tender Father of a dear Redeemer and that the good and holy Spirit should have been so grieved by thee Eph. 4.30 And let the end of all this be that thou now at last come to a hatred and abhorrence of it and that thou art now going to Jesus to take up new Resolutions of Reformation Such as this let thy Examination be look back thus upon thy past dayes look into the State of thy Soul search it narrowly and as strictly as thou canst and see if there be any one known wilful Sin lodging in it and beg of God to discover it to thee and then take this opportunity of throwing it off forever Or if after a long Custom and habit it be not to be thrown off all at once then at least begin thy faithful resolutions and war against it now never leaving till by the grace of God always ready for those that beg and faithfully use it thou hast obtained the Victory and subdued it and here at the Lord's Table thou wilt get greater strength against it new Arguments against it The remembrance of thy dying Saviour's bleeding Love will assist thee in the conquest of it Come then let us go to our Jesus and to the Entertainment which he will make for us and let this Examination bring us to a sense of our Sins that the sense of them may bring us to a Humiliation and that humiliation may bring us to sincere Contrition and that Contrition may bring us to Repentance Reformation and Holyness that so we may come at length to see the Pleasures and Advantages of a Religious and Holy Life and tast those Sweets and Delicacies which we yet little think there are in such a state of Life and that so our past impieties may all be covered with the Robes of our Lord's Righteousness But that you may never hereafter be at a loss in your Examination so as to neglect this Holy and Heavenly Duty because of endless doubts and fears whether you are qualified or no do but try your selves by these following questions As I was baptized into the Religion of the ever blessed Jesus so am I willing to stand to these engagements to the utmost of my power that were then made in my name Do I seriously believe the Gospel to be the Truth of God and will I labour uprightly to conform my heart and life to it Do I repent of all my Sins known and secret and my former disobedience Have I a lively and stedfast Faith in Christ my Saviour Am I sensible of my unworthyness to come to this Table and desirous to be made more worthy that is am I sensible of my Crimes and Iniquities and desirous of Pardon and of Grace to reform And do I resolve and purpose a sincere reformation of any thing that I can discover in my self at any time which is contrary to the Will of God Particularly do I resolve and purpose to set my self with watchfulness and diligence against that bosom Sin whatever it be to which I know my self most inclin'd Do I harbour in my heart no one known wilful Sin at this instant Do I desire and heartily endeavour to understand the Gospel of my Saviour and to direct my Life and Actions according to the Doctrines there delivered And wherein I shall at any time hereafter fall through frailty infirmity or unawares do I resolve speedily to rise again by Repentance and by a greater Care and diligence and watchfulness for the future Am I in Love and Charity with all men and willing and ready to do any good action for Friends and Enemies and do I wish and desire their good of Soul and Body Goods and good Name Am I desirous to renew this Covenant of mine with God and to come and thankfully commemorate my Dear Saviour's bleeding dying Love for me in the Sacrament To come there to receive fresh tokens of his Love to me and to beg and receive more of his Grace to help me to perform these things and to live a sincerely Holy and a Christian life If from a sincere and honest heart you can answer Yes to these particulars then lay aside your doubts away with your fears and scruples And in the name of God come and come with joy and comfort with a thankful lightsom and chearful heart to this most holy and heavenly and pleasant duty in the World And thus much of Examination Secondly the Second part of Preparation is That upon such Examination we then enter into a holy Course of life by resolutions of a future new obedience Let this be the end and intent of Examination of our selves that so having found what our frequent too frequent breaches of our Covenant of the Commands of our Saviour have been we may seasonably while our day lasts take up hearty and unfeigned purposes of discharging them uprightly for the remainder of our days Thus holy David Ps 119.59 I thought on or I examined my wayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Accuratum examen institui Synops and turned my Feet unto thy Testimonies Let our Examination of our ways have the same end the same fruit and effect that his had Here let us come then and renew and declare our Christian Resolutions when our Lord calls and invites us and is willing to have us do it More especially here do thou go to declare and renew them against that particular Iniquity to which upon thy Examination thou foundest thy self most frequently tempted bring with thee an enrire hatred of all but especially of that which hath oftenest foyl'd thee heretofore and got the Victory over thee and may be most like to return upon thee and do so again And as now thou art to come in an hatred of it so think and consider by what wayes and means Companies and Temptations it may be most like to steal in upon thee again Consider by what occasions in what business or imployment 't is that it may be like to entice thee again and bear thee down before it and that so often so long till it may be thou dye in it and thou lye down in the grave with it and the holy Jesus come and find it unmortified and altogether unreformed and thou be at his second coming Sentenced for it to enter into the Lot and portion of the damned Having in these thy holy resolutions considered the occasions of it or by what delights or profits and advantages it usually tempts thee and prevails over thee labour then how dear soever it cost thee to get out of the snare and the temptation resolve whatever mortifications self-denials or disadvantages in thy Worldly affairs it stand thee to get out of the way of it In the first place labour now then to foresee what the occasion of it may be by which wayes the temptation enters upon thee by what Companies I say business Imployments for the Love of what pleasures advantages and interests thou art led to it that so foreseeing them thou mayest
whomsoever and wherein soever I have forgiven any freely and fully and truely be thou pleased O my dear Redeemer that all my former and all my future petitions may be heard and granted according to that instance And whensoever I have already or ever shall request to be forgiven as I forgive O merciful Lord forgive me as I then forgive And grant that for the future I may so Copy out the blessed pattern which thou hast left me that no Enemies Persecuters Slanderers Revilers or Injurious Persons may ever be able to conquer my love towards them Christ Sacrif But that I may still bear a kind and tender heart to the most outraged and provoking Spirits blessing those that curse me praying for those who despightfully use me returning Courtesies for affronts and injuries bewailing their Sins pittying their miseries and endeavouring to overcome evil with good Endow me with such a wise considering and sober Spirit that I may ever prefer the example of thee my Lord and Master before all the Customs and fashions of this World Enduring the mockeries the shame and contempt which may be cast upon me for the following his forgiveness and patience And do thou O God to whom vengeance belongeth pardon also and forgive those by whom I suffer wrongfully Spare them good Lord spare them and deny them not the Grace of Repentance that we may live together in eternal Love and Friendship with thee O blessed and holy Jesus Amen Our Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth As it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil for thine is the Kingdom And the Power And the Glory For ever and ever Amen The Bookseller to the Reader THE absence of the Author and his inconvenient distance from London hath occasioned these Errata's to escape the Press The Printer thinks it the best instance of pardon if his Escapes be not laid upon the Author and he hopes they are no greater than an ordinary understanding may amend and a little charity may forgive R. Royston ERRATA PAge 3. line 5. for tanta read tacita p. 11. l. 9. for as r. all p. 14. l. 27. r. perform it p. 31. l. 30. r. said do this If p. 33. l. 13. for lifted r. listed p. 33. l. 20. r. a solemn p. 35. l. 4. r. to come p. 39. l. 12. for could r. would p. 46. l. 21. dele to p. 48. l. 9. for never r. ever l. 22. dele I p. 99. l. 23. for great r. dangerous p. 100. l. 5. dele to p. 112. l. 17. for head r. hand p. 116. l. 23. for where r. when p. 147. l. 9. r. forgave l. 17. r. enraged Books lately Printed for R. Royston Bookseller to His most Sacred Majesty ΕΙΚΩΠΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΗ The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majesty King Charles the First of ever blessed Memory in his Solitudes and Sufferings newly reprinted by His Majestie 's special Command in Octavo Dr. Hammond's Annotations on the New Testament in Folio the Fifth Edition Corrected The Book of Psalms Paraphrased with Arguments to each Psalm in Two Volumes by S. Patrick D. D. Dean of Peterburgh and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty Octavo The Truth of Christian Religion in Six Books written in Latin by Hugo Grotius and now Translated into English with the addition of a Seventh Book by S. Patrick D. D. c. Octavo A Book for Beginners or A help to young Communicants that they may be fitted for the holy Communion and receive it with profit by S. Patrick D. D. in 24o. Christ's Counsel to his Church in two Sermons preached at the two last Fasts by S. Patrick D. D. in Quarto new The Establish'd Church or A Subversion of all the Romanist's Pleas for the Popes Supremacy in England together with a Vindication of the present Government of the Church of England as allow'd by the Laws of the Land against all Fanatical Exceptions particularly of Mr. Hickeringill in his scandalous Pamphlet stiled NAKED TRVTH the Second Part by Fran. Fulwood D. D. Archdeacon of Totnes in Devon in Octavo new A Discourse of the Morality of the Sabbath being an Exposition of Exod. 20. v. 8 9 10 11. Humbly offer'd to this present Age by John Gregory Archdeacon of Gloucester in Octavo new The New Distemper or The Dissenters usual Pleas for Comprehension Toleration and the Renouncing the Covenant Consider'd and Discuss'd with some Reflexions upon Mr. Baxter's and Mr. Alsop's late Pamphlets published in Answer to the Reverend Dean of S. Paul's Sermon concerning Separation by the late Reverend Dr. Tomkins in Octavo The Lively Picture of Lewis du Moulin drawn by an incomparable Hand together with his Last Words being his Retractation of all the Personal Reflexions he had made on the Divines of the Church of England in several Books of his Signed by himself on the Fifth and Seventeenth of October 1680. in Quarto new The daily practice of Devotion or The hours of Prayer fitted to the main Uses of a Christian Life with Prayers for the peaceful re-settlement of this Church and State by the late Pious and Reverend H. Hammond in 120. A Serious and Compassionate Inquiry into the Causes of the present Neglect and Contempt of the Protestant Religion and Church of England c. A Demonstration of the Divine Authority of the Law of Nature and of the Christian Religion In Two Parts by Samuel Parker D. D. Archdeacon of Canterbury A Sermon preached before the Judges c. in the time of the Assizes in the Cathedral Church at Gioucester on Sunday Aug. 7. 1681. Published to put a stop to False and Injurious Representations by Edward Fowler D. D. The Primitive Christian Justified or a Scripture Demonstration That to be Innocent and Persecuted is more Eligible than to be Prosperously Wicked Delivered in a Sermon in the Abby-Church of Bath by William Goulde A Sermon Preached before the Lord Mayor and the Court of Aldermen at Guild-Hall-Chappel on the 7th of May 1682. By Francis Turner D. D. The Vindication of Christianity against Paganism in Octavo new FINIS
2.22 Can we not easily remember the time when we had wept over our Crimes and thought our Repentance had been deep and hearty that we instantly fell into them again upon the next temptation that look't fair and forgot our holy Resolutions Whereas a Reformation or change of life is the life of Repentance and without that at least in the Gospel measures that is in the most hearty sincerity though not entire perfection what we call Repentance is but the bowing down the head like a Bull-rush Then as to that other part of our Covenant Obedience how unsincere has this been too how partial have we been in it performing one duty and omitting two reforming one iniquity and then soon after entring upon another instead of it Thus can we not remember that we may have changed the Lusts of our Youth into the Covetousness of old age the intemperance and vanity of our younger days into revenge and malice in our growing years and so instead of a universal reformation often exchanging only one sin for another Then again how gross has our Ignorance been of our necessary and indispensable duties and yet of those that we have known how few have we faithfully discharged how has the World Flesh and Devil stept in between us and our former resolutions of Obedience So dismally have we broken our part of the Covenant But now does our God and Saviour call us to renew it once more and will he be reconciled to us yet if we heartily return and renounce iniquity and give up our selves to obey his commands and is he ready to give us an assurance of this and to confirm it in the holy Sacrament Come my Soul let us examine our selves and consider what our breaches have been of this gracious Covenant at least our greater and our more notorious heynous breaches that is what our omissions of our Duties have been what our known commissions have been that so we may come to a true and deep Humiliation of our selves before God and being sensible of our Crimes and heavy Laden we may come to Jesus to be eased of them and that so seeing them we may loath them that loathing them we may remember this when we come to the Table of the Lord and that we may remember it too when we are come off from that holy Table and are going abroad into the World again and throw them off forever That so we may ever remember how dear they cost us and if returned to again are like to cost us dearer how dear they cost our Jesus and yet how willing he is to be reconcil'd And when the Temptation returns again we may beat it off by divine aid with some of these considerations some of these remembrances and especially this That forgiveness belongs not to him who sins and repents repents and sins on still but to him who repents so as to forsake his Crimes and his Iniquities Plainly and in short the meaning of Examination is to consider these three things following First To examine whether you rightly understand that Vow and Covenant which you made with God in your Baptism and which you come to renew and Seal again with God in the Sacrament If you do not 't is I say it again briefly this Almighty God on his part graciously promises a free pardon of all your past-Sins Grace here and Salvation hereafter by Jesus Christ Upon Condition that we discharge our part that is seriously believe the truth of the Gospel of our Saviour Truly Repent of all our Sins and by sincere resolutions and constant endeavours of future Obedience give up our selves to follow him in Holyness and Righteousness all the dayes of our Lives Secondly To look into the Soul and as far as our memory will reach to enquire what our Iniquities especially our greater iniquities have been with reference to God Our selves Or our Neighbours that we can discover we have adventured upon either in Thought Word or Action Thirdly To enquire what Omissions of Duties especially what greater omissions either to God our selves or Neighbours we can charge upon our selves either of Thought Word or Action And when we have so done to bewail them heartily as well as our Secret-Sins with David Ps 19.12 to take new Resolutions against them to go and declare those our holy resolutions at the Holy Sacrament and when that is over to labour watchfully and sincerely to keep those pious Resolutions This is 〈◊〉 short the meaning of Examination as to the particular heads of Examination and helps to it Whole Duty of Man I refer you to the book mentioned in the Preface But then let us Examine not only what our iniquities have been but also how great they have been how they have been aggravated or increased in their guilt or made greater by several wayes and means For thus Examine have not some of them been against much light much knowledge have we not rusht into them foreseeing them plainly and done it wittingly and willingly Examine again has it not been a Sin or Sins not only of knowledge but of which we might easily consider before-hand the great guilt and dangers Nay possibly did weigh and consider it and yet after such consideration have resolved to choose it for some vain delight or trifling advanrage it brought with it Examine further was it not a Sin which when we adventured on our own Conscience flew in our face and stept in between us and it and yet we broke through all Resistances and oppositions of Conscience Examine again had not thy Sin this guilt to make it greater that it has frequently been committed so frequently that no vows no former purposes of amendment or obedience could restrain thee from it but didst wilfully break all these to come to thy crime Examine further it is not grown up to a greater height has it not this increase of its guilt that 't 'as been so frequently adventured upon as that it is grown into a custome a second Nature with thee strongly grafted and deeply rooted in thee Examine again is it not so deeply rooted in thee that thy Conscience is even hardened and seared against it that afflictions sent from God to reclaim thee have not wrought upon thee or it may be 't is of so Long continuance that the charitable and private admonitions of thy Friends and the Ambassadours of God have been in vain with thee so deeply rooted that notwithstanding these the long custom of the Sin has endeared thee to it so as to like it in thy self and others too Having inquired therefore what thy iniquities are examine whether they have not some of these aggravations that make them greater and more heynous If thou findest it so upon enquiry Oh let the consideration of it work thee into a deep sense of and humiliation for it and that humiliation for it lead thee to sincere Contrition to grief of heart that thou shouldest thus have requited the infinite mercies of a