there is no respect of persons Col. 3. 25. TO forbear all Fashood Dissimulation Truth and Insincerity And so the Holy Scripture commands us Not to lye one to another Col. 3. 9. but putting away all lying to speak every Man truth with his Neighbour Ephes 4. 25. Because lying lips are abomination to the Lord but they that deal truly are his delight Prov. 12. 22. TO be candid in our Behaviour towards all men Not to be given to reviling Candour backbitings whisperings railings evil surmisings or judging one another but in all points to walk by the Rule of Charity which suffereth long and is kind which envieth not which vaunteth not it self which is not puffed up which behaveth not it self unseemly which seeketh not her own which is not easily provoked which thinketh no evil which rejoyceth not in iniquity but which rejoyceth in the truth which beareth all things believeth all things that are good hopeth all things endureth all things 1 Cor. 13. 4 5 6 7. and which covereth a multitude of Sins 1 Pet. 4. 8. TO be merciful to the Necessitous Using Hospitality without grudging Mercy 1 Pet. 4. 9. Visiting the Fatherless and Widows in their distress Jam. 1. 27. Praying for the sick Jam. 5. 16. teaching and admonishing one another Col. 3. 16. Distributing to the necessity of Saints Rom. 12. 13. Doing good to the poor being rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate laying up in store for our selves a good foundation against the time to come that we may lay hold on eternal life 1 Tim. 6. 18 19. TO be kind and obliging in our deportment Courtesie having compassion one of another being pitiful and courteous 1 Pet. 3. 8. Being gentle and easie to be entreated Jam. 3. 17. bearing the infirmities of the weak every one pleasing his Neighbour for his good to edification Rom. 15. 1 2. Comforting the feeble minded supporting the weak being patient towards all men 1 Thes 5. 14. Rejoycing with them that rejoice and weeping with them that weep Rom. 12. 15. TO be kindly affectioned even to our Forgiving Enemies Enemies Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice Ephes 4 21. Instead of rendring evil for evil or railing for railing 1 Pet. 3. 9. Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you Matth. 5. 44. Dearly be loved avenge not your selves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head Rom. 12. 19 20. TO be modest and inoffensive in your familiar discourse Swear not at Modesty all Matth. 5. 34. Bless but curse not Rom. 12. 14. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister Grace unto the hearers Ephes 4. 29. And let your speech be alway with Grace seasoned with salt that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man Col. 4. 6. TO be lovers and makers of peace If ye have bitter envying and strife in Peaceableness your Hearts glory not and lye not against the truth this wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual devillish for where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work Jam. 3. 14 15 16. Study therefore to be quiet and do do your own business 1 Thes 4. 11. Follow peace with all men Heb. 12. 14. Be at peace among your selves 1 Thes 5. 13. Seek peace and ensue it 1 Pet. 3. 11. And follow after the things that make for peace Rom. 14. 19. And if it be possible and as much as lieth in you live peaceably with all men Rom. 12. 18. FOR the obtaining of this the greatest Blessing upon Earth such a perfect Virtues relating to Civil Government Peace as may resemble the State of the Blessed in Heaven there are other Virtues still which relate directly to our Governours To our Temporal Governours That we render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's Matth. 22. 21. That we pay to all their dues Tribute to whom Tribute is due Custom to whom Custom Fear to whom Fear Honour to whom Honour Rom. 13. 7. That we submit our selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as Supreme or unto Governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of them that do well for so is the Will of God 1 Pet. 2. 13 14. And that every Soul be subject unto the higher Powers because there is no power but of God the powers that be are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the Ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation Wherefore we must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for Conscience sake Rom. 13. 1 2 5. TO our Spiritual Gevernors also the To our Spiritual Governours Bishops and other Pastors of the Church That we obey them that have the rule over us and submit our selves for they watch for our souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for us Heb. 13. 17. That we know them which labour among us and are over us in the Lord and admonish us That we esteem them very highly in love for their works 1 Thes 5. 12 13. That such as rule well be counted worthy of double honour especially they who labour with toyl and hazard in the word and doctrine 1 Tim. 5. 17. TO the whole Estate and Body of the Church also That we forsake not the To the whole State of the Church assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is Heb. 10. 25. That we be not contentious about Circumstantials where we have no such Custom nor the Churches of God 1 Cor. 11. 16. That we endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace because there is one Body and one Spirit even as we are called in one hope of our calling One Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in us all Epes 4. 3 4 5 6. Therefore I beseech you Brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no division among you but that ye be perfectly joined in the same mind and in the same judgment 1 Cor. 1. 10. And that ye give none offence neither to the Jews nor to the Gentles nor to the Church of God 1 Cor. 10. 32. IF these things be in you and abound Virtues relating unto God you
Use PURSUANT to this Design I have formerly discoursed at large of the Nature of the Ends of the Dignity and Usefulness of this weighty Ordinance which things if Men would but seriously consider and carry in their Thoughts they could not easily neglect a matter of such importance without offering violence to their Judgments and acting against their own Reason BUT there is a great deal of matter yet behind which immediately and directly serveth to engage all of us to discharge our Duty in this particular and also to govern us in the discharging of it And the first thing that offers it self to our Consideration is touching that Necessity which lyeth upon us to eat of this Bread and to drink of this Cup. NOW in order to our better proceeding upon this Subject we must note that there is a Twofold Necessity which relateth to the matter in hand 1. First Some things are Absolutely and Indispensably Necessary because they are the fixt and immovable Conditions of the New Covenant without the performance whereof Salvation cannot be expected by us So to Believe in Christ to Mortifie our Lusts to have a Sanctified Spirit to be Humble Charitable and the like these things are Absolutely Necessary for without Faith and Repentance and entire Holiness of heart none of us can see the Lord. 2. Secondly Some things are Necessary Respectively and upon Supposition that is supposing that there is some Command for them though they be not necessary in their own Nature but are required chiefly to try and Exercise Mens Obedience Or supposing that they are appointed as certain and effectual Means in order to some great and Necessary End and as Instruments to bring us those Mercies which our Souls stand in need of Now when we say 't is Necessary to receive the Sacraments of Christs Body and Blood the meaning is not that it is absolutely simply indispensably and universally necessary so that no Man can possibly be saved without it For no Rites whatsoever are to be accounted of equal moment with substantial Morality and things of Positive Institution though they be necessary in their Kind and Quality yet they are not necessary in that degree as those things are which are good in themselves and which carry an eternal Reason and Obligation along with them In some cases a Ritual Ordinance may be omitted and it is not the bare Omission but the wilful Neglect and Contempt of it that is Criminal in God's account This is evident from the case of Circumcision which was of old a Seal of the Covenant between God and the Jews We find in the fourth of Exodus that when Moses wilfully forbore to Circumcise his Son the anger of the Lord was so kindled against him that he met him in his Journey and sought to kill him and as some Hebrew Doctors tell us did actually smite him with a sudden Disease and yet we find in the 5th of Joshua that afterwards the Jews omitted Circumcision for many years together in the Wilderness whether it was because they were then upon their Travel as some think or because they were not yet mingled with the Heathens and so needed not as yet to be Circumcised as others are of opinion this is certain that we do not read that God was displeased with them for not having been Circumcised though he was often displeased with them for their Infidelity THE same thing is observed of the Passover Vid. Selden de Synedr Lib. 2. Cap. 2. it self that it was omitted in the Wilderness for about forty years together because the Celebration of it depended upon the use of Circumcision For in order to the due Celebration of the Passover it was necessary not only for the Fathers of Families to be Circumcised themselves but moreover for all the Males in their Housholds to be Circumcised too Exod. 12. 48 49. So that Circumcision being pretermitted for so many years the Celebration of the Passover did also of course cease for that time HENCE we may easily collect that things of Positive Institution are not equally necessary with those Duties which are naturally and eternally good In like manner when the Jews were in Captivity and could not Solemnly present themselves before God in his Sanctuary the Law was not executed upon them As long as they were in those sad Circumstances it was their Unhappiness and Punishment that they could not go with their Lambs to the Temple but 't was not their sin that they did it not THUS it was with the Jews under the Law as to things of this Nature and thus it is too with People under the Gospel as to matters of the like Condition Baptism now is necessary yet not so necessary as Faith and Regeneration nor must we presume to say that all Persons who die Unbaptized are everlastingly miserable For though it be said St. Mark 16. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved yet in the next words Damnation is the Punishment of Unbelief only it is not said He that is not Baptized shall be Damned Baptism is indeed the standing and ordinary Means which we are tied to use but it doth not follow that God so tieth up his own hands that he cannot by Virtue of his unlimited Prerogative dispense with a Rite and shew his Mercy at his Pleasure 'T is even thus in the case concerning the receiving of this blessed Sacrament It is an Ordinance of Divine Institution and so it is communiter ordinariè in its Kind and in a general construction necessary to Eternal Happiness But yet some Persons are not capable nor in a condition to prepare themselves for it as Children and Lunaticks and the like Now in such a case the Rule is that no man is obliged to act nisi positis omnibus ad agendum requisitis unless there be a sufficient presence of all Qualifications that are necessary for the Action Or some inevitable cross Accident may unexpectedly happen so that a Man cannot eat that Bread with his Mouth which his Soul longeth after And in this case the Rule is that no man is bound to Impossibilities nor shall any one be condemned for not performing that which is out of his reach and power Ones case may be such that it may not be in his Power to receive and therefore to communicate of the outward Symbols is not so absolutely necessary as it is to Believe and Repent HOWEVER out of these two Cases it is very highly necessary to receive the Sacramental Bread and Wine that is supposing a Man be capable of Receiving so that he cannot plead want of Vnderstanding or want of due Information at least cannot pretend that he wants Means of being instructed And supposing that he hath Occasions and Opportunities of Receiving so that he cannot plead want of Time or Power and I am sure this cannot be our Plea who have been bred up under the Instructions of a most indulgent and provident Church in this case I say
what a Man hath done he wisheth were undone and resolves to do so no more And this is the Notion which the Christian Doctors of Old entertained of this matter as * Lombard lib. 4. dist 14. Est autem poenitentia ut dit Ambrosius mala praeterita plangere plangenda iterum non committere Haec vera est poenitentia cessare a peccato Id. Item Gregorius poenitere est anteacta peccata deflere slend◠non committere Ita Isidorus Irrisor est non poenitens qui adhuc agit quod poenitet Item Augustinus Inanis est poenitentia quam sequens culpa coinquinat Quibus addendum illud Tertulliani ubi emendatio nulla poenitentia vana Peter Lombard himself doth very plainly acknowledge that true Repentance lyeth in a sincere Sorrow for all past Miscarriages and in a resolution never to return again with the Dog to his Vomit or with the Sow that is washed to her wallowing in the mire THE Holy Scripture which in this and all other necessary Speculations is our only sure and infallible Guide gives us this short account of the Nature of Repentance that it is the eschewing of Evil and the doing of Good So that it is a perfect change of a Man's purposes and courses the forsaking of all Iniquity a New State a Life of Sanctity and Goodness And they that place it in a little sorrow of the Mind joyned with Auricular Confession and the outward Austerities and Chastisements of the Body shew more their Love of Childishness and a regard for their own Interest and Authority over Poor People than their Skill in sound Divinity To Repent signifies in the Sacred Dialect to become a New Man to have an Heart Renewed and Transform'd and to follow a New that is a Religious course of Life The Scripture indeed hath several Expressions that signifie this change 'T is called a New Creature the Renovation of the Mind and Spirit the putting on of the New Man the purging of the Heart from an Evil Conscience the abhorring of Evil and cleaving to that which is Good the turning to God the Dying to Sin the Mortifying of our Lusts and Affections Repentance from dead Works and many more the like Expressions there are but these are only various delineations of the same thing several Words and Phrases proper to Divinity whereby is meant the total rectifying of a Man's Temper and Life or as even an Heathen Hierocles * Hieroc in Pythag. p. 166. describes it the recovering of that clean Life which by a mixture of Passions was Defiled the correcting of all inconsiderate courses the shunning of all Foolish Actions and Words and the Institution of such a Life as is not to be Repented of For our Nature being vitiated and depraved the Business of Religion is to new-mould our Tempers to take away every thing that sowers Humanity and unbecometh Creatures that ought to be governed by right Reason and so by degrees to bring us as near as 't is possible to the Temper of Christ and to the Nature of God himself The Reason of it is because the ultimate end of Christ's Religion is to make us perfectly Happy in another World in order whereunto 't is absolutely necessary for us to partake of the Divine Nature in this Life and to be made like unto God in Goodness and Purity For all Happiness doth consist in the Enjoyment of that which Answers ones Desires which agrees with his Mind which is suitable to his Faculties which gives him all manner of Satisfaction So that in the Nature of the thing it is impossible for a Man to be fit for the Enjoyment of Heaven that is not of an Heavenly Mind and Temper The Condition of that place is not suitable to the frame and disposition of any filthy Heart And therefore every Evil Man that Dies before his Heart is changed must be Miserable of course for he carries a Hell along with him he goes out of the World with such a Temper as makes him fit only for the Society and Conversation of Wicked Spirits Men that are Fierce Haughty and Froward Men that are full of Malice and bitterness Men that hate every thing that is good Men that delight in Cruelties and Bloodshed Men that are Contentious Vexatious and Troublesome Men that are in Love with Mischief that Live without God that mind only Earthly and Wicked things and that wallow in Sensualities and Uncleanness whither can we suppose such Devilish Tempers fit to go but to the Company of Devils and Spirits like unto themselves It requires a great deal of care and pains to mend a Man's Nature to rectifie and regulate his Temper so as to dispose him for the Enjoyment of God and to make him receptive and capable of the Felicities of Heaven It is an exellent Expression that of St. Paul's Col. 1. 12. Giving thanks unto the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that hath made us fit for a Portion of that Inheritance that hath so wrought upon our Hearts that we are Prepared and Qualified rightly Fitted and Condition'd for the Enjoyment of Heaven NOW all this is done by a sincere and hearty Repentance when a Man reflecting upon the Love of God and upon the Folly Turpitude and Heinousness of his own Sins is broken in Heart through a deep Sense of them and from that hour vows and resolves upon entire Obedience to the Divine Will Accordingly he enters presently upon a New State of Life governing his Desires with a strong hand checking his former Inclinations keeping his Lusts and Affections under command and stedfastly resisting those Temptations which Betray'd him before into the hands of the Destroyer By this means he extirpates by degrees those vitious habits which once were not only his Life but his Plague too and by using himself to a course of Virtue and Religion which he finds to be infinitely more easie and delightful as well as safe he soon comes to be out of Love with Sin and is so renewed in the Spirit of his Mind that the great care and employment of his Life is to Reform himself Universally and to yield up his Members as the Servants and Instruments of Righteousness THIS is briefly the Nature of Repentance a perfect and total change and they are very dangerously mistaken who are taught to believe that if they find in themselves some Remorse of Conscience some trouble of Mind together with general and imperfect purposes of amendment their Penitence is sufficient as long as they have the Priest's Absolution Alas all this comes vastly short of Reformation without which all the rest are Vnprofitable For all the Absolutions in the World will do no good without an utter detestation and forsaking of Sin in the Penitent nor will all his Fears all his Remorse all his Confessions avail him if when he goes for Absolution he looks with a
kind and friendly Eye upon his Vices and cherisheth that Uncleanness in his Bosom which by the Laws of God he is bound to cast away For it is no easie matter for any to lead a Lewd Life without some trouble and unquietness of Mind and for a Man first to Sin and then Confess and then Sin again is nothing else but to drive a circular Trade of Hypocrisie for all this is very consistent with a Wicked Life Because after this rate there is no necessity of entire and universal Holiness without which St. Paul saith there is no seeing of God but People may give themselves up all their days to all manner of Wickedness and Villany and may think to be Saved nevertheless What a smooth and pleasant way would this be into the Kingdom of God were it but true How easily after this rate is the Sinner and the Saint reconciled But what a Scandal is it to Christianity and what a fatal prejudice is it to a good Life when Men are taught such an Artificial Method how to Save their Souls and their Sins too For who will undertake that troublesom and painful task of Mortifying his Lusts of parting with a right Eye of cutting off a right hand and of being Crucifyed to the World if he be perswaded that he cannot possibly miscarry as long as he hath at hand such a present and easie Remedy as this is Confess and be Absolved Be not therefore deceived in a case of such huge moment and weight True Repentance is not a thing of such quick and superficial dispatch it must reach to the very Heart and Marrow it must alter and transform the whole Man it must bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance it must express it self by an Universal Obedience to the Precepts of the Gospel it must have that good effect upon Mens Spirits as to make them follow whatsoever things are Just and Honest and Pure and Lovely and of good Report 2. THE Nature of Repentance being thus Explained I shall not need to spend much time upon the next point touching those Special Grounds and Reasons which render Repentance necessary before we go to the Communion For every Man's Conscience cannot but tell him that he ought to come to so Sacred a Mystery with clean Hands and a very pure Heart However that Discourses of this kind may not seem fantastical and groundless the Necessity of this thing will plainly appear from these following Considerations 1. From that Analogy which this Evangelical Christian Feast beareth unto those Antient Sacrifical Feasts of which I have formerly Discoursed at large At those Solemnities as Gyraldus observes even the Heathens thought it the most necessary part of their Religion to be free from an Evil Conscience In Sacrificiis rite celebrandis majorem nullam ceremoniam fuisse videmus quam nil sibi conscire bonos ac pios esse Gyrald Hist deor synt 17. They were wont at those times to Confess their Guilt to Profess Repentance for all their Faults and by their dejected Countenances and Id. ibid. modest Behaviour to express their great Sorrows for what was past They would wash their Bodies in Rivers and present themselves at the Altars of their Gods in pure and clean Apparel with washen Hands and naked Feet as significations of the Purity of their Minds and when the Solemnity began as the Priest asked with a loud voice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who is here So the People answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 many Men and Good esteeming Sanctity and Goodness to be absolutely necessary in such as were to Feast before their Deities Among the Jews it was customary to use several Ritual ways of Sanctification such as the cleansing of their Bodies and the scowring of their very Cloaths before they presented their Oblations unto God or durst to feed upon the remains of their Sacrifices They had divers washings and carnal Ordinances imposed upon them until the time of Reformation saith the Apostle Heb. 9. 10. One eminent instance we have 1 Sam. 16. there Samuel goes to Bethlehem to Sacrifice unto the Lord and to Feast with Jesse and his Sons upon part of the Oblations but before he would either slay the Heifer or sit down with them at Meat he commanded them to Sanctifie themselves according to the Custom v. 5. Now these legal Purifications were so many Notices and Indications of that inward and Spiritual Purity which is necessary in all who present themselves before the Lord and profess to be of his Houshold and Family For which Reason the Prophets who were Expositors of the Law called upon the People at every turn to mind that Sanctity of Heart and Spirit which was signified by these External Rites and without which all their Services were so many vain Oblations So God himself calls them Jer. 1. 12 13. When ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hand to tread my Courts Bring no more vain Oblations that is Heartless Sacrifices such Sacrifices as were without the Heart not of the Beast but of the Man empty Services that were without a broken and contrite Spirit To this purpose 't is said Isa 66. 3. He that killeth an Ox is as he that Slew a Man he that Sacrificeth a Lamb as he that cutteth off a Dog's neck he that offereth an Oblation as he that offereth the Blood of Swine and the Reason follows because they have chosen their own ways and their Soul delighteth in their own Abominations 'T is Holiness that God requires rather than Sacrifice and so much was intimated to them when they were appointed to wash before they entred into the Sanctuary To which purpose saith the Psalmist Psal 26. 6. I will wash my hands in Innocence and so will I compass thine Altar Meaning that by cleansing the outward parts Men were taught to Cleanse and Sanctifie their Minds chiefly and that Innocence is mainly necessary in such as go about to meddle with Holy things And this is particularly observable from the Ordinance concerning the Passover which was a Type and Shadow of this Christian Ordinance Though every Jew that was rightly Qualified was bound under pain of Death to bring the Offering of the Lord in his appointed Season yet if he had any Legal Impurities upon him if he were a Leper or had a running Issue or had been Defiled by touching a Dead Carcass then he was severely bound to forbear the Passover for a time he was to defer it for the space of a Month because it was a general Rule the Soul that eateth the Flesh of the Sacrifice of Peace-Offerings having his Uncleannesses upon him even that Soul shall be cut off from his People Lev. 7. 20. Philo the Jew hath rightly observed that God Instructed Men by these Rites and Forms and outward Symbols how they ought to make their approaches unto his Altar either to Pray or to give thanks unto him that they should bring no latent Diseases no
Tertullian to do good unto all Men without distinction or limitation Even the Old Law required the Jews not to hate their Brethren in their hearts Levit. 19. 17. Nay it required them to do friendly Offices to one another although there were enmity between them as we find Exod. 22. 4 5. If thou meet thine Enemies Ox or his Ass going astray thou shalt surely bring it back to him again c. But all this was meant with peculiar respect to their own Tribes and Countreymen for other Nations they were permitted to hate and in many Cases were bound to treat them after an hostile manner But Christ's Religion carries a far different Spirit with it A Christian is bound to look upon every Child of Adam as his Neighbour though an Enemy even to the Faith though without Christ though an alien from the Commonwealth of Israel and consequently he is obliged not only to abhor all malicious Designs against him but moreover to extend the utmost of his Charity unto him like the common Maker and Father of us all whose mercy is over all his Works Ye have heard saith Christ Mat. 5. That it hath been said thou shalt love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy But I say unto you love your Enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despightfully use you and persecute you that you may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven for he maketh his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth rain on the Just and Vnjust For if ye love them only which love you what reward have ye Do not even the Publicans the same And if ye Salute your Brethren only what do you more than others Do not even the Publicans so Alas this comes infinitely short of the boundless and most generous Spirit of Christianity which teacheth us not to be overcome by Evil but to overcome Evil with Good if an Enemy hunger to feed him if he thirst to give him drink and by so doing to heap coals of fire upon his head to melt and intender his Spirit instead of calling for fire from Heaven to consume him as those Disciples would have done upon the heads of the Samaritans who knew not what Sweetness and Charity the Christians Spirit is of 2. THUS you see the nature of that Charity which consisteth in Fraternal Forgiveness in its full Latitude and Extent To come closer to our purpose yet let us now in the next place consider the particular necessity of this thing when we Celebrate this Divine Mystery Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us is a Prayer we use daily by our Lord 's own directions and thereby we are taught that Charity is always to be mixt with our Devotion and that we should pity the necessity of others Souls as often as we call for mercy upon our own But as I have already shewn you there are at this great Solemnity Special and Peculiar Reasons to to actuate not only our Faith and Repentance but our Charity too in its several Parts and Properties and therefore laying aside at present the Consideration of those General Obligations which are derived from the Commands of Christ that were given on other Occasions I shall take notice only of those special Reasons which have a more peculiar influence upon our minds from the Consideration of this Mystery IF thou bring thy Gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy Brother hath ought against thee leave there thy Gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift Matth. 5. 23 24. It was this place of Scripture which gave occasion to the Primitive Christians to call the Lord's Table an Altar and just as they went about to offer up their Sacrifices of Prayer Praises and Alms-deeds to express their Reconciliation and perfect Love by Saluting each other with an Holy Kiss the Deacon having called out unto them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let none have ought against another The peculiar Reasons of this Charity may be drawn from these 4 Considerations 1. FROM the Consideration of that Analogy which this Christian Feast bears to the Sacrifical Banquets of old to which this Banquet doth in some measure correspond * Illud autem observatum ab antiquis videmus ut quoties Supplicationes aut lectisternia indicerentur a jurgiis litibus abstinerent vinctis vincula demerent Gyrald Syntag. 17. page 482. The Heathens themselves were wont at those Solemnities to give over all Strifes and Controversies and to release such miserable Creatures as were in Prisons and Bonds By the common light of Nature they found it necessary for them all to appear before God with Calm and Unpassionate Minds to testifie their freedom from sowerness and rancour by expressions of Humanity and Forgiveness so that their Religious Feasts seem'd to resemble that Charistia which Valerius Maximus speaks of a Feast of Love and entire Friendship I do not speak this to lessen the Dignity of this Christian Eucharist but to shew that if they made it a great part of their Religion to be thus dispos'd who wanted the assistance of Divine Revelation and fed only upon Ritual and mean Entertainments which the Custom of Nations had made every where common certainly the Noblest acts of Charity must be required of us who have been so often told of the infinite Love of God to us and have the singular Honour and Happiness to feed together upon that Lamb of God which was Sacrificed for the forgiveness of the whole World 2. HERE we Celebrate the Memorial of our Saviour's Sufferings who refused not to be kist by the impurest lips in the World even when he knew that Judas his own Disciple his Almoner came to betray him who called him by no harder Name than Friend who healed the Officers Ear which had been cut off by the rash zeal of another Disciple who held his peace though oppress'd at his Tryal with false accusations who took no notice of the rudeness of their malice when his implacable Enemies spit upon him buffeted him smote him on the face with their hands that wanted nothing but to be embrewed in his Blood who forgave Peter though he had Apostatiz'd and flatly denyed him with Oaths and Imprecations who pityed not himself but those poor People that followed him with tears to his Crucifixion and used that soft expression to them Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your Children who was led as a Lamb to the Slaughter and as a Sheep that before his Shearers is dumb who when he was reviled reviled not again and when he suffered threatned not but closed up his Life with a most Charitable Prayer for his Enemies forgiveness in a word who throughout this whole affair behaved himself with the most eminent Candour Meekness Goodness and
I will repay it saith the Lord. 4. AS appeals to the Magistrate in weighty Cases are Lawful for he is the Minister of God and his Office is to Relieve such as are Oppressed so must the Proceedings before him be without Covetousness without Envy without Sinister Arts and without any Gall and Bitterness of Spirit For whatever a Man's Losses are he must not lose or let go his Charity He should Love and Pity and be ready to shew Mercy and to do good Offices to the Offender even when he seeks Reparations for the Offence it self An enraged Heart an Ulcerated Mind Affections foaming out hatred and malice these are the worst of Plaintiffs in the best of Causes They spoil in a great measure a very just Controversie and make it all one in effect with Cruelty and Revenge with this scurvy difference that a Malicious Suit many times cuts deeper wounds than a private stroak when 't is commenced upon premeditation and carried on with implacability and is at last armed with the Sword of publick Justice NOW by these Four Rules a Man may examine his Condition and make a right judgment of his Charity as every one ought to do before he comes to the Holy Communion If he seeks for Reparation by fair means and after a Friendly and Christian manner if it be not any inward rancour or hatred that moves him to it but only the nature of the injury if it be of such importance as that it makes Redress necessary either for himself or for his Relatives who have a dependance upon him and some share with him in all his Civil Rights if he be not his own avenger but commits his Cause into the hands of those who judge for the Lord and if in his whole Behaviour he manageth himself with Christian simplicity and candour of mind and with an heart desirous of perfect Reconciliation and Peace I do not see what just reason such a Man hath to forbear the use of the Holy Sacrament The Injurer indeed is bound to make Reparation and by all possible means to Sollicite his Friendship and to beg his Forgiveness but the injured Party hath done all that either a Good or a Prudent Person can be supposed able to do in such Circumstances But if Malice or Spight or Inhumanity a Quarrelsom Mind a vexatious Spirit an Oppressive or Revengeful Humour be at the bottom of all this or in any part of it I have no more to say but that such a one must bewail his great wickedness and Repent of it and implore the forgiveness of God and Man for it and endeavour to new-mould and rectifie his Uncharitable and Unchristian Temper before he presume to go to the Lord's Table the Blessed Sacrament being too Holy a Thing to be put into the mouth of a Tyger or a Wolf And so much shall suffice to be spoken upon this Subject CHAP. X. Of our Behaviour at the time of Receiving HAVING thus Largely Discoursed upon the point of Preparation because it is of such vast Concernment in order to our acceptance with God I proceed now to what is yet behind For hitherto I have brought you but as it were to the Porch of the Temple and must lead you next to the very Altar of God and consequently must shew first what you are to do there and then how you are to behave your selves after your departure thence 1. FIRST then we are to Consider that we are going upon no less a business than to offer up our Whole Man not our Souls only though that be the chief Oblation but our very Bodies also a Living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is our reasonable Service as St. Paul speaks Rom. 12. 1. 2. THAT we may not present the Sacrifice of Fools nor turn our Offerings into an Abomination 't is necessary for us to entertain very serious and awful thoughts of God's Omniscience that we are in his presence and under his eye that he observes our whole deportment that he searcheth our Hearts and Reins and understandeth our Thoughts afar off Accordingly we must present our selves before him not as a thing of course or only to comply with a Custom but as in the sight of God with reverent apprehensions of his Divine and Infinite Majesty with all Lowliness and Humility of Mind with Souls bowing and cast down to the dust under the sense of our own unworthiness with Consciences void of all Offence with Spirits enflamed with the Love of God and Man and with that true sincerity and simplicity which is the inseparable Ornament of every honest heart and which in the sight of God is of great price 3. THE happy hour being now come that we are to be entertained at God's Table and must take the Seals of his Covenant into our Mouths we should remember the promises we made to God in private we should repeat our Vows and Resolutions and put our Souls upon fresh exercises of Faith and Holiness SEEING Holiness ever becometh the House of God and especially when we Celebrate this Holy Mystery we are to void and empty our Minds as much as 't is possible of every thing that is earthly or unclean to lift up our hearts and fix them upon things above to employ our thoughts only upon that Divine Service we are now concern'd in to be full of Heavenly Contemplations and so to warm our affections by them that with Angels or Archangels and with all the Company of Heaven we may most devoutly Praise and Magnisie the Name of him whom those Blessed Spirits above continually worship and rest not day and Night saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come BE sure to act your Repentance over again because this is the thing which through the blood of Christ doth sanctifie the unclean and render us capable of the Benefits of the Sacrament Mortifie therefore your Members which are upon the Earth and all the sinful deeds of the Body Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Inordinate Affection Evil Concupiscence Covetousness which is Idolatry Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murthers Drunkenness Revellings and such like of which the Holy Scripture plainly tells us that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Gal. 5. 21. These Vices therefore and whatever else any of us may be more especially addicted or enclined to we must seriously endeavour by the help of God's Grace and to the utmost of our power to subdue and cast away from us and then is a most necessary time to do this at least to do it in purpose and resolution of heart when we are now going to the Holy Table then it is time indeed to resolve upon amendment and newness of Life and to vow entire obedience to the Laws of Christ's Religion as far as 't is consistent with this State of mortality and weakness and as far as 't is possible for poor Creatures that are compassed about with so
Promises at his hands THIS is enough to shew what a becoming and suitable posture Kneeling is at this Great Solemnity and how Naturally it follows where People entertain right Notions of it and come unto it with humble Minds Nor can I sufficiently admire that of all the Usages in the Christian Church this so Significant so Decent a Ceremony should ever become a stumbling-block and matter of Dispute Certainly it must be an ill sign of very Lofty Imaginations when there is such stiffness in Mens Knees BUT it is high time for me to proceed CHAP. XII Of our Behaviour after Receiving WHEN we have thus devoutly employ'd this blessed hour we must not imagine that our great Business is at an end that we may now drop those Religious Considerations which hitherto took up our time and thoughts that we may now go home leaving our Vows and Resolutions behind us in the Church much less may we think our selves free to fall afresh upon our former course of Life I must tell you the greatest part of our business is yet before us and to stop and rest here in the performance of those things which have hitherto employ'd our minds is the ready way to unravel our whole work and to defeat the design of this Heavenly Ordinance For this Rite of Eating and Drinking at the Lord's Table though it be of admirable use yet it is not naturally and intrinsecally good as those Acts and Dispositions of the Mind are wherein the Substance and Excellence of Religion doth consist but it iâ— a Relative thing instituted by our Saviour as a Means to promote and carry on that Noble End for which the Grace of God hath appeared unto all Men that denying all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Tit. 2. 12. Here indeed we lay the Foundation of a life of Virtue by devoting unto God the Powers and Faculties of our Souls and the Members of our Bodies but as the Ground-work is in order to a Superstructure so are our Actions now in order to the further edifying and perfecting of us that we may be built up more and more in our most Holy Faith and being sitly framed together and compacted may grow and rise up by degrees to an Holy Temple for the Lord to be an Habitation of God through the Spirit THIS you will easily perceive if you observe 1. The Nature of the Ordinance it self It is first a Representation of the very Death of Christ a Representation exhibited to our Sences by the breaking of the Bread and the effusion of the Wine And what doth this mean but to awaken our Fears by shewing us the Terror of the Lord who for the expiation of the World's Guilt spared not his own Son nor would be reconciled to the World at a lower rate than by delivering him up to Torments and Death for us all What doth it mean but to set our Zeal a work upon mortifying all our Lusts and Affections and upon perfecting Holiness in the fear of God because Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and Purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good works What doth it mean but to make us ever watchful and circumspect lest we tread under foot the Blood of the Son of God Because if we sin wilfully after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin Heb. 10. 26. It is secondly a Memorial of Christ's Love Love stronger than Death that made him give his life a ransom for the ungodly And what doth this mean but to kindle in our Hearts the most ardent Affections to Him again who so loved us as to die for us The greatest Affection this that 't is possible for any Mortal Man to express to lay down his Life for the Brethren But yet infinitely short of that which the Son of God expressed upon the Cross for his Enemies In this he commended his Love towards us above all proportion and comparison in that while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us the Just for the Vnjust It is thirdly a foederal Solemnity whereby we renew the Covenant we entred into at our Baptism Vowing Promising and Engaging over the Symbols of Christ's Body and Blood and Swearing as it were with our Hands laid upon the Redeemer of our Souls that we will henceforth walk in Newness of Life And what doth this mean but to bind us with the most Solemn Securities and under the most dreadful Penalties to renounce the Devil and all his Works to deny all the Lusts of the Flesh so as not to follow or be led by them and not only to offer up our Hearts and Spirits unto the God of Purity but to present even our Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy and Acceptable to him And for the farthering of all these Noble Ends this Mystery is in the Fourth place the very Means of Grace and Salvation an Instrument that conveys to us the present Possession of all necessary and suitable Assistances and a Title under Seal to all the Evangelical Promises and particularly to this that he that persevereth unto the end the same shall be saved and that to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality God will render Eternal Life Rom. 2. 7. And what doth this mean too but that we should grow in Grace that we must not grieve the good Spirit of God whereby we are Sealed to the day of Redemption but that we should be strong in the Lord and in the power of his Might and give all manner of diligence to make our Calling and Election unto Grace sure and effectual by adding to our Faith Virtue or Courage and to Virtue Knowledge and to Knowledge Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly Kindness and to Brotherly Kindness Charity Charity in the highest degree to all Mankind and even to our Enemies Thus you see the nature of the Ordinance it self is such that it is not only highly useful for the present but of mighty Importance for the future it hath a tendency forward and it drives at mighty Ends which our endeavours are to be employ'd about after the Celebration of it is over that we may be more and more Partakers of the Divine Nature and come every day nearer and nearer to the Life of God TO confirm this still we may observe Secondly That those very Preparations which are required in order to our worthy Communicating do all look the same way and have a direct tendency to the same purpose Thus Faith or the hearty belief of the truth of our Religion upon those Evidences and Motives it carries with it is naturally productive of constant Obedience to the Precepts of it throughout the whole course of our lives For as it discovers to us the Folly the Shamefulness and the bitter Fruits of Sin so it shews
Vniversal and Vniform or that we habitually live according to the whole Will of God because where we come short of this Vniformity there we come short of that Perfection and by consequence of that Happiness which is the great scope and design of Christianity This is the meaning of Divines when they tell us that there must be in us a Perfection of Parts though we are not capable of a perfection of Degrees that is there must be the presence of every Virtue though there be at the same time such a mixture of Corruption with our noblest Endowments that we cannot exercise them in that high pitch as we shall do in the next Life when we shall be of perfect Stature even as a Child in the Womb hath all the necessary Parts and Lineaments of a Man though it will be long before he comes to a full Growth and Proportion CONSIDER then I beseech you and you especially who have been Partakers of the Blessed Viands of Immortality what strict Obligations ye have entred into and what manner of Persons ye ought to be in all Holy Conversation and Godliness You are now to fulfil all Righteousness you are now to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts you are now to do as the Combatants in the old Olympick Games to lay aside every weight that might oppress and every Incumbrance that might intangle you and to run with Perseverence the race that is set before you and you are to remember what the Apostle tells us Jam. 2. 10. Whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point is become guilty of all that is Guilty of Disobedience and Obnoxious to Punishment as well as if he had violated all THAT you may not miscarry therefore through the Wilful neglect of any necessary Duty or by the presumptuous Commission of any heinous Sin lay daily before your Eyes the perfect Law of Liberty which our Blessed Saviour and his Apostles have left us as the Infallible Rule of a perfectly Christian Life And for your more easie performance I shall now briefly represent to you a Scheme and Platform of Virtue agreeable to those Precepts which are scatter'd up and down in the Holy Scriptures as a very fit and proper Undertaking to come at the close of this whole Subject I begin with that which is the source and Principle of our Actions whether they be good or evil the inner Man Keep thy Heart with all diligence for out of it are the Issues of Life Prov. 4. 25. As a good Man cut of the good Treasure of the Heart bringeth forth good things so an evil Man out of the evil Treasure bringeth forth evil things Matth. 12. 35. For out of the Heart proceed evil Designs Murders Adulteries Fornications Thefts false Witness Blasphemies Mat. 15. 19. It is a good thing therefore that principally in this sense the Heart be established with Grace Heb. 13. 9. Blessed are the pure in Heart for they shall see God Matth. 5. 8. THE good things which come out of this hidden Treasure are usually divided into three general kinds as St. Paul hath reckoned them Tit. 2. 12. Sobriety Righteousness and Godliness Under which three Heads are comprehended all the several Duties which relate to our selves and to our Neighbours and to God himself According to which Division I shall proceed FIRST to lay before you those Virtues which more immediately relate to your selves in a separate and Personal capacity as I find them proposed in the Holy Scriptures LEARN of Christ in the very first place to be lowly in Heart Mat. 11. 29. God hath respect unto the lowly Ps 138. 6. He giveth Grace unto the lowly Prov. 3. 34. Be ye therefore cloathed with Humility 1 Pet. 5. 5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it no Robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no Reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant and was made in the likeness of Men and being found in Fashion as a Man he humbled himself and became Obedient unto Death even the death of the Cross Phil. 2. 5 6 7 8. That no one of you be puffed up 1 Cor. 4. 6. That ye be not high minded but fear Rom. 11. 20. That ye mind not high things but condescend to Men of low Estate Rom. 12. 16. That ye think not of your selves more highly than ye ought to think but think soberly according as God hath dealt to every Man the Measure of Faith Rom. 12. 3. And that ye trust not in uncertain Riches but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy 1 Tim 6. 17. NEXT of Kin to this Virtue of Humility is that of Meekness such a Beauty of the Mind that it is called the Ornament of a meek and a quiet Spirit which even in the sight of God is of great Price 1 Pet. 3. 4. To recommend it unto us God requires us to be as he himself is slow to wrath Jam. 1. 19. To cease from Anger Ps 37. 8. Not to be angry without a cause Mat. 5. 22. Nor to be angry in such a measure as to Sin or to let the Sun go down upon our Wrath Ephes 4. 26. But to put on Bowels of Mercy Kindness Meekness Long-suffering Col. 3. 12. And to let all Bitterness and Wrath and Anger and Clamour and Evil-speaking be put away from us with all Malice Ephes 4. 31. THESE two Virtues being deeply radicated Patience will naturally produce in us great Temper and Firmness of Mind in any grievous Circumstances God himself though he be provoked every day is long-suffering towards us The Blessed Jesus endured all the Contradictions of Sinners against himself Heb. 12. 3. And when he suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously 1 Pet. 2. 23. And all this to leave us an Example that we should follow his Steps 1 Pet. 2. 21. That we should possess our Souls in Patience Luk. 21. 19. That we be patient in Tribulations Rom. 12. 12. That we endure Afflictions 2 Tim. 4. 5. That we endure to the End 1 Pet. 1. 13. And when any fiery Tryal comes that we should not wonder or be troubled as if some strange thing hapned but rejoyce inasmuch as we are partakers of Christ's Sufferings that when his Glory shall be revealed we may be glad also with exceeding Joy 1 Pet. 4. 12 13. THIS leads on the slighting of all Mortification things here below when they stand in competition with the love of God and a good Conscience Love not the World neither the things that are in the World if any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him 1 Joh. 2. 15. Therefore let your Conversation be without Covetousness Heb. 13. 5. Lay not for your selves Treasures upon Earth Matth. 6. 19. If Riches encrease set not your Heart upon them Ps 62. 10. Neither take
any anxious thought for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what ye shall put on Matth. 6. 25. But use this World as those that use it not for the Fashion of this World passeth away Heb. 7. 31. INSTEAD of this set your Affection Heavenly-Mindedness on things above Col. 3. 2. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness Matth. 6. 33. Let your Conversation be in Heaven Phil. 3. 20. Walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith ye are called and put off concerning the former Conversation the old Man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts and be renewed in the Spirit of your mind Ephes 4. 22 23. For to be carnally minded is Death but to be Spiritually minded is Life and Peace Rom. 8. 6. FROM this Heavenly-mindedness naturally Contentment springs another great Duty viz. to be satisfied with such a share and Portion of this World as it shall please God to dispense to us to be pleased with such things as we have Heb. 13. 5. And with that Food which God shall judge convenient for us Prov. 3. 8. And having Food and Raiment therewith to be content 1 Tim. 6. 8. WHOSOEVER will come after me Self-denial let him deny himself saith our Saviour Mark 8. 34. And these are necessary Acts of Self-denial to cast down Imaginations and every thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and to bring into Captivity every thought to the Obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10. 5. To count all things but loss for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus Phil. 3. 8. Not to trust in your selves that ye are Righteous Luke 18. 9. But to renounce your own Righteousness Phil. 3. 9. To deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts Tit. 2. 12. To part with a right Hand and right Eye Matth. 5. 29 30. that is with every the dearest and most useful thing when it is an occasion of Sin or an hindrance to Virtue and to forsake Houses Lands Father Mother and all that a Man hath for the sake of Christ Luke 14. 33. TO this add that other Evangelical Grace of Purity of Heart which is Purity of Heart when you mortifie your Members which are upon the Earth Fornication Uncleanness inordinate Affection and evil Concupiscence and when laying aside all Naughtiness and all Guile and all Hypocrisie as new born Babes you desire the sincere Milk of the Word that you may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2. 1 2. IN order to this Temperance is a very Temperance necessary Virtue Every Man that striveth for the Mastery is Temperate in all things 1 Cor. 9. 25. And to this purpose are those Directions that we should cast off the works of Darkness that we should walk honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness Rom. 13. 12 13. Not in Excess of Wine Revellings and Banquetings 1 Pet. 4. 3. Not to suffer our Hearts to be overcharged with Surfeiting Luke 21. 34. But to abstain from such Fleshly Lusts as War against the Soul 1 Pet. 2. 11. To add to our Knowledge Temperance 2 Pet. 1. 6. To keep under the Body and bring it into Subjection 1 Cor. 9. 27. AND for the Improving and perfecting Fortitude of all these Virtues we are to arm our selves with Resolution and Courage to watch to stand fast in the Faith to quit our selves like Men to be strong 1 Cor. 16. 13. To resist the Devil Jam. 4. 7. To endure Temptation Jam. 1. 12. Not to fear them which kill the Body but are not able to kill the Soul but rather to fear him which is able to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell Mat. 10. 28. Finally to be strong in the Lord and in the Power of his Might and to put on the whole Armour of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil and having done all to stand Ephes 6. 10 11 13. AS for those Christian Virtues which have reference to others they are of great Variety according as we stand related differently unto them SOME more immediately concern our Virtues concerning private Families respective Families So Husbands are to love their Wives even as Christ loved the Church Ephes 5. 25. Not to be bitter against them Col. 3. 19. But to dwell with them according to Knowledge giving Honour to the Wife as to the weaker Vessel and as being Heirs together of the Grace of God that their Prayers be not hindred 1 Pet. 3. 7. Wives are to submit themselves to their own Husbands as unto the Lord Ephes 5. 22. Not learning to be Idle or to wander about from House to House neither to be Tatlers or Busie-bodies speaking things which they ought not 1 Tim. 5. 13. But to be in Behaviour as becometh Holiness to be Discreet Chaste Keepers at home Good Obedient to their own Husbands that the Word of God be not Blasphemed Tit. 2. 3. 5. Parents must not provoke their Children to Wrath but to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Ephes 6 4. And to lay up for them 2 Cor. 12. 14. Children on the other hand to obey their Parents in the Lord for this is right Honour thy Father and Mother which is the first Commandment with Promise that it may be well with thee and thou may'st live long on the Earth Ephes 6. 1 2 3. Servants to be subject to their Masters with all fear not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward 1 Pet. 2. 18. Not answering again not purloining but shewing all good Fidelity Tit. 2. 9. 10. Being Obedient with Fear and Trembling in singleness of Heart as unto Christ not with Eye-service as Men-pleasers but as the Servants of Christ doing the Will of God from the Heart With good will doing service as unto the Lord and not to men And ye Masters do the same things unto them forbearing threatning knowing that your Master also is in Heaven neither is there respect of Persons with him Ephes 6. 5 6 7 9. SOME Virtues relate to larger Societies Larger Societies Justice as Righteousness and Equity in your Dealings He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly Mich. 6. 8. Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you do ye even the same to them Matth. 7. 12. To do violence to no man Luc. 3. 14. Not to make haste to be rich Prov. 28. 20. By divers Weights and Measures both which are alike abomination to the Lord Prov. 20. 10. Not to go beyond or desraud our Brother in any matter 1 Thes 4. 6. Not to do wrong but rather to take it 1 Cor. 6. 7. But to have an honest conversation 1 Pet. 2. 12. In sâ—mplicity and godly sincerity 2 Cor. 1. 12. Because he that doth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done and
will be the better able to exercise those Virtues which relate immediately to the ever-blessed God The Original whereof is Love according to that in Matth. 22. Love 37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind Whereby are understood the Three Faculties of a Man's Spirit the Will the Affections and the Understanding And with these we are said to love God when they are vigorously employ'd about him when out of a deep sense of the Glory of his Nature and of his wonderful Goodness to his Creatures especially to Mankind we give up our selves entirely unto him obeying his Pleasure desiring and rejecting as he directs us still having him in our Thoughts and entertaining our Minds with ravishing Contemplations of his Divine Perfections And this is that which in the Scripture-Language we call The submitting unto God Jam. 4. 7. The yielding of our selves unto God Rom. 6. 13. Not the doing ones own Will but the Will of God Jo. 6. 38. The serving of him with Reverence and Godly fear Heb. 12. 28. Delighting our selves in the Lord Psal 37. 4. And in one general Expression our walking with God as it is said of Enoch Gen. 5. 22. UPON full Convictions of his Infinite Devotion Greatness and his All-sufficiency and Readiness to help us there ariseth another Virtue viz. Devotion That we offer up daily unto him the sacrifice of our lips and the more valuable Oblation of a broken spirit Psal 51. That we pray without ceasing 1 Thes 5. 17. That we offer up the Sacrifice of Praise to God continually that is that we pretermit no good Opportunities of making our Supplications and Addresses unto him CONSEQUENT hereunto is a Trust in him a Dependance upon him Resignation and an entire Resignation of our selves to his Care and Providence That we cast not our confidence away Heb. 10. 35. That we cast all our care on him who careth for us 1 Pet. 5. 7. That we commit the keeping of our Souls to him in well-doing 1 Pet. 4. 19. That we put our Trust in him as the holy Psalmist speaks over and over and that even against hope we believe in hope as it is said of Abraham the Father of the Faithful Rom. 4. 18. THE Contemplation of those amiable Imitation Perfections in God upon which these Virtues are grounded is naturally apt to produce in us a most earnest Desire to Resemble him as far as it is possible that we be Holy as he is Holy 1 Pet. 1. 15. That we be merciful as he is merciful Luc. 6. 36. And that we be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect Matth. 5. 48. AND because the Nature of God is Vniversal Obedience the measure and Rule of all Moral Perfection and the Laws he hath given to Mankind from the beginning are so many Revelations of himself therefore it is necessary for us Uniformly and Universally to observe those Laws whether we find them written in our Nature or in his Word And this is the utmost Perfection that a Man is capable of in this Life to shew our Love to him our Dependance upon him our profound Adoration and Imitation of him viz. Our keeping his Commandments Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole matter saith Solomon Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man Eccles 12. 13. I HAVE now done with all that I thought needful for you to Understand concerning this Sacrament And whether it be the Necessity of Receiving it or the Necessity of due Preparation or the Quality of the Things preparatory to the Communion or the Tendency of the Ordinance it self or the Care to be taken after the Solemnity is over you see what they all drive at in the End viz. a Sober Righteous and Godly Life And though in enumerating the several Particulars thereof some Virtues may have escaped me yet there are none I think untouched but what are fairly reducible to some of those things which I have mentioned Things which you cannot but say are suitable to Humane Reason Things which are highly Perfective of Humane Nature Things which are Good Lovely and of Infinite Satisfaction to our Minds Things which are Easie too if we will but heartily Apply our Minds to the Practice of them and make Use of that Divine Assistance which God giveth unto all that need it I dare say if you do these things you shall never fall And the very God of Peace Sanctifie you wholly that your whole Spirit Soul and Body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by W. 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