for this reason as we have noted no Church in the World did ever omit these words of our Saviour by which they believed the Consecration to be principally made Wherefore let him that Ministers pronounce them with great deliberation and the profoundest reverence remembring he speaks in the person of Christ And let each Communicant think he is placed among the Disciples in the presence of Jesus at his first Supper and since every Word and Action is big with Mystery let him fix both his Eye and his heart upon the Holy Table and prepare to entertain every particular with a suitable Meditation And first when the time is mentioned in which this Heavenly Feast was instituted viz. The same night in which he was betrayed r 1 Cor. 11.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In quâ nocte tradebatur Litur Clem. In nocte quâ tradebat se ipsum pro vitâ mundi Lit. S. Basil Perperam itaque Missal Rom. habet Qui pridie quam pateretur even the last night which he lived in this mortal Body Then consider in this manner Behold what kind of Love O my Soul is expressed by thy Redeemer when our sins his treacherous servant and his enraged Enemies were contriving his Death he was designing an excellent benefit for us the stream of his affections was so strong that no baseness or ingratitude could check it we might have expected that the horror of this dismal night should have made him repent of his undertaking and have put him upon reversing all his former favours but lo he adds a greater than ever he had given before and appoints this as a seal to confirm and convey the rest unto us Thy Love was stronger than death and when all the terrors of
not sustained your fury ye had delivered me over to Everlasting Burnings I do abhor and detest ye all how dear soever you have been to me the sight of my bleeding Saviour hath stirred up my indignation against you and I will revenge his blood upon you by sacrificing you all at this Altar How can my Eyes but drop down tears of Contrition when they behold thee pouring forth Rivers of thy Blood but while I grieve to see thy bleeding wounds I must not forget for whom thou didst sustain them thy Blood was shed for me because my life was forfeited why art thou then so cast down O my Soul wilt thou dishonour that price by thy doubts and fears which God hath accepted for all the World cannot that Sacrifice which appeaseth the divine wrath satisfie thy Faith Be not afraid only believe and be assured he will not cast away those whom he hath bought at so dear a rate for thee it was shed for thee it is prepared open thy mouth wide and he will fill it §. 12. Preserve thy Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life An Act of Supplication O Lord I tremble at the apprehension of all those Evils that stand between me and thy glory behold the Grave gapeth for my Body the Infernal Pit threatens to swallow my Soul and Satan is ready were he permitted every moment to devour me wherefore I beseech thee sprinkle me with thy all-saving blood that the destroying Angel may pass over me let me drink of this Cup of Life and so shall my Body be free from Corruption and my Soul from Condemnation Death shall be defeated the Grave dismantled and Satan disappointed Let me drink of thy precious Blood that I may receive thereby abundance of thy Spirit so shall my Body be hallowed into a sacred Temple and my Soul shall be replenished with such Graces that I can never perish Sweetest Jesus how desireable are thy Provisions oh let us not always languish without them but pitty our dry and parched Souls and water them we intreat thee with these living streams for behold we thirst and long with a mighty Passion to drink of this Fountain of Life that we may not faint in our journey to those Rivers of pleasures which are at thy right hand Oh give us this divine Cordial at present and make it to us a Preservative for Body and Soul to everlasting life Amen A Meditation in the receiving of the Cup. §. 13. Drink this in remembrance that Christs blood was shed for thee An Act of Commemoration How chearing is this Cup to me Blessed Jesus which was so dreadful unto thee it was thy Agonies and thy Wounds which afforded me this Wine of Joy Thou didst find how bitter it was when thou wert appeasing an offended God but I tast how sweet it is now that thou hast made him a tender and reconciled Father I receive this Cup O my Saviour as a new plâ—dge of thy dearest love for from those pits whence these Rivulets did flow I can discern thy heart bleeding in pity to my misery and sick of Love And since thou dost here give me a right to that great expiation which thou hast made I do most humbly commemorate the same before the Father of Heaven as the full satisfaction for my innumerable debts and I will remember the dolours of thy Cross with a brisker sense than ever because thou hast made me drink of thy blood and given me thy Soul thy Life and thy Spirit so that now I will live no more but thou shalt live in me because we have mingled Souls and thou hast joined me to thy self by the Communications of thy Spirit O let nothing separate that which thou hast so graciously joined together A Meditation after the receiving of the Cup. §. 14. And be thankful An Act of Thankfulness and Resolution Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name for now I find the Mercy and the Peace the Comfort and the Grace which flows from the Death of Christ let all the World know what he hath done for my Soul he hath rescued me and many of my poor Brethren round about me from the nethermost Hell wherefore I will love thee holy Jesus more than I can express and I will love them for thy sake And since thou hast given thy self thy merits and graces to me and sealed a New Covenant with me in thy own blood I do here bind my self by this sacred Cup to be sincerely thine m Mos est regibus quoties in societatem coeant implicare dextras pollicesque inter se vincire Mâ—x levi ictu cruorem eliciunt atque invicem lambunt id foedus arcanum habetur quasi mutuo cruore sancitum Tacit. Annal. lib. 12. I will spend my time and strength in thy service yea and Sacrifice my blood to bear witness to thy truth if ever thou callest me thereunto I will never betray nor forsake thee but live and die with thee for I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments Oh let me never unhallow that body nor defile that Soul in which the Lord Jesus delights to dwell let no Oaths or lying prophane those lips no Obscenity or Intemperance pollute that mouth by which those holy Symbols have passed And methinks I feel new desires and new hopes my nature seems râ—newed my blood refined my Soul full of holy vigour blessed be thy name for it let thy mercy keep me in this happy temper till I have accomplished all my resolutions Amen § 15. By these and such like contemplations you must keep your minds imployed all the time that the Heavenly Banquet doth continue and if the Congregation be numerous and there be further opportunity the devout Soul will easily find more fuel to nourish these flames viz. by considering the necessities of all Mankind the Calamities of the Church the Miseries of the Sick the wants of the Poor the condition of our Relations Friends and Acquaintance and recommending them all with an effectual Charity to Almighty God through Christ Jesus As also by lamenting its own unworthiness and indispositions by recollecting all its present wants both spiritual and temporal by surveying the difficulties and dangers of that pious course now undertaken and by calling upon the Father of Mercies for grace and relief for courage and strength for support and protection in order to each of these So likewise by doing Acts of mental Charity to be put in Execution afterwards viz. Resolving for the sake of Jesus to forgive and do good to our Enemies to reprove Sinners instruct the ignorant help those that are in need And finally by contemplating of the wisdom and advantage of a holy Life the comfort and peace of a happy Death the joys and felicities of the life of Glory with the pleasures of those Souls that behold Jesus face to face these and many more which the good Spirit will offer we must improve
profess if we had not been encouraged by his love and goodness and commanded by his own Precept we durst not have approached to these terrible mysteries Yet since it is our bounden duty and a service so fit so just and reasonable we may hope he will accept us not because we are worthy or have done any thing to merit his favour but because he is merciful y Non aestimator meriti sed veniae largitor Ambros Rom. Missal and apt to forgive our failings if he should take a measure of the worth of our Sacrifice by the Holiness of the offerers z Qui petit primo debet attendere ut pro suis meritis nihil accepturum se putet sed de Dei misericordiâ tantum Bern. in sent it is sure ours would be rejected and therefore it is best for us to fly to his mercy For the best of Gods Saints whose devotion far excelled ours have set us this Example and found it the wisest and safest way I confess to thy goodness saith St. Ambrose that I am not worthy to come near to so great a mystery for my manifold sins But thou canst make me worthy Wherefore although a Sinner I come to thy Altar to offer the Sacrifice which thou hast appointed Whose example we may follow by this or the like Act of Humility O thou all-seeing and most holy Lord God I have been admitted to make an Oblation of my praises and my self unto thee and I am infinitely concerned that thou shouldst accept me therein not for any merit in me but for thy own mercy sake O my God thou knowest I have been polluted with Sin undutiful to thy commands unfaithful to my promises unmindful of my obligations confederate with thy Enemies yea and even in the time of these holy mysteries so obdurate and confused that I might justly fear lest my wretchedness should make my Sacrifice an abomination I blush that I am no fitter I lament that I should bring so many defilements where the purity of an Angel is scarce sufficient but I take sanctuary in thy most obliging condescensions and because I am so unworthy I will endeavour to esteem my self as vile as I really am in thy sight O do not look upon the deserts of a wretched sinner but remember thy own mercies and accept what thou hast required of me And so shall thy favour be more illustrious because it is bestowed upon so undeserving a Creature and the sense of my unworthiness shall enlarge my thankfulness and make me praise thee more than if I had approached with all perfections § 8. Through Iesus Christ our Lord by whom and with whom in the unity of the Holy Ghost all honour and glory be unto thee O Father Almighty World without end Amen When the people prayed without Luke 1.10 they directed their faces toward the Temple and the Priest who was there offering Incense but we have much more reason to lift up our hearts to our great High Priest who is now entred into the Heavens and doth there present most perfect intercessions and unreproveable Mediations for us We know our own services to be altogether imperfect wherefore we do here declare that our only hopes of Acceptance and Pardon is Through Jesus Christ by whom we are directed to offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving Heb. 13.15 as we here do in this present Doxology which comes very near to the antient form used in this Office a Audi quid dicat sacerdos Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum in quo tibi est cum quo tibi est honor laus gloria magnificentia potestas cum Spiritu Sancto à seculis nunc semper in omnia secula seculorum Amen Ambros de sacr l. 6. c. 5. and doth glorifie the whole Trinity from every person whereof we have now received peculiar testimonies of grace and favour and I wish that we may do it with a devotion proportionable to the great Obligations now laid upon us and then it will be accepted according to our desire Amen The Paraphrase of the first Prayer § 9. O Lord whom though we may make bold to call our Heavenly Father through Christ Jesus yet We esteem it our honour to be accounted thy humble Servants Having now finished this great mystery we do most heartily and entirely desire thy Fatherly goodness to pass by our failings therein as the infirmities of thy own Children and beseech thee mercifully to accept this our Oblation of our selves together with our Eucharistical Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving for the sufferings and merits of our Redeemer Most humbly deseeching thee who hast given such a Sacrifice for us and in this holy Sacrament offered the benefits thereof unto us That thou wilt please to grant that it may not be in vain to us or any of thy people But that â—y the merits of the Passion and death of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ which we have now commemorated and through a lively Faith in his blood which was shed for us Both We who have now Communicated and thy whole Church throughout the World may receive a free Pardon and full remission of our Sins And also obtain reconciliation and adoption sanctification and power against sin assurances of peace hopes of glory and all other benefits of his all-saving Passion And here at thy Altar where thou hast re-minded us of thy giving thy Son for us and where thou hast offered to make a League with us in his most precious blood We offer not only the praises of our lips which are too mean a return for such favour but we dedicate and present unto thee O Lord that which thou chiefly requirest and all that we have to give even our selves wholly and entire all the powers of our Souls and all the members of our Bodies designing them absolutely to thy service and intending them to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice and therefore we have consecrated them unto thee And we hope thou wilt accept us for thine own and never suffer us to be enslaved to sin hereafter And that we may keep this vow we do here crave thy gracious assistance humbly beseeching thee to send thy holy Spirit to take possession of our hearts so that all we who are partakers of the outward part of this holy Communion being made thine may be fullfilled and replenished in Soul and Body with thy grace within us and thy Heavenly benediction upon us And although we confess thou maist justly charge us to be unworthy through the stain and the guilt of our manifold sins which mingle with all our duties to offer unto thee so pure and holy a Majesty any Sacrifice of Praise or to make any Oblations before thee Yet we have ventured in hopes of thy goodness upon this â—acred mystery and we do beseech thee to accept this our imperfect endeavour as a testimony of our desire to please thee since it is our bounden Duty to shew
the Custom when any Persons brought their Offerings to the Altar for the Priest and the Pious By-standers to say The Lord accept thee Psal 20.3 4. 2 Sam. 24.23 in imitation whereof we do here beg the Divine acceptance both of our Charity and Devotion And that we may do it heartily let us consider how much they need to be accepted with favourable allowances for first If Alms and Prayers both be offered as it is pitty they should ever be parted though they do assist and recommend each other yet we do not think our gift hath obliged God to hear our Petitions nor our Petitions given such priviledge to our gift as that we may boldly challenge God upon the account of either wherefore we desire him with favourable and gracious acceptance to entertain them both Secondly If we respect the Alms alone which we have given though it be owned by Gods goodness to be offered to himself Prov. 19.17 and Math. 25.40 yet it were an arrogance not to be endured to think so Universal and excellent blessings were the purchase of our contemptible oblation which hath no proportion in its own value to them only if we present it humbly our gracious father will accept it as our acknowledgment of his goodness and a testimony of our Love Thus therefore we pray that he would accept our Alms viz. in mercy esteeming them not by their own worth but by the affection of the Givers Thirdly If we do only regard our Prayers we may soon discover how little they will avail unless the Lord accept them with grace As to those we have hitherto made if we look back upon the many wandrings and interruptions the coldness and indifferency the sin and infirmity that did mingle with them all we shall see we had need heartily to beseech God to accept them with benign interpretations and to excuse the imperfections of them But if these our Prayers be meant of those Petitions which we are now about to make in this Form let us remember how great a presumption it seems for us to ask for others nay for all people when as we are not worthy to pray for our selves yet let us humbly beg a candid acceptance of these Petitions which we offer not as if we were fit Advocates for all the World but in obedience to his Command who hath bid us thus to express our Charity § 5. Beseeching thee to inspire continually the Vniversal Church with the Spirit of Truth Vnity and Concord Among the several Prayers which were made at the Holy Table it was particularly enjoined that they should pray for The Holy Catholick Church extended from one end of the Earth to the other which the Lord had redeemed veith the precious blood of Christ saith the Author of the Apostolical Constitutions for the Sacrifice here commemorated was offered for the Church Acts 20.28 which is called the body of Christ Ephes 5.23 Colos 1.24 but because the body without the spirit is dead we therefore beg that as he once quickened the lump of Earth into a living Spirit by breathing into it the breath of Life so he will please to inspire his Holy Spirit into his mystical body according as he hath promised John 14.16 and that not only once John 20.22 but that it may continually be supplyed with vital influences by its Union with its Divine Head the Lord Jesus the blessed success whereof is noted in the three happy effects of this Heavenly Inspiration First That the Church will be directed into all Truth by the Spirit of Truth John 14.17 and 16.13 1 Epist 2.27 and so be preserved from Heresie Secondly That all the Members thereof shall agree in the same judgment and combine in the Unity of the Spirit Ephes 4.3 and so be secured from Schism 1 Cor. 1.10 Thirdly That the affections of all persons in this body shall be joined in perfect Concord and tied in the Bonds of Love and Peace Ephes 4.3 for the prevention of hatred wrath and emulation How passionately therefore is this blessed Spirit to be prayed for and how necessary are all and every one of these Truth without Unity is weak and troublesome Unity without Truth is dangerous and mischievous e Vnitas sine veritate proditio est D. Cypr. and both without Charity are insignifcant and cannot last long Let us consider the mischiefs which the Church hath endured by false Principles divided Judgments and opposite affections that in the apprehension of our want of this comprehensive Blessing we may most vigorously beg this continual inspiration which may make the Church happy by Unity in its Doctrine Harmony in its Discipline and Charity in the affections of all the parts and members thereof § 6. And grant that all they that do confess thy Holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word and live in Vnity and godly Love This Petition is but a further confirmation of the former for when the several Members of the Church live in Unity Peace and Love it is the best demonstration that the whole body is acted by the Divine Spirit John 13.35 Josh 22.31 for these universal mercies are to be obtained by induction of particulars and rhe internal inspiration ought to be manifested by Acts of a visible Charity Now if we want affections wherewith to make this request let us but view the miferable effects which differences in opinions and affections have produced in the Christian World consider how thereby Religion hath been disgraced and God dishonoured and all outrages have been committed the Heathens are scandalized and kept out and the Christians who are within are hindred in their Piety and our differences are made wider by arguing the more we dispute f Disputando de sacris accenditur tantùm contentio Sisin in Eccl. Hist the less we agree and while we contend for the Faith we lose our Charity But this is the fault of the men and not of the Religion for Jesus hath left us an impartial judge which is his holy Word and is Truth it self John 17.17 by which if we would without prejudice or interest suffer our Opinions to be tryed g Expellentes igitur hostile certamen ex verbis divinitùs inspiratis solutionem quaestionum mente percipiamus Constan Mag. ad Patres Nicaenos Hist trip l. 2. c. 5. it would happily compose all our controversies or where a determination is needless teach several Churches to dissent with more moderation and direct particular persons to submit in such things to their proper spiritual guides and to live in godly and Religious love with their fellow Christians h Maneat moralis benevolentia inter discordes sententiâ Lemma Cardin. Rachel If any say that there is little hope that this still voice of Gods word should be heard in the hurry of our contentions or no likelyhood of so sweet a composure I answer That however it is highly desirable and therefore ought to be prayed for and which is considerable
and Mountains of difficulties before he can reach that blissful Crown it is little less than Miracle that all men do not sooner or latter fall and fall from the faith and fear of God What prospect in the World can ravish us with greater pleasuâ—es or raise in us higher admirations of the divine goodness than to behold those that were once as frail and sinful as we are now advanced above Satans malice or Deaths Power and placed in the Regions of Joy and the Bosom of Jesus that we might not tremble or think it impossible to come thither also Doth not their felicity give life to our hopes and become a pledge of our own future glory why should we not then rejoice with them and delight our selves with the very news of our Brethrens happiness what other Communion is there between us and those blessed Spirits but that they in general pitty and wish well to us and we praise God with and for them And by thus meditating of their most desirable estate we shall learn to despise Death and long to be with such inviting Company nay languishing after the happy enjoyment of such noble Society for ever and ever Who can look up to these Mansions and not enquire for the path that leads thither and be strongly attracted to follow the steps of those who have so successfully trodden this way before This makes the pious Soul so passionately beg the divine grace that it may do as they have done live as they lived and die as they died so that what they are now it may be hereafter The Scythians as Lucian relates kept the memorials of their brave Men with great joy that so many might strive to become like unto them d Simus inter exempla quare deficimus quare desperamus quicquid fieri potuit potest Sen. ep 98. Magnorum virorum non minus quam praesentia utilis est memoria idem ep 102. And St. Augustine saith when any duty seemed difficult he was wont to think of the Saints of former times and he imagined they derided his sloath saying Tu non poteris c. Canst not thou do what those Men nay those Women once did that which hath been effected is not impossible Would we make this use of our faithful Brethren departed their memory and example would be as profitable as if we had their bodily presence with us and the remembrance of their glory would strongly excite us to follow their good example till we came with them to partake of that Heavenly Kingdom in the mean time we shall never want matter for to praise God in their behalf since his truth and mercy to them is the confirmation of our Faith the encouragement of our duty and gives us in contemplation an antepast of our happiness before we come to the full enjoyment of it § 13. Grant this O Father for Iesus Christ his sake our only Mediator and Advocate Amen This general Conclusion of all our Prayers we should not remark particularly here but that the Mass hath thrust in the names of the B. Virgin and other Saints e Et omnium Sanctorum tuorum quorum meritis precibusque concedas in Canone Missae Rom. into the Supplications through whose Merits and Prayers they intercede even in this place where there is a lively Commemoration of the Death of Christ our only Mediator which is not only the holding a Candle to the Sun but seems to intimate that to plead in the Virtue of our Lords Passion is not sufficient that that intercession by which the Holy Virgin and all other Saints became accepted by God was not alone forceable enough But we desire no other Mediator nor need no other Advocate 1 Tim. 2.5 but our Lord Jesus Christ who is here represented nor do we doubt to ask all these Mercies for all these Persons since we approach our Heavenly Father with his dear and only beloved Son in our Arms wherefore let us bless the name of God who hath chosen such a Master of Requests to present our Prayers and put such an Argument in our Mouths when we approach unto him Let us look to the holy Symbols and remember our great High Priest while we offer up the Intercessions with a great humility and a sprightly devotion because our God will not nay cannot deny those that thus come unto him The Paraphrase of the Prayer for the whole Church § 14. O Almighty and Everliving God who art able to help all Persons always and in all things We are unworthy to ask for our selves and yet we are incouraged to intercede for others since by thy holy Apostle Saint Paul thou hast taught us in our daily Assemblies to make Prayers to obtain good Intercessions and Supplications to remove evil in behalf of all the World And to give thanks for the Mercies received by all men Believing therefore thy willingness to grant these things which thou commandest us to ask We humbly disclaim our own Merits beseech thee for Jesus sake and by the Vertue of his Passion here set forth most mercifully ** This to be omitted when there is no Collection ** to accept this poor acknowledgment of thy bounty and testimony of our love in these our Alms to the Poor and Oblations to thy Ministers intreating thee also to hear and ** This to be omitted when there is no Collection ** to receive all our former Petitions especially these our Prayers for all People which we offer as the evidence of our Universal Charity most heartily to thy Divine Majesty who art all-sufficient to supply the whole World To thy goodness therefore we come Beseeching thee though miraculous gifts are ceased yet to inspire continually with such grace the whole body of the Vniversal Church spread over all the Earth that it may be quickened with the most holy Spirit which teacheth the Principles of truth and produceth Vnity in the Faith and Concord in the affections of thy people And grant that all the Members of thy Church that do profess thy true Religion and confess to believe in thy holy Name laying aside their animosities may agree all their differences and so fully rest in the infallible truth of thy Holy Word and its determinations of all necessary things that notwithstanding some lesser varieties they may have mutual peace And live as Children of the same Father in Vnity without Schism or Heresie in Charity and godly love without Malice or Envy among them And because thy Church cannot well subsist on Earth without temporal Guardians We beseech thee also in order to the common good to save the Souls and defend the Persons and Rights of all Christian Magistrates who in their several Dominions have or ought to have supream governance of the Church whether they be absolute Kings or free Princes or else Rulers and Governours in popular States But as our duty interest and affection do peculiarly oblige us We pray thee Especially to save and defend Him who
ever since by Jews or Christians or both with the greatest solemnity See how those blinded Jews rejoice over their Paschal Lamb in the midst of all their Calamities for the deliverance of their Fathers But we have a nobler Passover for a greater deliverance Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the Feast and that upon the precious Body and Blood of the Lamb of God who was slain but is alive again and behold he lives for evermore Wherefore I will go to thy Altar with joy and tell out thy works with gladness O most mighty Saviour who hast not only died for my sins but risen again for my Justification and indeed what comfort could I have found in this memorial of thy Death if it had not been for thy Resurrection this Sacrament would have only remembred thy sufferings and renewed my sorrow to think that so excellent a Person had perished in the attempt of my deliverance but now it is become a Feast of joy because it is an assurance of thy Resurrection as well as a Commemoration of thy Passion And since thou livest sweetest Jesus we live also thy Resurrection raiseth our hearts from sad despair it gives a new life to our hopes it makes our sorrows light our labours easie our lives chearful and our death advantage because it hath lost its sting and is become the gate into immortality We can charm all our fears and troubles with this one word The Lord is risen yea the Lord is risen indeed For thou hast washed us in thy own blood and made us Kings and Priests to God to offer up at this thy Altar never-ceasing Praises Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Ascension-Day § 11. I see O merciful Jesus thou art content for our sakes to stay here upon Earth when Heaven longs for thy return thou hast these fourty days denied thy self the full fruition of thy glories to dispel the sorrow and confirm the Faith of thy Disciples and yet at last their tears and embraces shew how loth they are to depart from thee But behold the day of thy Triumph is come and the holy Myriads are sent to wait upon thee the Heavenly Singers that go before cry Open your selves ye everlasting doors that the King of Glory may come in to whom the Angels which come out to meet him answer in extasies of amazement Who is the King of Glory and all the Chorus that follow after reply Even the Lord of Hosts he is the King of Glory and thus with hymns and joyful acclamations is Jesus welcomed to his antient and most glorious Throne And now O my soul why standest thou gazing into Heaven he is too high to be discerned too bright to be seen with mortal Eyes since Cherubins are dazled at his splendor He is gone to his proper place and ascended thither whither thy desires carry thee and where ere long thou shalt see him face to face Thou standest like Elisha looking after him and lamenting thy Masters departure but he hath left his Mantle behind him even the mysteries of this holy Sacrament which to thy Faith is the flesh which he was cloathed with all and is designed to convey a double portion of his spirit unto thee so that it appears he hath left his Love with us when his Person was taken from us Away then with these sighs and tears lament no longer the absence of thy Lord for he is in this Blessed Feast he is here in his comforts and graces here in his merits and his love and his spirit can Minister the same benefits hereby which his personal presence would have given thee Go then with all possible speed and taste of this Heavenly Provision delight in it above all the sweetnesses in the World because it contains so many pledges and emblems of thy glorious Redeemers love when thou beholdest him that is thy head so advanced make haste to unite thy self nearer to him by partaking of his Body and Blood that thou maist finally reign with him in the mean time raise up thy thoughts above this lower World declare thy desire to be with Jesus send thy heart before and protest if he had not left thee some little tastes of his sweetness in the repast of this holy Table by the way thou couldst not have endured so long without him There is nothing which he loves comparable with his Throne in Heaven unless it be an humble and thankful heart into which I am about to receive him and as the Coelestial Quire welcomed him thither so will I receive him with joy into my poor Soul Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Whit-Sunday § 12. I will go to thy Altar O Lord with a New-Sacrifice of Praise because thou hast given me a fresh instance of thy Love this day thou art slow to punish thy Enemies but speedy to comfort thy servants for no sooner was thy misery changed into glory but we received the greatest demonstration of thy affections no sooner didst thou put on thy Crown in Heaven but the Earth felt the bounty of thy Dispensations for it was not possible for thee sweetest Jesus to let thy promise remain long unperformed or the sad expectations of thy Disciples unsatisfied Being assembled therefore this Day with one heart in one place they are suddenly surprized with wonder and inspired with a Heavenly Power such as 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 in the languages of all the World Oh wonderful 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 devices of Satan to set up the Kingdom of the Lord Christ And shall not we praise thee for these miraculous dispensations by which the Gospel was made known even to us in these utmost corners and last of times Yes holy Jesus we will also meet with one accord at thy Table not doubting but thou wouldst give us the same measures of thy spirit there if our duty or our necessity did require it it is enough to us that thou knowest our needs more than will supply them we dare not ask less 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 interest 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
is given for you Our Heavenly Physician being about to cure the Diseases of our Souls having thus prepared the Remedy and presented it to us he doth first direct the use of it a Medicus non tantum curat sed etiam monet Sen. ep 94. and Secondly Tell us what it is We are not taught to carry it about to gaze at and to be adored but to Take and Eat it For Christ having made himself a Sin-offering for us desires that Sacrifice may be accepted as ours and would have us to share in the benefits thereof wherefore he hath made this a Peace-offering as the memorial of it and invited us to take and eat our Portion that so he may be one with us and we with him And when we hear him so lovingly call us to feast with God upon the remainders we may very fitly fall into these Contemplations There is indeed a mighty difference between the feeding of my Body and the refreshing of my Soul that which enters in by the mouth cannot of it self reach thither yet I am commanded when I come for spiritual relief to Take and Eat and I will not enquire but obey because he that prescribes this method can work wonders and at once satisfie both Body and Soul wherefore I will perform the outward part and at the same time lift up my Soul above these visible representations and being sensible of my offences against Heaven while my mouth is chewing the holy Bread my Faith b Quod esca est carni hoc animae fides Cypr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil shall feast upon the satisfaction made by my Redeemers Passion until I find my Soul is nourished with the Joy the Peace and the Comfort which it draws from thence As he hath made his Oblation mine by his designing it for me so I will make it mine also by a particular application O strengthen my hand by a lively Faith and open my mouth by fervent desires so will I take and eat this and rejoice in so lively an Emblem which leads me into that within the vail and while I am performing the bodily part let my soul feel the spiritual efficacy of thy grace that I may not eat unworthily or to Condemnation Lord I feed upon thy love I lay hold upon thy Promises I will take and eat these as well as the material part if thou wilt please to enable me so to do Furthermore lest I should be mistaken and either not understand or not believe the true worth of this incomparable gift he is pleased to tell me what it is This is my Body saith he which is given for you and by that word he makes it to be so to every true Believer wherefore the Minister ought to pronounce this so reverently and so deliberately that the Communicants may have time to exercise their Faith because their senses cannot discover any material alteration For the true understanding whereof let me here digress a little for the satisfaction of such as are not prejudiced nor contentious We know how stifly the Roman Church contends for the literal exposition of this Text and what Tragedies have been acted upon those who did not so understand it but we have great reason to believe That our Saviour did not intend by these words to change the substance of the Bread and Wine into his natural Flesh and Blood For I. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This being Neuter cannot agree with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bread which is Masculine and it is very probable that our Lord did herein as in other things imitate that Phrase which the Jews used at the Feast of the Passover This is the Bread of affliction which our Fathers did eat c. and This is the Body of the Paschal Lamb which our Fathers did eat c. as the Talmud tract de Pasch declares For as that was not the very Bread nor the very Lamb yet they called it so because it did represent and continue the memorial of that and was used to the same purpose so in like manner He calls this his own Body who was the true Paschal Lamb because This Action doth signifie and remember it and by this Bread we are partakers thereof Secondly St. Paul the best interpreter of his Master expounds This is my Body and Blood by this is the Communion of my Body and Blood 1 Cor. 10.16 that is most plainly This blessed Bread is that which will make you partakers of Christs Body c. and 1 Cor. 11.26 he calls it no more but Bread even after the Consecration ver 24 25. And the same Apostle c Solet autem res quae significat ejus rei nomine quam significat nuncupari ut Petra erat Christus Hebraeis non signum Christi dicit Apostolus Aug. in Levit. Quaest 57. saith That Rock was Christ d 1 Cor. 10.4 not intending to make us believe the Rock was Transubstantiate but only that it was the figure and symbol of Christ and so might be called by his name Thirdly Nor did the most antient Fathers thus apprehend our Saviours meaning when they called this the Antitype of his Body the Type of a great Mystery the Figure of his Body and a Symbol called by the name of his Body e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazianzen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Mys cat 5. Hoc est corpus meum i. e. figura corporis mei Tertul. in Marc. l. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. Ego sum panis vitae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. Hoc est corpus meum Theod. Dial. cap. 8. and much more to this purpose Fourthly Nor will this opinion of Transubstantiation agree with the most antient Liturgies for in the most genuine part of them the Prayer of Consecration all those forms called from St. James St. Clement St. Basil and St. Chrysostome do pray after they have pronounced the words of Christ This is my Body that the Holy Spirit may descend and make that Bread so they still call it the Body and that Cup the Blood of Christ Yea in the Roman Church it self one of the most authentick parts of the Canon of the Mass hath these words That this Oblation may be made Vnto us the body and blood of thy most beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ Which doubtless may be done without any real change in the Elements themselves Yea and in the last part of the Canon long after the Priest hath said Hâ—c est Corpus meum by which they suppose the substances to be changed they say Through Jesus Christ our Lord by whom thou dost always create sanctifie quicken bless and give us these good things Which words being only applicable to the Bread and Wine do shew f Haeretici hujus seculi rident hanc Canonis particulam eò quod post Consecrationem adjecta sit quasi ea verba intelligi nequeunt nisi de pane vino nam Corpus sanguinem Christi non
to Repentance and our Monitor to prevent the like misdoings for the future But I am the briefer in this consideration because my main design tends to the Holy Sacrament And also because the Church hath here placed the Ten Commandments principally as the Rule and Measure of that Examination which St. Paul makes to be necessary before we eat thereof 1 Cor. 11.28 For the same Apostle teacheth us that by the Law is the knowledge of Sin Rom. 3.20 And experience also sheweth that there is no readier way to discover our iniquities and humble us for them than the serious application of this exact Rule to our perverse and crooked paths I shall therefore Secondly Give Directions how we may so try our ways by them as to prepare our selves for this Heavenly Feast To which purpose let it be considered that this duty of Self Examination is never so necessary as now when we purpose to receive the Holy Communion For it is but hypocrisie to seek a pardon for sins which we never perceived our selves guilty of and foolish presumption to make a Covenant before we have weighed the conditions to which we are to be obliged Until we see the number and apprehend the heinousness of our transgressions and fear the vengeance due unto us for them we are altogether unfit for the Commemoration of his Death who suffered for our offences It is the sight and sense of sin alone that will shew us what need we have of so glorious a Redeemer This will shew us our obligation to Jesus and teach us heartily to praise God for him and passionately to beg an interest in him whilest he that doth not discern his guilt nor foresee his danger is stupid and unmoved at this amazing spectacle of a bleeding languishing dying Saviour and hath no love nor no fear No tears nor no desires No relenting or indignation for what is past Nor any vows and wishes as to the time to come and shall be judged an unworthy Receiver So that if you desire comfort in benefit from or acceptance at the holy Table I charge you to be exceeding curious and diligent in this Examination The Pythagoreans and better sort of Heathens did strictly call themselves to an Account every night before they went to sleep where they had been what evil they had done or what good they had left undone And shall not they condemn those Christians who will not do the same once in a Month or three or four times in a Year especially upon so solemn an occasion and for so excellent an end as to procure a pardon sealed for all their misdemeanours The Rabbins perswade the devouter Jews to spend a whole Month together before the Feast of Expiation Buxtorf Synag Judaic c. 18. in examining all their lives assuring them that all those offences which they discover shall be forgiven them in that great day Which may more truly be applied to this Ordinance That holy Anchoret which the Patriarch of Alexandria found in the Egyptian desarts said he had imployment enough there where he had nothing else to divert him for his whole life to judge and condemn himself And shall not we be justly condemned of the Lord who think a day or two too much to be so imployed But I hope I need add no more to perswade to so good a work And therefore supposing this a sufficient Conviction to those who have any care of their Souls I shall proceed to direct how we must examine our selves by these Commandments § 5. When the Minister gives warning of an approaching Communion We must contrive to have at least one whole day separated to this so necessary Trying and judging our selves And first As this Law was given in the Wilderness Exod. 19.1 So we cannot use it in a crowd but when we purpose thus to apply it we must retire from the World and lay aside all secular business h Secessi de populo in me unicum negotium est mihi Tertul. de pall c. 5. Psal 4.4 and carry our minds with us into some place of privacy that we may wholly attend this great work which will take up our whole time and imploy all our faculties For we communicate so seldom and generally live so carelesly between one time and another that our Sins are numerous our Consciences intricate and many things forgotten and all confused So that it is not for us to alledge that the Primitive Christians did not use such solemnity of Preparation For they lived strictly received daily or weekly and kept their Souls always in good Order For which cause I suppose neither were the Commandments appointed to be read in the Antient Liturgies Did we lead such lives we might be accepted with lesser and shorter preparatives But most of our hearts will tell us the case with us is far otherwise Secondly Having thus chosen a time and place for the undisturbed proceeding in this grand affair we must resolve to spend it Fasting Dan. 9.3 not only that we may not be diverted or lose any of this precious time by our meat but that our minds may be more spiritual and more clear our body more gentle and more at the command of the Spirit i Infirmitas carnis vigorem mentis exacuit ut affectis artubus vires corporum in virtutes transferantur animorum Salv. lib. 1. de prov that our hearts may be tender and more apt to grieve for Sin and fear Gods wrath as also that we may punish our flesh for the gratifying of which most of our Sins have been committed that we may acknowledge our selves unworthy of our daily bread And finally declare that we desire peace with God more than our very food and do so earnestly hunger and thirst after Jesus that we forget our bodily sustenance Thirdly Begin this work with humble and hearty Prayer to him that sees your heart and must be your Judge Beseech him to help you to prevent his judgment by condemning your selves Desire him to fix your thoughts strengthen your memory and to work upon your affections that you may perceive how often how heinously and how long time you have offended and may with a relenting wounded heart bewail the same Fourthly After this rise up and meditate how merciful thy God hath been in not summoning thee to his Tribunal as yet and in giving thee this opportunity to prevent a sad and final Doom Remember thy heart is deceitful and not willing to see its own baseness or to discover its own shame nor apt to censure it self k Prov. 21.2 Nemo non benignus sui judex Sen. de ben l. 2. Nemo suae mentis motus non astimat aequos Quòdque volunt homines se bene velle putant aright And yet cursed are they that do this work of the Lord deceitfully Jer. 48.10 for it will be their own ruine Wherefore resolve to set about it with all possible sincerity and strictness as believing thou mayest never
For is it not as sure as God is true that if I persist in them I shall lose all my interest in my only Saviour forfeit all my hopes of Heaven and sell my title to the glorious Kingdom which is full of ravishing and endless pleasures and all abundance of whatsoever heart can wish And besides this insupportable loss shall not my Soul be condemned in the last dreadful judgment and cast into the Region of horror and darkness anguish and torments that have no abatement nor no end Why then Oh my Soul wilt thou buy these vanities so dear and be so abused by thy Enemies so ungrateful to thy dying Redeemer and so mischievous and cruel to thy self Wilt thou ever be so foolish and so desperate to commit the like again Say then O my Soul I abhor and renounce these accursed delusions being almost enraged at my self that I have been cheated with them so long My reason is convinced and my will perswaded that thy ways are the Right Therefore O Lord encline c. § 10. Secondly To engage our minds to all the Duties of Religion and Piety Justice and Charity that we may unalterably chuse them Let every one of us meditate First Why should I be backward to vow my obedience to the Laws of God Are they any thing else but a method of living well and wisely free from fears and injury Do they not teach me to bear my self so that I may win the favour of God and good men and be safe in the best and happy in the worst condition Can I wish my dearest Friend or my own Soul a greater felicity than to be meek and patient grateful and contented temperate and industrious just and bountiful to converse with God rejoice with Angels to imitate the Saints follow the blessed Jesus and to seek Everlasting Joy Secondly Doth God require any thing impossible unjust or unreasonable Am I to bind my self to any more than that which my Judgment and my Conscience when I am serious tell me it is fit and expedient for me to do although it had never been commanded Is it any more than that which all the wisest and best men the friends of God and the Darlings of Heaven have done with the greatest delight and pleasure and therefore it is the only proof of a generous and noble Spirit Thirdly Is not my God the best of all Masters who covers the infirmities and strengthens the weaknesses of his Servants Can I fail to please him who begets the desire and enables for the performance and makes the way familiar and easie pleasant and inviting and yet where there is a hearty endeavour doth make many abatements and accept the will for the deed d Quia voluit etiamsi non valuit adimplere 2 Cor. 8.12 and who begins his assistances early and continues them till he hath perfected this excellent work Fourthly Finally shall I not be rewarded with a glorious Crown in Heaven for being so wise as to chuse to be happy on Earth Is not this the sure way to the enjoyment of God the Society of Jesus and the Fellowship of glorified Saints and blessed Souls to Eternal Peace never-ceasing Joy to the most perfect and compleat felicity which shall last for ever though the trouble of gaining it be but short and transitory Be wise therefore Oh my Soul and easily perswaded to chuse thine own happiness And say I desire and long to be acquainted with these paths of pleasantness I chuse and love them all O Lord encline our hearts to keep these Laws And now I hope it may be time to bend your knees again and with a fresh bewailing of your transgressions and many acknowledgments of your Conviction to renounce and protest against all iniquity especially that by which you have been most apt to fall and also to vow and engage that you will lead a holy life which you must do most seriously as in the presence of God And finally looking unto Jesus the purchaser of Pardon and the giver of all Grace most humbly beg the holy Spirit that you may be enabled to keep this pious resolution since it is your wisdom and happiness never to break it more to which purpose say Lord write all these thy Laws in our hearts we beseech thee That is in our memories and on our affections that we might not offend against them Psal 119.11 For if his Spirit ingrave them on our Souls we shall with ease and pleasure keep and do them Ezek. 36.26 Wherefore let us beg this favour most earnestly and let us not doubt of being heard For this is the first and greatest part of the new Covenant God hath ingaged He will put his laws in our minds and on our hearts will he write them Jerem. 31.33 Heb. 8.10 And further if we so sincerely pray for this grace of Obedience it will ingage our Heavenly Father still more effectually to grant the last clause viz. that our Sins and iniquities he will remember no more SECT IV. Of the two Collects for the King § 1. THE Kings Majesty is fitly prayed for after the Commandments because he is Custos utriusque Tabulae and his Example is a great encouragement to the good and his Power a terror to the evil and so may be a great furtherance to the Observation of the Laws of God And it doth as conveniently precede the daily Collect for therein we beg all inward grace and herein all outward prosperity for the Church which is always prosperous under good and happy Princes And although we had prayed for the King before a Comp. to the Temple yet we are enjoined to do it here again for these Reasons First Because the welfare of the Kings Majesty is of so great and universal concernment to Religion and the Laws to Ministers and People that no one Earthly blessing is so necessary to be asked or so advantageous when obtained Secondly Because this is a distinct Office anciently used some hours after Morning Prayer b Vid. Spar. Rational p. 239. and S. Paul seems to Command that we should pray for Kings in all our Prayers and that first of all 1 Tim. 11.1 2. as we in this Service do Thirdly Because it was ever the Custom not only of the Jews c Ezra 6.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Joseph lib. 12. cap 17. in the time of the Oblation but also of the Christians d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theoph. in 1 Tim. 2. Oratio pramittitur pro populo pro Regibus pro caeteris Ambr. de Sacr. l. 4. c. 4. Vid. Aug. Epist 59. ad Paulin. Chrys in 1 Tim. 2. in the time of the Celebration of these Mysteries to supplicate for their Princes as all Ancient Liturgies do attest With unbloody Sacrifices and Mystical Rites saith Eusebius we endeavour to obtain the Divine mercy in order to the common peace offering up then to God supplications for the Church of God and his Vicegerent the King for
10.40 Legatus cujusque est quasi quisque Dictum Rab. whose Ambassador he is so that God himself doth beseech us by this invitation 2 Cor. 5.20 Haman reckoned it among his highest honours that Queen Esther Chap. 5.12 had invited him to her Banquet because it was a signification of the most particular love and friendship 1 Kings 1.10 and ought we not to esteem it a greater honour to be requested to Feast with God and to receive so sure a pledge that we are his Friends would it not be impudent and ungrateful to reject the summons There are many invited but the preparations are sufficient for all the World there is in Jesus Christ here Communicated peculiar provision for every Guest and that very grace which each single Person can need or desire Wherefore all that are of Gods Family all not excommunicated and uncapable are now invited high and low rich and poor we are all Brethren and our Heavenly Father will have us all as Lycurgus appointed his Spartans to sit at the same Table together to eat of the same meat and drink of the same Cup that we may not despise nor envy one another but become one Body and one Spirit Now if it be demanded by what Authority we Ministers do bid so many and so universally when we may suppose divers to be unfit We answer it is our Masters Order Math. 22.9 to bid as many as we find for all either are fit or ought to be so and we cannot distinguish but the Master of the Feast will so that every man must look to prepare himself in such wise that he may be approved by the Master as well as invited by the Servant for many be called but few chosen v. 14. We have before warned all to prepare and now we proceed to be very earnest with those who are unfitted to make themselves ready and with those who are ready to come away And surely it will be a huge reproach to us if it appear that Satan and his Complices with a touch on the Shoulder p Penulam ilâ—ius ego vix tetigi tamen remansit ap Stuckâ—um de Conviv or the slightest beckon can oblige us to a Theater or a looser Bacchanal and yet all the entreaties of God and his Ministers can scarce obtain our Company at this Heavenly Feast But behold and blush the Lord himself who is so much above us doth beseech us Revel 3.20 the Ministers whom we have so often denied do importune us for Christs Jesus sake the most moving Oratory of the meanest Beggars and all this to ingage us to come In this Holy Feast his love is manifested his death remembred his graces are dispensed so that if we have any love for Jesus any râ—membrance of him or desires after him we cannot possibly neglect this loving invitation such a denial mâ—y be interpreted a disclaiming of our Redeemer and an affront to that condescending goodness which calls us only for our own benefit Why is God so earnest Isai 4.1 Revel 22.17 and his Ministers so importunate but only because we are so backward to our own good and are hard to be intreated to do our selves a favour but let us relent at last and yield to so sweet an invitation and so plain an expression of the divine kindness to us § 4. Ye know how grievous and unkind a thing it is when a man hath prepared a rich Feast decked his Table with all kind of provision so that there lacketh nothing but the Guests to sit down and yet they who are called without any Cause most unâ—hankfully refuse to come which of you in such Case would not be moved who would not think a great injury and wrong done unto him Similitudes taken from matters known and obvious do most easily inform our understandings most strongly convince our judgment and most vigorously work upon our affections Wherefore most of the wisdom of the Oriental Nations and many of our Saviours Sermons are delivered in this manner and of the same nature is this present metaphor which is of divine Original being used by Solomon Prov. 9.1 2 3 4 c. and by a greater than Solomon Math. 22. Luke 14. mystically to set out the baseness of rejecting such offâ—rs of grace as these are So we do now make a fair appeal to all that neglect the Lords Supper to which if they give a sincere Answer it will be their own Condemnation Imagine therefore that these Absenters had prepared a noble and plentiful entertainment suppose their Table richly furnished with all varieties purchased with great care cost dressed with much pains and Art and that they only expected those whom they had chosen out of all their Neighbours to be their Guests to whom they had designed to express peculiar kindness and respect Now if these after many invitations should so far undervalue the favour and despise the Preparations as to absent themselves without any just impediment Let these neglectors of Gods Table tell me how deeply they themselves would resent so unkind a refusal and so apparent a scorn Would it not move their patience exceedingly and could they not more easily put up many injuries q Patior facilè injuriam si id est vacuum à contumeliâ Pacuv than this one affront to their Courtesie would they ever invite such unworthy Guests again If they had the Persons of these ungrateful men as much in their power as themselves are in Gods it is like they would make them know what it was to throw so high a contempt upon them How fearful was David of Sauls displeasure for his absence from his Table where he was expected 1 Sam. 20.4 5. nor had he stayed away but for fear of his life Daniel was careful to conceal it from the King that he did not eat of the Portion which he sent him Dan. 1.10 11 12. and refused it only because it was first offered to an Idol There are many offences more hurtful to us but none more provoking since Fâ—stivals are made to signifie our respect and to engage the affections of our friends r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod and who can indure to have his favour trampled on We are sure the Criminals themselves would be highly offended at this usage so that let us in the next place only desire them to apply it to the present Case § 5. Wherefore most dearly beloved in Christ take ye good heed lest ye withdrawing your selves from this Holy Supper provoke Gods indignation against you If we speak the language of our hearts we must confess we would not willingly be thus done unto therefore by our Saviours Rule Math. 7.12 we ought not thus to refuse the invitations of a man Å¿ Nemini suae injuriae leves videntur Solust 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tob. 4.14 Homo semper aliud in se fert aliud in alio cogitat Laber. and shall we deal worse with God than we
as much as the time will give us leave because to look about us or to unbend our thoughts while the Celebration is in hand is a sign of a carnal heart and a base spirit that is weary of conversing with God it is an affront to the blood of Christ it exposeth us to Satans malice and prepares us for evil suggestions which unguarded Souls fall into sooner here than elsewhere and to conclude it will make our Lord abhor us the Spirit forsake us and turn the Cup of Blessing into poison and a Curse Wherefore be very watchful that no evil or impertinent cogitation do divert you till the Post-Communion doth begin and then you must have no other imployment but to join with the Minister in that part of this holy Office also PARTITION IV. Of the Post-Communion SECT I. Of the Post-Communion in general and in particular of the Lords-Prayer § 1. IT is a rudeness in manners to depart from the House of our Friend as soon as the Tables are removed and an Act of Irreligion to rise from our common meals a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porphyr de Essenis de abst lib. 4. Sect. 12. Gratias agere debent cum hymno à mensâ devenire Chrysos hom 83. in Math. without Prayer Thanksgiving How much more absurd and impious then were it for us to depart so abruptly from the Lords Table Our Church hath therefore here provided this concluding Banquet of Prayers and Praises imitating our Saviours Pattern who concluded his last Supper with that excellent Prayer John 17. as well as with that Hymn Math. 26.30 which is supposed to have been the Paschal Hallelujah and all Churches do finish this Heavenly Feast in like manner as the following particulars will demonstrate It is our part therefore to take care that the vigour of our devotion do not remit for we ought to perform these duties also with the same affections It is the first Testimony which we give of that Piety that we have vowed and if well done will be like the digestion and turning this Heavenly food into spiritual nourishment We do not eat our common meat only to please our palate but to support and strengthen our nature and to make us more fit for our imployment in like manner we do not partake of the Blessed Eucharist to put us into holy raptures at present only but to strengthen our Souls and put them into better frame for all Duties which we owe to Almighty God so that now we must give the first experiment of our having worthily received § 2. The Lords Prayer is placed in the first entrance upon this part of the Office both in imitation of Antiquity b Docuit Apostolos ut quotidiè in Corporis illius sacrificio credentes audeant loqui Pater noster Hieron in Pelag l. 3. Vid. Aug. ep 59. Greg l. 7. ep 63. and because it cannot any where be used more properly For having now been made partakers of Jesus and his Spirit it is fit the first words which we speak should be his as if not we but he lived and spake in us and surely these divine words can never be more effectual than when we have the blessed Author of them so fresh in our memories and have so lately set forth his most meritorious Death We have in this Sacrament received him and we know that unto as many as receives him he gives them power to become the Sons of God so that we may all with one heart and voice now say most chearfully Our Father and apply every Petition to the present occasion in this or the like manner The Paraphrase of the Lords-Prayer O Lord who hast now sealed our Adoption and made us Members of Christ we make bold to call thee Our Father and do lift up our hearts to thee which art in Heaven to bless thee for this mighty favour wishing that Hallowed and for ever blessed may be thy Name throughout all the World Thou hast made us thy servants now by grace therefore O let thy Kingdom of glory Come as soon as thou pleasest In the mean time since we have been fed with Angels food we pray that thy Will may be done by us thy servants in Earth as readily and as constantly as it is ever done by those blessed Spirits in Heaven We cannot distrust thy Providence for Earthly things since thou hast given us thy own Son and fed us with his Body and Blood wherefore we will only beseech thee to Give us this day so much as is necessary for our subsistence even our daily Bread to enable us to serve thee And â—orgive us by the merits of that prevailing Sacrifice now commemorated all our trespasses by which we have deserved that wrath which Jesus hath endured Lord pardon us therefore as we by thy Example in this Feast of love do freely forgive them that have done any trespass against us And do thou not only remit what is past but lest we lose our comfort and break our Vows O Lead us not neither suffer us to fall into temptation which we expect with more violence now that we have renounced the bondage of Satan But we trust in thee O Lord and call upon thee to deliver us from all Evâ—l temporal spiritual and Eternal * Note that the Doxology is here used because this part of the office is Eucharistical For thine is the Kingdom over all especially over us who have now sworn Allegiance unto thee Thou only hast the might and the Power to secure us And therefore to thee shall all the Praise and the Glory be given by Men and Angels for ever and ever O do thou therefore to these our requests say Amen that we may also join in thy Praises So be it SECT II. Of the first Prayer in the Post-Communion § 1. THat the Eucharist was always concluded with a Hymn is observed by all but we affirm there were Prayers also made after it as appears by that Prayer of our Saviour John 17. and also from the Custom of the Jews who finished the Paschal Solemnity with Prayers as well as Hymns a Hoc ita gesto pater familias precationes mensarias ad finem precari pergit Buxt Synag Cap. de Pasch 13. And for the Christians St. Cyril warns them b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Cyril Mystag cat 5. not to depart till the last Prayer be done Besides the joint consent of all the antient Liturgies shew that all Churches had such Prayers As for this form the principal clause thereof of offering up our Bodies and Souls is taken from St. Paul Rom. 12.1 and it is a main end of this Sacrament though the Roman Mass is wholly silent in it the rest of this Prayer although the words be modern in sense agrees with many of the antient forms and is so well contrived as it may not only serve to exercise our devotion at present but teach how to demean our selves
thou dost deserve it all I am sorry I am no better yet such as I am I do most freely surrender my self unto thee both Soul and Body avowing that I will be no more my own but thy servant in all things My understanding shall enquire after thee my will shall chuse thee my affections embrace thee my senses shall obey thee my passions shall be at thy command and my thoughts shall be always of thee O be thou pleased to come and reign over me take possession of me for thou hast won my heart I shall never be my own till thou hast made me thine but if now at last I may be accepted I hope I shall never be so unjust and ungrateful so foolish and absurd so perjured and sacrilegious as to rob thee of my self hereafter or wilfully to prophane my Body or Soul any more It is indeed a miserable gift that I offer a defiled Body a stained Soul and corrupt affections But it is all I have to give and all that thou requirest and it will be freer and better by being thine Let me never have other Master let me never sully that which the blood of Christ hath washed nor sell that to Satan which Jesus hath bought for God Grant me therefore gracious Lord that I may find by the workings of thy spirit within me that thou hast accepted me give me such help from thee to confirm my hope that I may always perform my Vows and never rob thee of that which I have dedicated to thee in the sincerity of my Soul I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments I am thine O save me for thy mercies sake Amen Amen § 6. Humbly beseeching thee that all we who are Partakers of this holy Communion may be full-filled with thy grace and Heavenly Benediction There are too many who are forward enough to promise great things w 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac in Math. 20. while their zeal is warm which they either do not intend or do not take care to perform x Quid enim est turpin◠quam promittere quae praestare aut nolis per ignaviam aut non possis per imbecilitatem Drus But the sincere Christian is not more ready to make his Vow than diligent to keep it wherefore he considers that this will prove but a vain oblation unless he can obtain the divine grace and Benediction to enable him to perform it and accordingly his next care is to pray most earnestly for the aid of Heaven both for himself and his Brethren We may perhaps be too confident and secure imagining the evil spirit to be cast out and both Soul and Body consecrated unto God but alas how easily may the Enemy return and recover his hold if the grace of God do not preserve us Let us therefore now consider how prudently we have made this vow and how blessed we may be in keeping it let us remember how often we have formerly been surprized and what danger there is of future failings and finally let us think how impossible it is to stand without the assistance of the holy Spirit and then doubtless we shall hunger and thirst after Righteousness and accordingly as he hath promised we shall be filled Math. 5.6 We shall not ask riches honours or pleasures for we have renounced them all but above all things we shall desire the grace of God and his blessing whereby we may have power to keep our Covenant with him made upon the blood of Jesus and this is that request which the Lord delights to hear and which now we have most need to make and doubtless if we be sincere it shall be granted to which purpose we may add this supplication as the enlargement of the preceeding Petition Behold O blessed Jesus how many of thy redeemed ones are here returned to their duty and allegiance we have all vowed our selves thy servants but we do yet tremble in expectation of those most furious assaults which will be made upon us by the Enemy from whom we have withdrawn and Alas we have too often returned again to folly But if thou pleasest to plant thy grace within us and send thy blessing upon us we fear not his policy nor his power We have received that heavenly food which is the means to convey this grace and we know that by this Coelestial Remedy many of thy servants have been dreadful to the powers of darkness and thou didst never cast off any humble Soul O bless then this life-giving mystery unto us that we may find such power and strength such courage and resolution flowing from thence that we may all stand firm to the purposes which we have made Sweetest Saviour we are now thy servants and O what quiet and comfort what safety and joy what honour and pleasure have we under so gracious a Lord how happy shall we be in enjoying a freedom from Anger and Intemperance Malice and Revenge Pride and Covetousness and all the furies which use to torture us O mark us for thine own therefore and deny us not that grace which is necessary to make thee ours and us to be thine if we feel not some effects thereof we shall sink and die for fear lest thou hast rejected us and our Oblation But who did ever seek thee and did not find who ever trusted in thee and was forsaken or why should we suspect thou shouldst make us the first instances of such a severity We are sure in thee all fulness of grace doth dwell O let it now overflow that of thy fulness we may all receive so shall we daily and always perform our Vows Amen § 7. And although we be unworthy through our manifold sins to offer unto thee any Sacrifice yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service not weighing our merits but pardoning our offences To offer up the Sacrifice of Praise is properly the imployment of an Angel and to make whole Burnt-Offerings was the Office of the sacred Order alone But we Christians are every one so far become Priests as to be allowed to come near to Gods Altar and there we are admitted to offer the incense of our Praises and to make our selves a living Sacrifice Yet the more favour we have the more humility we should express because we are unworthy of it and we must not let our presumption grow upon the stock of the divine condescension Let us remember therefore that Aarons Motto was Holiness to the Lord Exod. 39.30 and that God destroyed his two Sons for making bold to offer unworthily declaring thereby that he would be sanctified in those that came near to him Levit. 10.3 so that we had need be exceeding humble and with all possible lowliness confess our unworthiness for alas we have been Enemies and Rebels treacherous and unfaithful full of vain thoughts and vile affections all which is most apparent to him before whom we stand so that we may justly
have mercy upon us 3. A Doxology to him also together with the whole Trinity For thou onely art Holy thou onely art the Lord thou onely O Christ with the Holy Ghost art most High in the Glory of God the Father Amen A Practical Discourse upon the Gloria in Excelsis § 3. Glory be to God on high on Earth Peace and good will toward men This blessed Hymn the Church hath learned from that Heavenly Choire which came to celebrate our Lords Nativity Luke 2.16 And since we have tasted the Coelestial Manna and fed upon Angels food it is fit we should join with them in singing the praises of their Lord and ours and as one of the Angelick Order first began and then a multitude of the Heavenly Host united their Voices so it was the Custom b Angelicum posthaec sacrifex pater incipit hymnum Inceptum complet vociferando Chorus Hildebert Conoman Episc of old for the Priest first to begin and then all the Communicants to compleat the Harmony of this divine Anthem It was first endited to set forth the happy effects of that Redemption which Jesus did undertake at his Birth and it doth declare that it caused Glory to be given to God in Heaven and made Peace for poor Sinners on Earth because it did engage the good will of the Almighty towards Men But all this was but expected and prophesied of then whereas now when the Merits of this Redemption are really and effectually communicated to Penitent Souls in this Sacrament those things are all performed and accomplished so that the worthy Receivers have juster cause now than ever to sing Glory to God in the highest note who dwelleth in the highest place c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aliquando excellentissimè Math. 21.9 hoc loco terrae opponitur Grot. for he hath now done us the highest favour in making such Peace on Earth d Deus nobis haec otia fecit Virg. and giving such testimonies of his good will toward us No doubt the blessed Spirits above who sing at the Conversion of one Sinner do give glory to God in the highest now when he hath sealed his Covenant of Peace with so many and when they behold us all at peace one with another and rejoicing in these pledges of the divine favour The Church rejoyceth to see so many poor Souls revived with the hopes of Mercy e Gaudet Ecclesia redemptione multorum adstare sibi familiam candidatam spirituali exultatione laetatur Ambros de Sacr. l. 5. c. 3. every heart is full of joy and every Tongue is ready to bless the Lord for this happy reconciliation Oh let us strive to sing the Praises with an Angelick Spirit that so they above and we below may make a lovely Concord and if our Devotion cannot rise to the same note yet let our sincerity keep us in an agreeable Key and for the help of our affections let us thus meditate O my Soul behold and blush to see the Angels who are almost unconcerned sing for thy felicity while thou art silent and unmoved The Heaven is calm above thee the Earth is quiet round about thee and thy God hath testified his good will unto thee Rejoice and be exceeding glad admire and celebrate the Love of Jesus and the efficacy of that Sacrifice which hath filled Heaven with Glory Earth with Peace and all the World with Comfort O ye Celestial Powers it is my concern to magnifie him to whom you pay these Praises for I have received those Mercies which are the cause of your Joy Wherefore I will join with you and bless my God in the highest strain and I will pray that I may extol him more highly O let all the Lords redeemed on Earth and all the glorious Spirits of Heaven unite their Voices till all the World do resound with his Praise who hath restored Peace to us and shewed such good will unto men Hosanna in the highest § 4. We praise thee we bless thee we worship thee we glorifie thee we give thanks unto thee for thy great glory O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty Having before propounded the subject of our Praises we now begin to descant upon it and first we glorifie the Father Almighty to whom the former Praises are primarily directed And although we are taught with many words to express our gratitude and our joy yet none can censure this as a vain repetition because it is done in imitation of those Celestial Hymns recorded in the Revelations viz. Blessing and Glory and Wisdom and Thanksgiving and Honour and Power and might be c. Revel 7.12 and the like Chap. 5.13 as also because every word here used is highly pertinent and hath its peculiar and proper signification f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philem. Poet. Graec. We praise God by setting forth his Greatness we bless him by declaring his goodness we worship him with our Bodies we glorifie him with our mouth we give him thanks with our hearts for the great glory which he hath gotten to himself by these his Mercies toward us And further the adding so many words doth well express the vehemency of our affections and shew that we are so full of admiration and delight that we know not well with what words to signifie the pleasure which we feel within us And whilst we are repeating so many Phrases let our Souls be enlarged in comfortable reflections upon the goodness of God and then we shall not object against their number but find a new motion in our minds to comply with every one of these Eucharistical words and use every one of them with devotion O God the Father of Heaven whose mercy is over all the World I am infinitely pleased to behold the glory and to hear the Praises which thou hast gotten by thy mercy to poor Sinners and I could even pour out my Soul in the manifestation of that joy which my heart conceiveth at thy so universal Honour Wherefore I will praise thee by acknowledgments and bless thee with Hymns I will worship thee with the lowest reverence and glorifie thee in the highest note yea I will give thanks unto thee with all my Soul for thy Pity and thy Patience thy Mercy and long-suffering thy Bounty and Loving-kindness towards thy unworthy yet miserable Creatures And as all men do share in thy goodness I hope they will join in thy Praises in singing that Song of the Lamb which is to be the subject of eternal Hallelujahs Praise and Blessing Honour Glory and Thanksgiving be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne for ever and ever Amen § 5. O Lord the only begotten Son Iesu Christ O Lord God Lamb of God Son of the Father that takest away the Sins of the World Have mercy upon us Thou that takest away the Sins of the World Have mercy upon us Thou that takest away the
believing Persons thereby 3. And it is the more probable that we shall prevail when we ask this mercy because that Our Lord himself was pleased to honour this Ordinance by causing it to be Administred to himself by St. John in the River Jordan Math. 3.17 And He was Baptized saith St. Ambrose not that he might be cleansed but that he might cleanse the Waters that they themselves being washed by the flesh of Christ which knew no sin might have a right to be used in Baptism ever after Ambr. in Luc. 3. and the grace which it received from him it pours upon us Christians idem Serm. Domin 6. post Pentec Yet we must not fancy as Tertullian and St. Ambrose note that this Sanctification was derived only to that one River whereupon some of old would be baptized no where but in Jordan For the Blessing was communicated say they to all Water that should ever be used to this purpose Now if the great end why Jesus was baptized were to Hallow the Water to this use we may the more chearfully present our Petition that the Party to be baptized may find supernatural effects from this holy Laver. 2. The Petition therefore advanced upon these Premises is First For Gods general Pitty to be expressed towards this infant because it is miserable by nature and liable to his wrath 2. Particularly that he will please to wash and purifie it from all its Natural Pollutions by the living Water John 7.38 even his holy Spirit o 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl in Johan 3. which alone can cleanse the Soul and which gives the power of cleansing to this Water We pray that he who gave so many illustrious Types of Baptism before its Institution and at its first Original dignified it with the presence of his own Son that he will now look with Compassion on the original misery of this Child and wash it wholly away by his Spirit 3. And we ask this the more fervently because there will follow so blessed an effect upon our being heard viz. 1. Privative if it please him so to wash away the Sin of this Child it shall be delivered from Gods wrath Math. 3.7 since his wrath doth not remain on those whose Sins are pardoned but when the iniquity the cause is gone the wrath is removed also 2. There will follow also positive effects even the Seeds of Sanctifying Graces which will manifest themselves in due time The sum is that if it be washed with the Spirit it shall not be left to perish in the general deluge but be taken into the Church as Noah into the Ark p Ecclesia est arca figurata Tertul. de bap In illa mirandae capacitatis arca Ecclesia figuratur Ambros de voc gen l. 2. c. 4. and so be saved from the common destruction and although this Child as the Ark q Navicula illa figuram Ecclesiae praeferebat quod in mari id est seculo fluctibus id est persecutionibus tentationibus inquietatur Tert. of old be tossed a while upon the troublesome Waves of this World yet if Faith be the Pilot Hope the Sails and Charity the Lading no boisterous Billows shall be able to overwhelm it but it shall triumphantly and joyfully ride over these Surges until they have conveyed it safe to the Port of Immortality All these Graces are the fruits of that One Spirit so that if here it be received all these happy effects will be the consequents thereof §. 4. The second Collect for the Child Almighty and immortal God the aid of all that need c. To express our earnestness and importunity we do again renew our Address and in this second Prayer we request First That this Child may be pardoned and regenerated Secondly That it may be adopted and accepted by Almighty God both which are enforced with their proper motives 1. The first Petition is ushered in by a solemn Invocation wherein we call upon God by all those Attributes which do express his Power and Mercy we confess him to be Omnipotent and immortal 1 Tim. 6.16 the reliever of the needy Psal 10.16 69.33 the helper of those that fly to his Protection John 6.37 He giveth Eternal Life to Believers and raiseth those that are Dead John 11.25 and therefore he is the fittest to be sollicited in behalf of a weak and helpless infant dead in trespasses and sins Yea we esteem our selves happy that we have so great and so good a God to come unto in its behalf for here we do present him with an object suitable to his Might and his Mercy and since this poor Creature is so miserable but yet can neither apprehend its own misery nor speak in its own behalf we our selves become its spokesmen that it may be born again in this Laver of Regeneration and have all its Sins both pardoned and removed and doubtless so Charitable a Prayer from so many Hands presented to such a God for so deplorable an object cannot return empty 2. The next Petition proceeds further and craves that when the sin is removed and the nature renewed it may be most favourably received by God and adopted for his own Child And herein we seem to imitate that antient custom prescribed by the Roman Law in that kind of Adoption which was called Adrogation r Arrogatio autem dicta quia genus hoc in alienam familiam transitûs per Populi rogationem fit Au◠Gellius noc Att. 5. 19. Et Justinian instit l. 1. titul 11. de Adop Sect. 1. whereby a Child being to be adopted into a better Family was admitted by the approbation of the High Priest and at the Intercession of all the people in a publick Assembly Thus we who are already Citizens of Heaven do all join in requesting there may be one more added to our number and received into the Houshold of God And the motive to this Petition is no less than Gods gracious Promise by Jesus Christ Math. 7.7 that if we ask we shall have which St. Luke applies to the giving of the Holy Spirit Chap. 11.13 and some of the Antients refer this promise to this very mystery Nor can this promise be urged more properly For we have brought this infant to Heaven Gate but we cannot make it the Child of God nor let it in so that all we can do is to ask and seek to him to open the Gate and to receive it who hath promised to hear the Prayers of his Church The External washing is but a temporal priviledge and only makes this Child one of the number of the visible Church But the Heavenly washing of the Soul ſ Aquâ enim corpus abluitur Spiritu animae delicta mundantur Ambros in Luc. 3. Quod incorporale est invisibilitèr abluatur idem is an Everlasting Blessing and doth purifie the Soul and fit it for Eternal Life t Foelix Sacramentum aquae nostrae quâ abluti delictis pristinae caecitatis
And though this Child cannot perform them at Present yet if it live to years of Discretion it must either do the Will and walk by the Laws of God or else it can never come to Eternal Life Math. 19.17 Wherefore as you promised they should forsake all evil before so now you engage they shall do that which is good c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clement Constit without which neither they nor you your selves can be admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven Perhaps some will say this is a hard saying and such as had rather dispute than obey and are readier to question than perform their Duty will alledge it is impossible to keep all the Commandments but it is dangerous thus to charge God d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil ho 19. Mandando impâ—ssibilia non praevaricatores homines facit â—ed humiles Bern in Cant. Facere quod possis petere quod non possis monet Aug. de nat grat as if he were a hard Master who though he binds us to our whole Duty yet will not exact more than we are able and is contented if we do what we can and lament that we can do no more and pray to him to strengthen us still to do better yet withal we are obliged to do all that God requires and in strictness are Sinners for every wilful neglect The sum is that this Child is engaged to believe and live like a Son and Servant of God because it is now about to be adopted and sealed in this Holy Sacrament Which is so solemn and sacred a thing that it ought to be ushered in with this necessary and compleat Preparation SECT II. Of the Administration of Baptism §. 1. The short Prayers for Sanctification of the Child O Merciful God grant that the old Adam in this Child may be so buried c. These Prayers are the Address to this holy Laver and since the Covenant is now made it is fit the Minister should more peculiarly interceed with God for grace to perform it And these as an excellent Author notes do supply the place of the Old Exorcisms which at first seem to have been certain Divine a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril praef ad Catech. Prayers collected out of Gods word for the purifying of the Soul and the exclusion of Satan from thence In like manner these short and pious forms are made in behalf of the party baptized that he may obtain the benefits of Baptism and be secured against the Enemy The first being a Petition for Regeneration the second for Sanctification the third for Power against spiritual Enemies the fourth for encrease of Grace All which are so necessary that every one of them requires our devout joyning in them 1. The first Collect is taken out of Rom. 6.4 5 6. where the Apostle teacheth us that a principal end of Baptism is for the mortifying of the old b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac ad Coloss Man or old Adam that is for the destruction of Original Corruption and the extirpation of all evil concupiscence which when it is slain and buryed as it were then the new Man that is a gracious disposition doth succeed by the Spirits entring into us and as of old the Baptized Person was plunged over the head and came up again like a new Person as Jesus out of his Grave after his Resurrection so we pray according to the antient phrase c Vetus Adam in Lavacro â—otus moritur Novus cum Christo renascitur Hieron in Ruffin That the Old Adam or corrupt Nature in this Child may be mortifyed so as the new nature may appear in it That is that it may be born again in this Laver of Regeneration and not only have the guilt but the power of original Corruption taken away also 2. As the former Collect Petitions for the removing of the Cause so this for the destruction of the effects for carnal affections and inclinations to Lust Covetousness and Vain-glory do spring from Original Sin and are the Branches and Fruit of that Root of Bitterness now if these remain they will soon intice this new Souldier into the Enemies Quarter and make him lust to return to Aegypt notwithstanding all these Renuntiations wherefore we pray that the Spirit may root up these evil fruits and plant in their stead spiritual affections Heavenly desires holy purposes the Love of God c. that so it may keep its Covenant with ease and delight We pray that the Lusts of the flesh may grow weaker and weaker like the House of Saul and the Graces of the Spirit stronger and stronger like the House of David 2 Sam. 3.1 or as St. Paul speaks That the Body that is the affections of the Body may be dead as towards sin but the Spirit Life as towards Righteousness Rom. 8.10 3. The third Collect goes further and sues for spiritual strength not only that it may not be conquered but may Conquer and Triumph over those Enemies which this Child hath now defyed it seems indeed impar congressus an unequal match for a frail Man to contend with the flesh within the Devil without and the World round about him but Christ hath overcome the World John 16.33 and if we will use it he gives us grace in Baptism to subdue the Flesh and defeat the Devil who can do little when our Corruptions do not join with him d Diabolus plus confidit in adjutorio carnis quia est hostis domesticus Bern. Med. c. 4 Eva nostra caro nostra idem therefore let us take the Shield of Faith e Ephes 6.16 1 John 5.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. 5. and follow our Victorious Leader so shall we be Conquerours our selves and then we may pray the more chearfully for this Infant it is now like the Israelites newly escaped out of Aegypt and will certainly be pursued but we hope it shall see all these Enemies Dead and sing a Triumphant Song over them in the Heavenly Canaan We know that humane Nature hath no such power of its own and therefore we beg it of him that is able to subdue all things to himself and O how blessed will this Child be if it be Master of its own desires and have learned to despise the World and be able to stand against all the wiles of the Devil 4. The last Collect advanceth still higher desiring that this Child and all other to whom this Salutary Rite shall be Administred may not only cease to do evil but learn to do well Isai 1.16 17. not only escape the pollutions of the World but add to their Faith Vertue 2 Peter 1.4 5. We pray that they may be indued with Grace and Heavenly Qualities Meekness and Charity Faith and Patience Temperance and Sobriety Zeal and Devotion c. so that they may obtain Eternal Life which though it be not due by the Servants Merit f Vita aeterna justitiae quidem stipendium
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 rejoicing And finally let not this Heavenly Inspiration be only expressed in extasies and holy fervors 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 its bright beams driving away 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 Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Trinity-Sunday § 13. O admirable mystery to be adored in the profoundest silence by the contemplation whereof when I am struck with amazement I can learn humility and discover my 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 Vnity and the Vnity in Trinity hath been derided by the Heathens and endeavoured to be perplexed by the wits of all kinds of Hereticks but it sufficeth me blessed Jesus that thou hast revealed it and thy Holy Church divided in too many other things hath universally agreed in this 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 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 magnifie 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 is all mystery The Trinity is the Article and this Sacrament the Rite which do distinguish thy true Religion 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 Lord And when I find the Father giving the Son given and the Holy Ghost dispensing that gift unto my Soul in this sacred Communion it shall be a greater confirmation to my Faith in this 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 behold the glories of the Trin-une 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 Quire doth in these addresses Therefore with Angels c. PARTITION III. Of the Celebration SECT I. Of the Address § 1. THE nearer we approach to these mysteries the greater reverence we must express The very Heathen could say men should be always best when they came to the Gods a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pythag. ap Plur. de superstit and therefore so much better by how much they come nearer Our late rejoicing might savour of too much confidence if it were not allayed with this Act of humility which is the immediate Address to this holy Feast There is somewhat agreeable to this some Apology or acknowledgment in all antient Liturgies but that of St. James comes the nearest to this of ours I come to this divine and supercoelestial mystery unworthy indeed but relying on thy goodness And afterwards Turn not away from us sinners who are celebrating this dreadful and unbloody Sacrifice for we trust not in our own righteousness but in thy bountiful mercy c. But in none so fully as in this present form can the devout Soul express its sense of its own unworthiness and its desires to taste of this Heavenly Banquet as by our usual method will be more clearly manifested The Analysis of the Address Sect. 2. The Address hath two Parts 1. An Apology for this our approach shewing 1. The ground thereof 1. Negatively We do not presume to come to this thy Table O merciful Lord trusting in our own righteousness 2. Affirmatively But in thy manifold and great mercies 2. The persons coming We are not worthy so much as to gather up the Crumbs under thy Table 3. What he is to whom we come But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy 2. A Prayer for a blessing upon it noting 1. To whom we pray Grant us therefore gracious Lord 2. What we pray for so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Iesus Christ and to drink his blood 3. For what end 1. A present advantage by the 1. Cleansing of our Bodies that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body 2. Purifying of our Souls and our Souls washed through his most precious blood 2. A continual benefit by an inseparable Uâ—ion And that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us Amen A Practical Discourse upon the Address § 3. We do not presume to come to this thy Table O merciful Lord trusting in our own righteousness but in thy manifold and great mercies When Josephs Brethren were invited to his House they durst not enter till they had made their Apology at the door because they esteemed themselves both criminal and unworthy Gen. 43.20 How then shall we that are greater offenders and more unworthy presume to sit down at the Table of the King of Kings before we have expressed our reverence and humility It is his goodness indeed to do us this honour but then it is at least our duty to be so just as to confess it is a free and undeserved favour agreeing rather to the nobleness of the giver than to the deserts of the Receivers b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysos Now how can we better declare this than in the words of that favourite of Heaven Dan. 9.23 the Prophet Daniel whose Prayer was heard before it was finished because he presented it not trusting in his own Righteousness but in Gods manifold and great mercies Dan. 9.18 And that we may speak these words with the same sincerity and make these addresses with the same sense of our own unworthiness Let us consider 1. How dangerous it is to come to this Holy Sacrament with a proud heart For Pride is foolish c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theodoret. therap ser 1. and unreasonable in it self dishonourable and injurious to God offensive and troublesome to our Brethren hardening and mischievous to our selves and especially it is most odious and contrary to our Lord Jesus whose humility we are here to remember Solomon accounts it an uncomely