for his Sonne Christ Iesus sake but presently performes it inuesteth vs againe with our Fathers inheritance which we forfeited in Adam and where we were of our owne nature but deade dogs vncleane creatures dead in sinne trespasses Now behold what loue the Father hath shewen vs He hath made vs partakerâ— ofthis heauenly vocâ—tion as to be his sonnes his heires and shall not we then in our very hearts be humbled before him acknowledge our great vnworthinesse and his excellent mercies Let vs confesse with God lie Iacob I am not worthie O Lord of the least of all thy mercies and let euery one of vs say with the CeÌ„turion I am not worthie Lord that thou shouldest entre within my roofe Let vs with the womaÌ„ of Canaan acknowledge our owne roome if the Lord should giue vs but the benefit of whelps dogs that is should suffer vs to goe vnder our maisters Table and eate of the crummes that fall from it yet were 〈◊〉 it more then any way we haue deserued how then are we bound to haue our hearts and our mouthes filled continually with the praises of our God who hath bestowed vpon vs his greatest mercies wheÌ„ we were not worthy of the least hath set vs down as Sons daughters heires at the table of his children that were not worthy as dogs and whelps to creepe vnder it haue we not cause to crie out with Dauid O Lord what is man that this maner of waâ— thou art mindâ—ful â—f him Elizabeth maruailed y t Mary came to visâ—â—e her in the humility of her hart cryed out Wâ—eÌ„câ— coÌ„meth this that the mother of my Lord shâ—ld come vnto me but we haue more cause to maruell at the maruaillous mercies of the Lord for what are we that the fairest â—mong the Children of men shold be dâ—lighted with our loue and our Lord should come to visit the base estate of his Seruants coÌ„municate himselfe his light and his life and his grace vnto vs Let no maÌ„ think that I haue multiplied these places of scripture without a cause The beginning of the diuisioÌ„ between vs the Lord flowed from the pride of our nature vnlesse we humble our selues be coÌ„tent in our mind to sit lower then dust ashes by reason of our sin it is not possible we can bee vnited with the Lord. This is the councell that in few words Michah giueth vnto vs He hath shewed thee O maÌ„ what â—s good and what â—he Lord requireth of thee surely to doe iustly and to loue mercy to humble â—hy selfe to walke wâ—th thy Gâ—d The Lord is indeede a moste high God yet he is nearest vnto them they goe soonest vp vnto him who are least in their owne eyes and tremâ—le at his words And beside this inward humiliation â—rising of the sence of our owne vnworthinesse and weakenesse let vs come with a hunger and thirst of the Lord his righteousnesse and saluation For he will satiâ—fie the hungrie but the full he sâ—â—deth away emptie onelie they that haue the spiritull appetite hunger and thirst are meete to be communicants â—t this holy table As that oyle multiplyed by Elâ—sha ceased not so long as the widdow had any vessell wherâ—in to receiue it so shall neuer that oyle of grace decay but bee multiplyed and increased vnto all that with open inlarged hearts are ready to receiue it Thou therefore who art more ready to faint for spirituall hunger then was Ionathan come hither put out y e haÌ„d offaith eate of this hony and make thee full and thou that art sicke with the Spouse in the Canticle for the loue of Iesâ—s come either and the Lord shall stay thee with the flagons of his wine Art thou almoste dead like that Aegiptian the seruant of an Amalekite whoÌ„ Dauid found in the fieldes take and eate of this bread and thy spirit shal returne againe vnto thee But alasse where is this spirituall appetite to be found amongst vs the deadnesse of our heart is lamentable we see not our wants we see not his beautie wee smell not his oyntments we taste little of his goodnesse and therefore â—e make not haste to runne after him Dauid mourned ouer the dead body of Abâ—er but alasse if we could we haue much more cause to mourn ouer our dead soules Oh that there were in vs y e holy desire which Dauid protesteth to haue beene was in him My soule faynâ—eth for the saluation of God Aâ— the heart brayeth for y â— riuers of waters thirstie ground desireth rain so my soule paâ—teth aftâ—r the liuing God blessed are they who hunger and thirste for his righteousnesse for they shal bee satisfied These onely are the guests banketters that shall eate of the delicates which here he hath prepared and whose soule shall bee delighted with his fatnesse These shall go from this Table as Moses came down from Mount Sinai and his countenance changed they shall arise with Eliah and walke on in the strength of this bread al the whole daies of their pilgrimage they shal go on in their way with Sâ—mpson eating of the hony which they haue found They shall depart from this Table as the two Maries did from the Sepulchree with great ioy These shall goe home to their owne houses iustified with the Publicane reioycing because they haue found a treasure and hath felt the sweetnes of this Manna they shal shal not be able to conceale this great ioy from Israel but shall be forced to tell euerie Nathanaâ—l whome they meet We haue found the Messiah And in all time to come their soules shall cleaue to the Lord without separation more streightly theÌ„ the meÌ„ of Iudah Ierusalem cleaued vnto Dauid their King they shall say to the Lord as Elizeus said to Eliah as the Lord liueth and as thy soule liueth I will not leaue thee and with Peter whither O Lord shall I goe from thee seeing thou hast the words of eternall life The Lord worke this spiritu all disposition in vs for Iesus Christs sake to whome with the Father the holy spirit be all honour praise and glory for euer Psal. 36.7 How excellent is thy mercie O Lord therefore the children of men trust vnder the shadowe of thy wings they shall be satisfied with the fatnesse of thine house and thou shalt giue them drinke out of the riuers of thy pleasures Psal. 6â— 4 Blessed is the man whome thou choosest and causest to come to thee he shall dwell in thy courts and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thine house Let glorie be giuen to the Lord and his blessing be vpon his people FINIS Rom. 1 Es 42 16 Esa 49 22 Esay 43 6 Psal. 19 6 Esai 2 3. Iosh. 10 1â— Ro. 11 25 Gen 9 27 Mich 3 6 Hos. 9.12 Io. 12 35 Luk. 19 42 Psalme 2. Luk. 15 8 Psal.
the God of the Spirits of all flesh and to whom the secrets of the heart are manifest Iosaphaâ—s garment cannot hide Achab from him hee is not blinde like Isaac that he should be deceiued to take one for another therefore try thou thy self how thou comest to this holy table whether Iohn louing Iesus beloued of him or as a Iudas betraying Christ and accursed of him for as Christ foretolde thâ—m that one of them was a deuil so the Apostle hath foretold vs that many will eate and drinke vnworthilie at this holy table who they are wee know not yet are they knowne to the Lord let euerie one of vs striue to purge one euerie man trie himselfe and wash his heart from his wickednes and so shal we bee all cleane let euerie man aske for himselfe with the Disciples Is it I Lord is it I am I one of them that comes to betray thee to crucifie thee againe and to tread the blood of the new Testament vnder my feete let vs neuer rest till wee haue gotten the Lords certificate in our consciences and thaâ— after due tryall of our selues we come not as Hypocrites vnpenitent and vnbeleeuing Atheists but as diseased and poore sinners to seeke the Lord Iesus the Sauiour of the world for if we doe so then shall we get that answer which the Angel gaue to the two Maries feare not yee because ye seek Iesus who was crucified we shal eate at this Table and bee satisfied and shall goe away not without feareindeed but hauing our feare tempered with great ioy because we found the Lord. And lastly let vs take heede that the Apostle commaundeth vs to trie our selues and not to trie other men It is a corrupt custome of men at those times ofholy communion to fift the conuersation of their neighbour and brethren more narrowly then euer Laban searched the stuffe of Iacob to see ifhe could find any thing wherewith to charge him and this they doe not of a heart to forgiue which were commendable but of purpose to seeke the vttermost recompence and satisfaction for smallest offences done against them and so where they should cast open the dore of their hearts to the King of glory and prepare in the desert a path for our God by making lowe that which is high within theÌ„ making streight that which is crooked and plaine that which is rough by the contrarie they stoppe all the passages and waies of God his accesse vnto them for now their affections are exalted so high by pride against God that they dispise the councell of his word crooked were they before but more crooked now they liued without loue before and dissembled it but now are not ashamed when God calleth them to the table ofloue plainely to professe with rough fierce speeches the hatred of their hearts they put off that which the Apostle commaunds theÌ„ to put on as the elect of God namely tender mercy humblenesse of minde meekenesse and long suffering they insist to search out the sinnes done a-against them by men and ouerpasse the sinnes by themselues done against God Louers of themselus more thâ—n lâ—uers of God I graunt indeed it is a point of christian duetie to admonish our brethren of their sins if it be done in loue for so we are commaunded Thou shalt noâ— hate thy Brother in thy heart but shalt reprooue him It is hatred and not loue for the father to spare correction or the brother to spare admonition of his Brother in his sinnes I confâ—sse in like manner that he who hath offended is bound to reconcile himselfe with thee before â—eâ— offer his Sacrifice to the Lord but in case that he neglect to doe it yet standest thou bound and obliged to forgiue him and to take heed that thou despisâ— not so great a saluation offered by the Lord because an other dischargeth not that brotherly duetie which hee ought vnto thee As another mans faith will not iustifie thee so another mans sinne will not condemne thee And thâ—rfore mourning for that which we cannot amend in others let vs chiefly attend to our selues as we are heere commaunded But now leauing to speake any more of this tryall in generall wee enter to speake of the particular points of this tryall The whole tryal and examination required in those who are to bee banquetters at this holy table I reduce to these two the first is that we trye our selues whether or not with Ioshua wee haue cast away our filthy garments that is if we haue cast off the old maÌ„ which is corrupt through deceiueable lusts And next if we haue put on our mariage garment that is put on the new man which after God is created in righteousnesse and true holinesse First of all therefore we must take paines to remoue the impediments that may hinder our Vnion with Christ that wee come not to this Table as Iudas did with our old sinnes hauing that lodged in our hearts which wee dare not present vnto God for since no man wil sit down at the table of his enemie what great persumption is it in vs to sit downe at the Lords Table as long as our sinne which is the cause ofenimitie is not remoued There can bee no Commuâ—ion betweene light and darkenesse Let vs therefore bee changed from that which we are let vs cast away the works of darknesse and bee renewed in the spirit of our minde if so bee we desire to be vnited with the Lord he is the holye one of Israel God blessed for euer in whom there can be no shadowe of alteration so that of necessitie the change must be vpon our part It is written of the Lyonesse that hauing had commixtion with the Leopard she washes herselfe in water before shee companie againe with the Lyon that so hee should not by sent discerne her adulterie And Basile in his Hexameron writes that the viper a most pernitious kind of SerpeÌ„t before his copulation with that Seasish called Muraena dooth first vomit and cast out his venemous poyson thus the beasts in their kinde so farre as they can doe reuerence one to another to teach man that hee is worse then a beast indeed except he cast off the filthie slime of his olde sinnes that he may beioyned with the Lord for by nature we are more adulterous then the Lyonesse for what is the vanitie after which we haue not gonawhoring more venomous also we are theÌ„ y â— viper ful of hatred malice enuie debate and therfore haue neede to vomit out our iniquities by repentance and to wash our selues in that fouÌ„tain opened to the house of Dauid Before that Ester was presented to Abasuerus shee was purified by the space of twelue moÌ„thes 6. moneths with oyle of myrrhe 6. monthes with sweet odours shall such reuerence bee done to mortal flesh whose carkasse was shortly to be made a pray to the wormes
in like manner who had sate al his daies with Mathew at the receipt of custome that is who had liued in y e sinful trade of vnlawful gaine wold now in like manner forsake it but where the Lord by effectuall calling works not in the heart an earnest loue of God no maruaile they lie stil in the graue of their sins rise not to walk after the Lord. We are therfore so much the more to vse all the ordinary meanes which may entertain in vs y â— little spark of the loue of god til it grow vp vnto a great flame for the farther vnion coniunction of our soules with Iesus Christ and this for our dispositioÌ„ towards God As concerning our Christian disposition to our neighbour it is vsuall to the spirit of God to comprise it vnder loue Our Sauiour saith that loue is the cognisance of his Disciples the Apostle calleth it the band of perfection and fulfilling of the law no maruell for loue speaketh with the tongue of euerie vertue All the sundrie precepts we are commanded to doe vnto our neighbour are summarily comprehended vnder this one Loue one another As this sacrament sealeth vp the coÌ„munion of the members with the head so it seales vp the communion of the members amongst themselues for this bread whereof we eate is of many graines of wheat made vp into one bread the wine is the iuice of many berries collected vnited into one to teach vs that all the communicaÌ„ts at this holy table how many soeuer they be ought to agree together in one like meÌ„bers of one body as hauing one Father one faith one Baptisme one inheritance as Brethren quickned al by one the selfe same spirit which is not to bee found againe in all the world except in this excellent brother-hood as we cannot be ioyned to the heade without faith so can we not be knit to the member without loue Stones and timber cannot make vp a building till they be ioyned and sundry peeces of mettall cannot bee melted in one worke without fire no more can ChristiaÌ„s be vnited in one mistycall body without loue and therefore our Sauiour at the celebration of this Sacrament recommended louâ— to his Disciples by a new commaundement which he so called because it should neuer wax olde yea so much doth he account of it that he will accept no seruice wee owe to himselfe without that duety of loue we owe to our bretheren If thou bring thy gift to the Altar there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee leaue thy offering goe thy way and â—â—rst be reconciled to thy Brother then come and offer thy gift of this it is euident that without loue to our brethren wee can doe no acceptable seruice to the Lord. In this therfore let vs trie and examine our selues what compassion finde we in our hearts toward our brethren what willingnesse to do them the good we can what loue to beare one anothers burden what readinessâ— to forgiue when wee are offended what humblenesse of minde to aske them forgiuenesse against whome we haue sinned practising these precepts While ye haue time to doe good to all men And againe for beare one another forgiue one another euen as God for Christs sake foâ—gaue you The Maiestie of God suppose first offended did firsâ— seek man to be reconciled with him and shall man that hath offended thinke euill to seeke his brother to be reconciled with him but alasâ—e are thesâ— fruites of godlinesse now to be found amongst men it thou seeke them thou shalt finde th em as the Sommer gatherings or as the grapes of a vintage cut downe though thy soule desire to eat the fruiâ— thereof thou shalt not find it for the good man is perished out of the earth such as are Christians by name they liue like Iewes and the Samaritans of whome it is written that they might not conuerse together to forbeare and forgiue one another to them are precepts of an vncouth language which they vnderstand not as a sparckle of fire easily kindles a heape of powder so a smal offence remooueth all their affections they are not slowe vnto wrath like the Lord and farre lesse like him in readinesse to forgiue As men saith Lactantius are mortall so should their anger be mortall our Sauiour saith the sunne should not go down vpoÌ„ our wrath the Apostle coÌ„maunds vs to be children concerning anger maliciousnesse who as they doe not deepely conceiue it so they do not long reteine it but are shortly familiar with them with whome they were a little before offended but as it was doubted of Sylla Syllane prioâ— an Syllae iracundia sit extincta so is it out of all doubt that in many vipers of this age anger dieth not tilâ— they die themselues And as for doing of good to their neighbors and brethren they liue in the world like moÌ„sters or like these Gyants The sonnes of Anak they alone will bee Lordes of the earth as ifthe world were made for theÌ„ only or they at the least were born for theÌ„ selues churchlish like Nabal shall I take saide hee my bread and my flesh giue vnto Dauid al that they haue they account so to be theirs as ifthey had not receiued it or were not the Lords stewards bouÌ„d to distribute to the necessities of his saints the rich gluttoÌ„s they vse it as a morsell for their own mouth Now my soule thou hast enough for many daies let Lazarus find as he may they thinke with Caine they are no keepers of their Brethren That which dieth let it die These and many moe are the common and sâ—ene corruptions of this age wherein we are to examine our selues how farre the renewing grace of the Lord hath made vs to depart from them and what holy loue we haue put on For hee that loueth not knoweth not God because God is loue and he that loueth not his Brother whome hee hath seene how can he loue God whom he hath not seene hereby wee know that wee are translated from death to life because we loue the Brâ—thren And thus much we are content to haue touched of our disposition toward our neighbour Now last of all concerning our disposition in our selues let vs be sober esteeming basely of our selues highly of the Lords mercie hungring and thirsting for his saluation and in verie deed the more we shall consider how God hath magnifieâ— his holy name by his maruelouâ—mercies towards vs the more shall we be compelled to cast downe our selues befoâ—e him in all humilitie and submission of our spirits When Dauid promised to Mephiboseth that hee would shew him kindenesse for Ienathan his faâ—hers sake Mephâ—bosheâ—h humbled himself to the ground and said what is thy seruant that thou shouldest looke to such a dog as I am but heere the Lord oâ—r God not onely promiseth vnto vs kindenesse
recount my sinnes iâ— the bitternesse of my heart and all the night cause my bed to swim and water my Couch with â—eares for the manifolde transgressions wherewith I haue offended the Lord my God And now because this tryall of our selues is so necessâ—rie let vs heere remember that there are two things without which we cannot profit in this workâ— of tryall The one is tâ—e spirit of God the other is the word of God As to the first man by nature is so blinded with selfe-loue that he accounts his owne deformitie beautie and his bondagâ— libertie what vyler bondage then the seruitude of Sinne O quam multos domiâ—os habâ—t qui vâ—um non habet said Ambrose and yet man vnregenerate couâ—teth it his liberty to liue vncontrolled in the seruice of his lustes to doe what he will what libertie againe so â—xcellent as to be the freeman of God Seruâ—re deo est regnare and yet foolish man accounts the obedience of Gods lawe which is the law of liberty a seruitude and the commaundements of God he esteemes as bonds wherewith he will not be bouÌ„d walking the footsteps of other Rebels before him he cries out Let vs breake their bonds and cast their cords from vs. It was not the disease of the Laodiceans onely to account themselues happy when indeed they were miserable it is the natural disease of al the Sonnes of Adam for euery mans way seemeth good in his own eyes A pitifull blindnesse that death should reigne ouer man and man not feele it y t straÌ„ge Lords who can claime no right vnto him shold tiranise ouer him and he not endeuour to withstand it that sathan shold lead him away in captiuity bouÌ„d with cheines euen the cords of his own sin blinder theÌ„ Zedekiah hauing his eyes pulled out man should not lament for it But where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty and freedome there is a knowledge and detestation of sinne and a sighing to God for deliuerance from the bondage The Prophet Ezechiel could not see the abominable idalitries of the house of Israel till the Lord taught him to digge through the wall but we shal be farre lesse able to see the vile abominations that are in our owne hearts vntill the spirite of the Lord digge through and demolish that thicke and hard wall of induration that naturallie hideth vs from the sight of our sins and keepeth vs in blindnes vnder Sathans bondage The other thing wherby wee are to proceede in this tryall is the word of God for euerie thing that is imperfect must betryed by another not by it self golde is tryed by the fire touchstone the weight of a thing is tryed by the ballance and the spots of the face are tryed by the glasse Thus euerie imperfect thing that is tryed is tryed by another not by it self As to the law of God it is a moste perfect rule by which God will haue men and their actions tryed but it is to bee tryed by no other then it selfe If any man will trie scripture hee must with the Nobles of Beraea trie it by the scripture so then the word serueth vnto vs as a touchstone for our tryall as a glasse for discouery of our spots and as the ballance of the sanctuarie wherein wee must bee weighed in the last day the secrets of all hearts wil be iudged by the Gospel and therefore it were good that in time wee did iudge our selues by it some trie themselues by it some trye themselues by themselues supposing they are such indeede as they haue conceiued themselues to bee some againe measure theÌ„selues by others speciallie with such as in their opinion are behind them not with such as in light and grace doe farre excell them like that Pharisie who when he came to examine himself before God thought hee was good enough because he was not like the Publican wherein hee was also miserablie deceiued for suppose he spake the truth yet spake it ignorantlie as Caiaphas saide that one behooued to die for the people he was not like the Publican indeede the Publican was much better then he for he came to the temple humble and penitent and went home to his house iustified whereas the Pharisee puft vp with a conceit of his owne righteousnesse and iustifying himselfe went away out of the Temple more 〈◊〉 then he came In the tryall therefore of thy selfe make not thy neighbours disposition thy rule least thou in like maner be deceiued And yet if thou would proffit by the example of others remember it is a great follie to thinke that thou art religious enough because in religion some are behinde thee and not rather to bee displeased with thy wants when thou seest so many before thee enriched aboue thee in all spirituall grace and haue profited more th n thou in the moâ—tification of their sinfull lustes hauing out runne thee farther in the way of Gods commaundements then that other Disciple ouer-ran Peter vnto Christs Sepulchre to learne his resurrection It is pitie that the Sonnes of men in worldlie things can looke to those who are aboue theÌ„ thinking they haue little because they haue not somuch as others yet in spirituall things they should looke to others that are inferior to them so easily stand content with the little beginning of religioÌ„ they haue because there be many who in their iudgemeÌ„t haue not so much wheras certainly if we could try our selues by the right rule we shold finde that as yet we are far froÌ„ that which we should bee and therfore haue more need then that holy Apostle To forget that which is behinde indeuour our selus to that which is before following hard toward the mark for the prise of the hie calling of Goâ— in Christ Iâ—sus We haue therfore heere yet farther to obserue that seeing the Apostle commaunds vs to try our selues we thinke it not enough that others try vs giue vs their approbation we must also try our selues The Pastors may try thy knowledge thinke it good enough thy superiors may trie thy coÌ„uersatioÌ„ find it vnreprouable of maÌ„ But thou must â—ry thy own coÌ„scieÌ„ce for no maÌ„ knowes the thingâ— of a man saue the spirit of man the minde of a man will shew him more sometime then seuen watchmen that are in a tower When this sacrament was first instituted there were twelue who communicated with the Lord Iesus and one of them was a Deuil and a traiterous hypocrite the remnant knew him not and therefore could not reproue him but that made not Iudas the better man yet the fault wâ—ich man could not finde out the Lord discouered it one of you said he will betray me Thinke it not therefore enough albeit vnchallenged of man thou maiest sit down at the Lords table Remember the king wil come and take a view of the Guests euen he who is
to his father for vs he hath left behinde him in his laste will his peace for our portion he hath giuen vs his spirit for a comforter his word for a warner and this sacrament for a spirituall foode vntil his second coming againe No marueile his spouse in the Canticle praised his loue to be far aboue the loue of women for though in some of theÌ„ y e strength natural of affection be so great that it makes them indure the painful bearing bringing vp of their children with the milke of their brests yet what is that comparable to this nothing indeed Such a loue as here our Sauiour hath discouered towards vs is not to be fouÌ„d againe in the world for whereas Mothers saieth Câ—risostome either commit their children to Nurses or else brings them vp vpon the milke of their owne breasts Iesus Christ feedes vs not with the milke of another but with his owne flesh and his owne blood Necessitie sometime hath compelled the Mother to eate her owne Children but wee neuer reade that compassion hath mooued the Mother to giue her owne flesh to preserue her Children that they should not die in famine But our Lord Iesus is that kinde Pelican that sendeth out his owne blood to nourish his young and all this hath our Lord Iesus done not grudgingly but willingly prouoked hereunto by that feruent loue hee bare to the glorie of God his Father and to our saluation Which shall yet appeare more euidently out of his owne comfortable saying to his Disciples I haue greatly desired to eate this Passouâ—â— with you O word full of consolation sundrie Passeouers had he eaten before with them but he protesteth this was his desired Passeouer See ye not heere his vnquenchable loue he knew it was the last hee was to eate vpon the earth he knew he was to drinke no more with them of the fruite of the vine till it was fulfilled in his Fathers kingdome Hee knew that the same night they wold betray him and that after Supper a bitter cup of passion was abiding for him yet his loue ouercame all these impediments and made him thinke long to eate of this Passeouer And which is much more before euer he gaue himselfe to be crucified for vs on the Crosse he prouided this Sacrament as a means of the communication of himselfe vnto vs thereby assuring vs that his subsequent passion should not defraude vs but rather affoord vnto vs and make ready for vs that righteousnesse and life by Christ purchased on the Crosse and communicate in his holye table to them who are his In the one he was prepared made ready as the onely foode of our soules to eternall life in the other he is applyed communicated giuen vnto vs both of these necessarily behoued to bee done for the worke of our saluation Sicut enim ad potandum vinum venire neâ—â— potest nisi botrus calcetur ante et prematur sic nos sanguinem Christi bibere non potuimus nisi Christus prius fuisset calcatus et prâ—ssus It was a great loue which made our Sauiour content that his blood shold bee shed out on the crosse so should be made both a ransome a conuenient foode for vs for the father sent him Quasi saccuÌ„plenuÌ„ misericordia in passione coÌ„scindenduÌ„ vt effundatur quod in eo latet pretium nostruÌ„ So is this also a new declaration of his loue that before his body was brokeÌ„ his blood was shed he first ordeyned the meanes whereby it should be communicated vnto vs. These and many more spirituall meditations should be vnto vs as the breathings of the mouth of God to kindle in our soules that little sparke of the loue of God which alasse for fault of entertainmeÌ„t is almost ouer-gone extinguished with the ashes of our corruptioÌ„ for seeing our Sauiour loÌ„ged to eat with vs shal not we long to eat with him he greatly desired to giue himselfto vs in this table for vs on the crosse shall not we earnestly desire to receiue him hee knew it was the last he shold eat vpoÌ„ earth that after it heauy sufferings abode him we know that our banquetting here is the baÌ„quet that shal be accoÌ„plished in heauen it is begun here it shal not end here CoÌ„fortable is y e word of our sauiour it shall be fulfilled in my kingdoÌ„â— wil not we then ioyfully begin this banquet shal we be so foolish as to wait vpoÌ„ lying vanities forsake our owne mercies shal we turne our back vpon y e fountaine of liuing waters and dig to our selues Cisterns y t can hold no water crtainâ—ly our darkene is grosser theÌ„ the darkenesse of Egipt and our hearts harder then the Adamant except this burning loue of the Lord Iesus rauish vpward our hearts after him The spouse in the Canticle professeth she was sicke of the loue of her glorious husband the Lord Iesus but alasse we are not touched with the like loue we feele not the smell of his oyntments and therefore with the rest of the Virgins we runne not after him Eliah touched Elisha with his Mantle and therwithall the Lord ioyned his inward calling suddenly Elisha left his plough of Oxen of a husbaÌ„dmaÌ„ became a prophet Now the lord cals vpon vs by his word sacrameÌ„t Let vs also pray that the Lord wold shed abroad in our hearts by his holy spirit the sence of that loue of God then should we neglecting all things runne after the Lord seeking onely to inioy him The men of this world maruell to beholde the suddaine change of life which is made in the children of God by his effectuall calling they maruell to see them running so feruently after Christ seeking him by continuance in prayer by hearing of his word by participation of his Sacrament and that with such an insatiable desire that in this life they can neuer be satisfied with hearing reading praying and communicating but if the Lord should in like manner touch their hearts and let them feele the power of an inward calling then would they marueile no more farre lesse disdaine yea they would make haste and ioyne themselues to the company of the godly And Saul also shold become amoÌ„gst the Prophets The womaÌ„ who had liued before a licentious life would now change it with Marie Magdalen she had beene a greate sinner in the Citie but became an example of repentance to all the sinners in the Citie she prostrates no more her body to her carnall Louers but falles downe at the feete of Christ to craue his mercie in steed of her wanton lookes her eies poure out teares her beautifull hayre which before shee set out as a proclaimer of her luste now shee pulleth downe to wash the feet of Christ. Thus all the former meanes of her sin she maketh new witnesses of her repentance the man