ridiculous Consequences That our Saviour did eat his own Body and gave it to his Disciples to eat making Christians the worst of Cannibals to eat their God a thousand times over * Eoquem tam amentem esse putas qui illud quo vescatur credat Deum esse Tully de natura Deorum implying penetration of dimensions contradicting the very Nature of a Body which cannot be in two places at the same time †Rubrick after Communion much less in Earth and Heaven contradicting our Saviour's own Words that we should not have him always ‖ St. Mat. 26. 11. that is his Body with us tho' in his Divinity his Spirit his Power his Graces he 's with the Church to the End of the World * St. Mat. 28. 20. contrary to the End of the Institution which was to be a Memorial of his Body broken and Blood shed for us contrary to the Words of the Apostle †1 Cor. 11. 26 27 28. who calls it Bread and Wine after Consecration thrice in one Chapter ‖ Vide supra For which Reasons and many others that might be alledged our Church declares in her Twenty Eighth Article of the Lord's Supper That Transubstantiation or the Change of the Substance of the Bread and Wine in the Supper of the Lord cannot be proved in Holy Writ but it is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture overthroweth the Nature of a Sacrament and hath given occasion to many Superstitions § XIV But how is it then called the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ and in what Sense is he present there and how are the faithful said therein to eat his Body and drink his Blood both by the antient Fathers and by our own Church and most other Protestants of all denominations * Lutherans Calvin Beza Assemb Catechism great and less Cranmer Ridley Communion Service English Tigur Liturg. c. That this is true in some Sense is evident from Holy Scripture it self as well as from the Consent of all Christian Churches Our Saviour said This is my Body and this is my Blood And the Apostle * 1 Cor. 10. 16. The Cup of Blessing is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread of the Body of Christ And to the same purpose in the next Chapter Thus our fore-mentioned Article That the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ and the Cup of Blessing a partaking of the Blood of Christ. And in the Catechism that the inward part or thing signified in the sacrament is The Body and Blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper And the like in several places in the Communion-Office From all which it appears how little Reason our Adversaries have to brand us for Sacramentarians or such as deny the Body and Blood of Christ in a sound Sense to be received in the Lord's Supper § XV. But what Sense that is we come now to enquire First The Symbols the very Bread and Wine are in a figurative typical and sacramental Sense the Body and Blood of our Saviour They are more than a bare or ordinary Figure they do really and actually from their Institution represent and exhibit Christ's Death unto us as did the Paschal Lamb the delivery of the Iews out of Egypt This our Church affirms in her Homily of the Sacrament Part I. That we must be sure to hold that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain Ceremony no untrue Figure of a thing absent but the Bread and Cup of the Lord the Memory of Christ the Annunciation of his Death c. § XVI But there 's yet more in it for 2. There is in the Blessed Sacrament a real spiritual presence of the Body and Blood of our Saviour to every faithful Receiver Christ as to his Divinity is every where and more effectually and graciously present to his own Institutions and will make his Promise good to be with his Church to the End of the World * St. Mat. 28. 20. and doubtless is so in this Sacrament as well as in the other of Baptism and herein he conveys all the real Benefits obtained by his Sufferings to every faithful Receiver His Natural Body is in Heaven where it will remain till he comes to Iudgment He is spiritually present in the Sacrament present by Faith to our Spirits The fore-mentioned Homily tells us that in the Supper of the Lord we are not only to hold that there is a Memory of Christ's Death but that there is likewise the Communion of his Body and Blood in a marvellous Incorporation wrought in the Souls of the faithful And again If God hath purified our hearts by Faith we do at this Table receive not only the outward Sacrament but the spiritual thing also not the Figure but the Truth not the Shadow only but the Body And to the same purpose our Learned Bishop Iewell That not the naked Figure and bare Sign and Token only but Christ's Body and Blood are verily and indeed given unto us in the Sacrament we verily eat it and drink it and live by it and thereby Christ dwells in us and we in him Yet he goes on ' We say not that the Substance of Bread and Wine is done away or that Christ's Body is fleshly present in the Sacrament but we lift up our hearts to Heaven there to feed on him Tho' by the way What need would there have been of the Sursum Corda or Invitation to the People in the Primitive Church to lift up their Hearts to Christ in Heaven if whole Christ God and Man were actually present upon the Altar § XVII But neither the Apostles nor the Primitive Church nor our Church of England ever held that the Sacrament was so much as in this latter Sense the Body and Blood of Christ to all that received but only to the faithful Receivers For those who received unworthily the Apostle tells us they were guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord therefore surely they did not properly communicate of his Body and Blood which he that does has eternal Life nay they did eat and drink their own Iudgment or Condemnation not discerning the Lords Body And to the same purpose is that famous saying of one of the Fathers That the Wicked do only press with their Teeth the Sacrament or outward Sign of the Lords Body but do not really communicate in it Neither did the Fathers ever think that we were to eat the Flesh of Christ in a gross carnal Capernaitical sense whatever high Expressions they may have sometime used concerning this Mystery wherein they may have been followed by devout modern Writers Hear one for all 'T is St. Augustine de Doctrinâ Christianâ Lib. 3. Cap. 16. where in his Rules for interpreting Scripture he instances in that Text which has been so much controverted of late years the 6th of
IV. Our Behaviour in it And in the V. After we have received and during the whole course of our Lives especially the Time betwixt different Celebrations To which shall be added Prayers Meditations and Hymns suited to the several Parts of this Holy Office CHAP. I. Of the Nature of the Sacrament § I. THE Sacrament of the Lord's Supper may be thus described 'T is a Memorial and Representation of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ instituted by Christ himself in the room of the Jewish Passover wherein by the breaking of Bread and drinking of Wine we renew our Covenant with God praising him for all his Goodness and testify our Union with all good Men and whereby the Benefits of our Saviour's Death are sealed and applyed to every faithful Receiver § II. 'T is a Memorial of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ. I confess the whole Sacred Action has been stiled by the Fathers as well as by some Excellent Persons of our own Church the Christian Sacrifice the unbloody Sacrifice and is indeed such in the same Sense that Prayer and Praise whereof it is in a great measure compos'd are styled under the Gospel spiritual Sacrifices Nay it comes yet nearer to the Nature of the old Eucharistical and other Sacrifices because 't is an Oblation of something visible namely Bread and Wine to be consum'd to God's Honor which are then offer'd when the Minister places them on the Christian Altar or Holy Table as was done more solemnly by lifting them up in the antient Church immediately after which in the Prayer for the Church Militant he beseeches God to receive our Oblations as well as Alms and Prayers which may relate to the Bread and Wine newly offered But since it has no shedding of Blood therein which has been thought essential to a proper Sacrifice * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 macto facio is used in the same Sense and that the shedding of our Saviour's Blood is only Sacramentally represented in it and not actually and properly poured forth as it was upon the Cross whereon he was once offered to take away Sin and since the Sacrament is a Memorial of that one Oblation of Christ and 't is contrary to the Nature of a Memorial or Remembrance of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ to be the same with that Sacrifice it remembers for these Reasons we cannot own any such proper propitiatory attoning Sacrifice * Homily of the Sacrament Part 1. We must take heed lest of the Memory it be made a Sacrifice exactly as Eusebius who says our Saviour left us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Sacrament as the Romanists do believe any more than we can think with them that 't is available both for quick and dead of neither of which we find any Footsteps in the Holy Scriptures Suffice it therefore that we believe it a Sacrifice in the highest Sense that Prayer and Praise are so call'd in the New Testament because it requires and is compos'd of the most exalted Acts of both that we believe it an Offering or Dedication of the Bread and Wine to the sacred use as well as we therein offer our selves anew to God and that we believe the whole Action a Memorial a Commemoration and Representation of the inestimable Sacrifice of the Death of Christ whereby alone we expect Life and Salvation § III. First 'T is a ' Memorial or Commemoration of Christ's Death and of the Sacrifice which he thereby offer'd for us That is by this sacred Action we record and keep it in mind till he come again to Iudgment And that according to his own Command as St. Luke * St. Luk. 22. 19. 1 Cor. 11. 24 25. relates it of the Bread and St. Paul both of the Bread and Wine This do in remembrance of me As forgetfulness of God's Goodness and Ingratitude for it must needs have been great occasions of the fall of Man so that very fall renders us still more forgetful and ungrateful Mankind will therefore have always need enough of Helps to their Memory in religious Matters And some of these God has appointed wherever there has been a revealed Religion Thus the Sacrifice of the Passover was instituted for a Remembrance of what the Israelites suffered in Egypt and of God's wonderful Mercy in delivering them from it as well as to typify or shadow forth unto them Christ himself our great Passover The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was in like manner instituted That we might keep in memory that which Christ suffered for us and delivered to us such a sensible Sign and remarkable solemn Action being much more likely to preserve a lively impression of it than if it had been only barely recorded in History Now this Commemoration may be considered either with respect to our selves or with respect to God as it respects our selves we not only therein commemorate God's Love in general to Mankind in giving his Son and our Saviour's Love in giving himself a Ransom for all Men to bring them into a Capacity of Salvation on their Faith and Obedience but yet farther the actual Application of his meritorious Sacrifice to our selves on our performing the Conditions of his Covenant and his infinite Goodness in making us partakers of his Holy Word and Sacraments and thereby calling us to this State of Salvation and preserving us in it As this Commemoration relates to God we do also in the Communion present a Memorial of a sweet Savour before him and beseech him for the sake of his dear Son and by his Agonies and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion and precious Death to have Mercy upon us and grant us the Remission of our Sins and all other Benefits of his Sufferings Not that God is either ignorant of our Wants or unwilling to relieve us or forgetful of us But we must be sensible of these things our selves and of God's Power to help us and seek for Relief in those ways he has appointed And well may we more solemnly commemorate our Saviour's Sacrifice in this Sacrament when we do the same in some degree even in our daily Prayers and ask all for his sake and in a Sense offer him anew to his Father applying his Attonement and pleading his Merits and trusting in his Intercession and Meditation Nor ought we to forget that the antient Liturgies did not only commemorate our Saviour's Death in the Sacrament but likewise his Resurrection and Ascention into Heaven § IV. Secondly But there is not only a Commemoration but a Representation too of our Saviour's Death in the Holy Communion 'T is not a bare Remembrance of it 't is a lively Scheme and Figure of what he endur'd As oft as ye eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup says the Apostle ye do shew forth or rather by way of Command shew ye forth the Lord's Death till he come Declare it proclaim it tell the People what great things he has done Whence
the Custom of Christians to close their Agapae or Love-Feasts with singing either some portion of Scripture or something of their own Composure * Tertull. Apol. cap. 39. p. 106. Edit Cantab. I 've insisted the longer on this Head because there are some Persons who I think very unreasonably not only neglect the Practice of this Angelical Duty themselves but even censure it as unlawful in others to whom we may answer We have such a laudable Custom and so have the Churches of God had in all Places and all Ages § X. Yet farther there is a remarkable Analogy or resemblance in the End of their Institution between the Passover and the Supper of the Lord God said concerning the Passover to the Children of Israel This day shall be to you for a Memorial †Exod. 12. 14. Ver. 27. and you shall keep it a Feast to the Lord throughout all your Generations ‖ Exod. 12. 3. Remember this day in which you came out of Egypt and thou shalt shew thy Son c. * Exod. 13. 8. Lxx. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Red Wine which they made use of therein was to signifie either the Blood of their Children shed by Pharoah or rather the Death of Pharoah's first-born as well as afterwards of himself and the rest of the Egyptians in just Vengeance for their Cruelty to the Israelites and of the Blood which was on their own Door-Posts whereby they were preserv'd from the Pestilence Thus in the Lord's Supper our Saviour commands his Followers to do this in Remembrance of him and thereby to shew forth his Death till he come as the Israelites were to keep the Passover for ever or throughout all their Generations Much the same word being here used by the Apostle to express our Celebration or Annuntiation of our Saviour's Death in the Sacrament that is used by the antient Greek Translators of the Bible to signifie that of the Passover enjoyn'd to the Iews †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In which sacramental Feast we are to preserve the Memory of our Deliverance from the slavery of Sin much worse than that of Egypt § XI Lastly There are several Expressions in the New Testament which will not suffer us to doubt of the Analogy between them Thus the Baptist calls our Saviour The Lamb of God * St. Ioh. 1. 29. and St. Peter says That we were not redeemed with corruptible things but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without Blemish †1 St. Pet. 1. 18 19. And St. Paul alludes most manifestly unto it Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the Feast not with the old Leaven c. ‖ 1 Cor. 5. 7. From all which it appears that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was instituted in the room of the Passover and that our Saviour retained many of the Ceremonies therein as well such as God himself had immediately Vid. Cudworth and Discourse of the Holy Eucharist p. 6. appointed as such as the Jewish Church had added either for the more lively Representation of the thing or else for decency and order and from what has been said we may have great Light into the Nature of the Holy Communion especially as to the last Head insisted on that 't is a Memorial and Representation of our Saviour's Death of his Body which was broken and his Blood which was shed for us § XII I proceed to the Matter of this Sacrament the exterior Matter or outward Elements the visible and sensible Signs namely Bread and Wine which the Lord has commanded to be taken and received 'T was from the Fruits of the Ground that the first Offerings were made to the Lord Some have been of Opinion that Noah was the first that offer'd Bread in Sacrifice and that thence he received a Name among the Antients * Dickenson in Delphi Phoeniciss p. 169. And Dr. Spencer de Sacrificiis thinks that Noah was called Ogyges from Ogh which signifies Panis subcineritius Bread baked under the Embers and offered in Sacrifice p. 659. Melchisedeck's bringing forth Bread and Wine has also been thought an Act of his sacerdotal Office and not an Instance of Hospitality only We are sure that the Mincha Meat-offering or Bread-offering so often mention'd by Moses which was to be offer'd every Morning and Evening and is call'd the Most Holy of all the Offerings of the Lord was composed of Fine-Flower with a proportion of Wine added unto it †Exod. 29. 40. Levit. 2. 3. Bread is the most simple and common Food the most easie to be obtained and yet the most necessary the Staff of Life Wine was also as common in those Countries as it is useful and refreshing making glad the Heart of Man Psal. 104. 15. Nay cheering God and Man Iudg. 9. 13. That is Wine was acceptable to God in Sacrifices For some or all of which Reasons was our Saviour pleased to make Choice of Bread and Wine in the Celebration of these Mysteries as well as because they were used by the Iewish Church in the Passover And these are in the Sacrament solemnly offered to God as an acknowledgment of his being the Creator of all things and Sovereign Lord of the World according to the antient Doxology * Vid. Mede of Christian Sacrifice p. 359. at the presenting of them on the Lord's Table which was much the same with that in the Revelations Thou art worthy O Lord to receive Glory and Honour and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created § XIII And Bread and Wine they are still after the Consecration not common but Sacred and Sacramental They are changed in their Use but not in their Substance They are not changed into the Substance of the Natural Body of Christ which hung upon the Cross and his Blood which was there shed for us a monstrous and novel Opinion first established by the Concil of Lateran above twelve hundred Years after Christ and then by that of Trent among other Articles of their New Creed no where to be found in Scripture as some of the most Learned Romanists have confessed but directly contrary to it as 't is to the Writings of the Fathers not believed at present by many Learned Men in the Church of Rome * Vid. Preface to Discourse of the Eucharist overthrowing the very Nature of a Sacrament and leaving nothing for an outward Sign destroying the Foundation of our Faith which is grounded on Miracles which imply the certainty of the Judgment of our Senses on their proper Objects introducing the most monstrous absurdities which if granted would render the Christian Religion which is the only reasonable Religion in the World the most absurd and most unreasonable supposing actual length without any thing long and the same of whiteness redness solidity moisture breadth and thickness involving the most horrid as well as most
and Blood and thereby assures us of his Favour and Goodness to us and renews his Covenant with us and gives us leave to do the same with him § XXII But we confirm this Covenant by a most solemn Oath as well as a Feast in this Holy Communion for it partakes of both The very Word Sacrament originally signified that Military Oath which Soldiers took to their General to bear Faith and true Allegiance to him to obey his Commands In the Lords Supper we swear Fealty and Homage to the great King of Earth and Heaven and as well as in Baptism engage to be his faithful Servants and Soldiers to our Lives end Which Oath as all others does imply an Imprecation as did the ancient Sacrifices used at the Ratification of Leagues wherein the Beast being cut in pieces the Parties agreeing went between them wishing that their Blood might be so poured out and they themselves cut in pieces if they ever brake their Vow and Covenant To which the breaking of the Bread and pouring out of the Wine does answer in the Communion as it may farther signifie that we resolve to be faithful even to the Death to our great Lord and Master and if there be occasion are ready to shed our Blood for him as he did for us The Commemoration whereof is indeed the main End of the Sacrament and the principal Notion wherein we are to represent it to our Minds but there are subordinate Ends and other useful Notions under which we may consider it in order to profit by it Among which is § XXIII The next thing in our Description of this Sacrament That we therein praise God for all his Goodness As much as this is included in that very ancient name of it the Eucharist which is used in the Scripture for giving of Thanks in general ‖ Eph. 5. 4. but applied to this most solemn Act of Thanksgiving in the blessed Sacrament not only by the earliest Ecclesiastical Writers but even by an ancient Version of the New Testament For the Syriac retains the Word Eucharist both in the 2d of the Acts 42. and in the 20th v. 7. In both of which places what we render breaking of Bread is with them * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 breaking the Eucharist And a Word of the same Original is used both by the Apostle and the Evangelists in the Description of its Institution †1 Cor. 11. 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so St. Luke 22. 19. and where our Saviour is said to give thanks over the Bread by St. Luke and St. Paul and to bless it by St. Matthew ‖ St. Mat. 26. 26. the same thing is intended for he blest and praised God for his Gifts and by that Thanksgiving did sanctifie the Bread both derive God's Blessing upon it and set it apart to a sacred use to be the thankful Memory of his own Death till he come to Judgment And accordingly in this Sacrament the Church does render most solemn Thanks and Praise to God the Father for his inestimable Love in the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of his dear Son and to Christ himself who gave his Body to be broken and his precious Blood to be shed for us as well as for all the Benefits of his Passion especially the Pardon of our Sins and Eternal Life § XXIV The next thing to be taken notice of in this Sacrament is That we do therein testifie and express our unfeigned Union with all our Christian Brethren with all those that bear the Image of the Heavenly This was doubtless one great end of its Institution that thereby all the followers of our Saviour might be united together in the most sacred and indissoluble Bands and that all men might know them for his true Disciples by their Loving one another * St. Iohn 13. 35. and thus the Apostle argues The Cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ For we being many are one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread where he hints at the Mystical Union between Christ and his Church and of all the Members thereof one with another ‖ 1 Cor. 10. 16 17. Feasting in common has been always esteemed both a Token of Amity and Friendship and the way to increase and preserve it In the Holy Communion we may be said to renew our Covenant with one another †Pliny ad confaederandam disciplinam coetus Chrianorum as well as with God and seem yet further even to imprecate his Wrath upon our selves if we break that sacred Band. And to the same purpose were the Agapae or Love-Feasts among the Christians both in the Apostles times and a Century or two after * Vid. Tertul. Apol c. 39. p. 105. And the frequent reception of the Communion must needs render Christians more charitable and increase a holy Love among them because without this Charity they know they ought not to communicate as the too general neglect of this Sacrament may well be reckoned one great cause of the great decay of that Grace amongst us For the partaking of this Divine Feast and the consideration of Christs wonderful Love to us in laying down his Life for us even when we were Enemies must needs constrain us to forgive all those that trespass against us and with a pure heart servently to love one another § XXV Hitherto we have for the most part discoursed of what we our selves are to do in the Reception of the Holy Sacrament To commemorate and represent the Sacrifice of our Saviours Death according to his Institution by eating of Bread and drinking of Wine therein renewing our Covenant with God praising him for his Goodness and testifying and exercising our Unity and Charity towards all our Christian Brethren § XXVI I proceed in the last place to that which we are to receive from God in the conscientious discharge of our Duty and devout Reception of this Holy Communion Which is contained in the last part of our Description That thereby all the Benefits of our Saviour's Death are sealed and applyed to every faithful Receiver § XXVII The Sacraments are Seals of God's Covenant with us The Apostle expresly affirms it of Circumcision * Rom. 4. 11. Galat. 3. 14. as it was a Sign of the Evangelical Covenant made with Abraham and all his faithful Children that is all that should believe in God as he did In the room whereof Baptism was introduced by our Saviour as another Seal of the same Covenant and means our Initiation into it And one Sacrament being a Seal it follows by parity of Reason that the other must be so also The Holy Symbols when duly received do exhibit and convey unto us divine Virtue and assistance and all the inestimable Benefits which were purchas'd for us and reached out unto us
To acknowledge them and to bewail our manifold Sins and Wickedness since we can by no means hide them from the Eye of Heaven and they are the truest and justest Causes of Lamentation and Sorrow Nor are we to rest in generals but here again to call to mind the greatest and most hainous Sins whereof on our former Examination we have found our selves guilty whether in Thought Word or outward Action These we are to acknowledge we have most grievously committed which may imply the hainous aggravation of them for which we must own that we have provoked most justly God's Wrath and Indignation against us that we have deserved his Anger and all the dreadful Consequences thereof in the Punishments both of this and another World § V. And having thus confest and acknowledged our Sins their number continuance extent and aggravation we are directed to proceed to the formal Act of Repentance for them to profess that we do earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings and woe to him who tho' he joyns in this solemn protestation with all good Christians yet does not truly and earnestly repent of his Sins nor is heartily sorry for them which how can he be thought to be when he falls into them again on the next Temptation whereas if we do truly repent of them the Remembrance of them will be indeed grievous unto us and their Burthen intolerable We shall know how evil and bitter a thing it is to depart from the Living God and be weary and heavy laden and fly to Christ to give us rest Which Repentance and abhorrence of our Sins ought to be raised to the greatest heighth at the time of Consecration when we see Christ's Sacramental Body broken and his Blood poured out for us and just at the time of receiving when we ought with an Holy Indignation to bring our Sins and nail them to the Cross of Christ to kill those Murderers as Benaiah did Ioab at the Horns of the Altar to sacrifice them there and hew them in pieces before the Lord in short to be deeply afflicted for them and to make firm Resolves to forsake them § VI. In order to which we must in the third place ask mercy for Christ's sake and pardon for all our Sins as the Church teaches us in those moving and tender Expressions Have mercy upon us Have mercy upon us most merciful Father For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake forgive us all that is past And this we have need to pray for since without Forgiveness the past Guilt remains as well as the Punishment due for our Sins tho' we should no more commit them But both are remitted in this Sacrament to the worthy Receiver not by Virtue of our own Merits or any Preparation Examination or Repentance or even of the very Act of outward receiving but merely for Christ's sake on account of his Merits and Intercession and by the Virtue which flows from his wounded Side his spiritual Flesh and Blood inwardly received by the Faithful in this Ordinance § VII Now we are taught to conclude this Confession with praying that God would grant us that we may ever hereafter serve and please him in newness of Life without which all that 's past is in vain nor is there any that 's so perfectly renewed that he has not still need to purge out something of the old Leaven And tho' God will give such Grace to those who worthily partake of this Sacrament yet has he appointed Prayer as the means to obtain it and of our perseverance in well-doing and daily encreasing in Goodness which Prayer does virtually contain a Promise to use our own utmost endeavors to amend our Lives that Resolution of better Obedience which seems to be the very Act wherein we renew our Covenant with God and engage to fulfil our part of it which if we do faithfully perform he will never be wanting to his § VIII Thus much for Repentance The second Grace to be exercised at the Sacrament is Faith which we are to reduce into Act when the Minister declares in the Absolution That Almighty God has promised forgivenness of Sins to all them that with hearty Repentance and true Faith turn unto him further praying ' That God would have mercy upon us pardon and deliver us from all our Sins confirm and strengthen us in all Goodness and bring us to Everlasting Life Which Absolution we are humbly to receive upon our Knees as an authoritative Declaration from one commissioned by Christ himself to bind and loose and to remit and retain Sins to which we are to add a hearty and faithful Amen as being fully assured that God will perform what he has promised by his Son if we neglect not our parts in the Covenant Faith is here more eminently necessary as well with respect to all the Promises of the Gospel as to the particular Benefits of this Sacrament and the application of them to our selves For our Lord has said He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood hath eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last Day The faithful Receiver eats and drinks Salvation this Sacrament shall eminently conduce unto it He is thereby united to Christ one with Christ and Christ with him and by virtue of that indissoluble union sealed in this Holy Ordinance he receives a Principle of Immortality whereby he shall be not only raised from the Death of sin in this World but at length raised from the Grave and live in endless Happiness which also seems to be the meaning of the Prayer in the very delivery of the Elements The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve the Body and Soul to Everlasting Life to which most devout Christians add their private Amen as being fully perswaded that it shall have that happy efficacy to every worthy Receiver And the same Act of Faith they are to exert when they hear the Minister read those comfortable Words which our Saviour saith by himself and his Apostles to all that truly turn unto him Come unto me all that travel and are heavy laden and I will refresh you c. To which the devout Soul will be ready to answer Draw me and we will run after thee or with St. Peter To whom should we go but to thee thou hast the Words of eternal Life And so in the rest of the Sentences applying them to himself by a particular Act of Faith and saying Lord I believe help my unbelief And this Faith will be mightily advanced by our actual advertence to Christ's spiritual presence in this Holy Ordinance more eminently graciously and peculiarly than in any other And the highest Act of it is to be exercised at the very instant of receiving § IX Devotion is in the third place highly necessary to a Worthy Communicant at the time of Celebration and in all the parts of that Holy Office By which Devotion is meant the intense abstraction or withdrawing of
THE Pious Communicant Rightly Prepar'd OR A DISCOURSE Concerning the Blessed Sacrament Wherein the NATURE of it is Described our Obligation to frequent Communion Enforced and Directions given for due Preparation for it Behaviour at and after it and Profiting by it WITH PRAYERS and HYMNS suited to the several Parts of that Holy Office To which is added A Short DISCOURSE of BAPTISM By SAMUEL WESLEY A. M Chaplain to the most Honourable IOHN Lord Marquess of Normanby and Rector of Epworth in the Diocese of Lincoln LONDON Printed for Charles Harper at the Flower-de-luce over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet MDCC The Life of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. An Heroic Poem Dedicated to Her most Sacred MAJESTY In Ten Books In Folio Each Book Illustrated by necessary Notes With Sixty Copper-Plates by the celebrated Hand of W. Faithorn The Second Edition revised and improved with the Addition of a large Map of the Holy-Land and a Table of the Principal Matters Written by the Author of this Manual on the Sacrament Printed for C. Harper PREFACE WHEN so many excellent Treatises have already appear'd on this Subject it may well be wonder'd why after all so mean a Pen should attempt so weighty an Argument since 't is almost impossible to say any thing New upon it and the mildest Question a Man must expect who now handles it would be of the same Nature with that of Iob to his Friends Who knoweth not such Iob xii 3. Things as these But one that is resolved to write a Book seldom wants an Excuse for doing it and will be ready to draw one even from the Number of those which have gone before him since this might have hinder'd others as well as him And besides there is a different Size of Writers suitable to the different Capacities of Readers and Acquaintance or Inclination or sometimes pure Accident may be the occasion of some Persons reading one Book when they would not have read another and perhaps to Profit more by it than they might by another better written on the same Subject What I have aim'd at in this Manual is to be as clear and methodical as I could both in the Description of the Nature of the Sacrament and the Occasion and Ends of its Institution and in the Directions for our Behaviour in relation to the Reception of it I have endeavour'd to give a rational and distinct View of it in all the Notions wherein Learned and Pious Men have represented it To press home the indispensible tho' much neglected Duty of frequent Communion which I am persuaded would highly conduce to a general Reformation of Manners and to repair the Decays of Christian Piety amongst us To lay down some plain Rules for our Preparation and Heads of Examination in order to our worthy Receiving with Meditations or Prayers suited to every Part of the Office and inserted in their proper Places As to the double Appendix the former relating to our Religious Societies whose Rules and Orders have been published and defended by Mr. Woodward in his late Book on that Subject and my Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells in the Life of Dr. Horneck and for whom Her late Majesty of Blessed Memory was so much concerned while She was living their whole Design appeared to me so highly serviceable to Christianity that I could not but take this Opportunity to recommend it and shall still be of the same mind till I can see what I have here offered on that Head fairly answered And the latter which relates to Baptism will be granted not unnecessary when several I hope well-meaning Persons especially in those Parts where I live are unsatisfied about it And 't is the same which has been done before by the Right Reverend and Pious Bishop of Ely in his Aqua Genitalis after his Mensa Mystica and by others who have laboured on the same Subject Likewise I have added the Great Hallel or Paschal Hymn which was usually sung by the Iews at their Passover and by our Saviour and his Apostles at the Institution of this Sacrament Nor am I unwilling to own that I have thro' the whole wrought in any memorable Thoughts which I have met with in such Authors as have handled the same Argument having done all as plainly and compendiously as I was able To conclude if the whole or any Part of this little Book may any ways tend to promote the Glory of God or the Piety and Happiness of Mankind especially of that dear Flock over which it has pleased God to give me Charge I shall not much regret my Composing and Adventuring it abroad into the World THE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Pag. 1. Chap. I. Of the Nature of the Sacrament 3. Chap. II. Of the perpetual Obligation that lies upon Christians of riper years to communicate and even to frequent Communion 42. Chap. III. Of Examination before the Sacrament and Preparation for it 94. A Confession when we are Preparing for the Communion 128. A Collect for Perseverance 132. For Faith 134. A Thanksgiving before the Sacrament 135. A Collect for Charity 137. Chap. IV. Of our Behaviour immediately before the Communion and when we receive it 143. An Act of Penitence 163. An Act of Faith 165. An Act of Humility immediately before Receiving 167. An Act of Praise after Receiving 169. An Act of Love 170. Chap. V. Of our Behaviour after we have received and during the whole course of our Lives especially the Time betwixt different Celebrations 173. Questions for the Evening 186. Questions for the Morning 187. Short Directions for those who are really straightned for Time and cannot go thro' the larger Methods of Examination already given And a Prayer for one in Affliction and Want 187 c. Of BAPTISM 189. The Great Hallel or Pasehal Hymn c. 251. THE Worthy Communicant INTRODUCTION THE End of every Christian Duty is to make us still better and holier The height of our Perfection consists in the Imitation of God unless we know God we cannot be like him and the clearest Revelation of his Nature and of his Will is left us by his Son in his Holy Gospel The Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord is an Epitome of that Gospel * The word Sacrament is often used in the Fathers for the whole Christian Religion and a lively Representation of our Saviour's Sufferings He therefore who frequently and devoutly receives it cannot be an ill Man but must needs make a more than ordinary Progress in Virtue and Holiness For the promoting whereof I have undertaken to write this little Manual wherein I shall endeavour in the I. Chapter to give a clear and rational Account of the Nature of this Sacrament and the Occasion and Ends of its Institution As in the II. Of the perpetual Obligation which lies upon all adult Christians to communicate and even to frequent Communion In the III. Of our Examination before it and Preparation for it The
this Representation of Christ's Death in the Sacrament has a respect to others to whom we are to declare it as well as it relates like the Commemoration before-mention'd to our selves and to God We do by this proclaim unto Men and Angels the manifold Wisdom and Goodness of God and the Kindness and Condescention of our ever blessed Redeemer and in a manner preach the Gospel to every Creature while we here represent so considerable a part of it as our Saviour's Death and own that we are not asham'd of his Cross but rather Glory in it § V. We represent it also to our selves that is we do by this sacred significant and lively Action fix it more deeply in our Affections and Memories The Bread represents our Saviour's Body who is the true Bread of Life that came down from Heaven The Wine his Blood The Breaking of the Bread the Torments he endur'd on the Cross and the Wounding of his sacred Body as the pouring out of the Wine is a most lively Figure of the shedding his most precious Blood But of this more hereafter § VI. But in the last place we also represent our Saviour's Death to God the Father in the Holy Communion This we do by those Actions which he himself has appointed as means of supplicating him and obtaining his Favour Beseeching our heavenly Father who of his tender Mercy did give his only Son Jesus Christ to suffer Death upon the Cross for our Redemption that we duly receiving the Holy Mysteries according to our Lord Jesus Christ's Holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion may be Partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood The Priest neither makes nor offers the real natural Body of Christ in the Holy Communion but he makes his spiritual or sacramental Body and therein represents his natural Body as well as he also represents what he really suffer'd for us in the verity of that Body this he represents to God as well as to us and every devout Communicant should faithfully joyn in the Representation § VII The next thing observable in our Description of the Holy Communion is That 't was instituted by Christ in the room of the Iewish Passover This as it gives great Light into the Nature of it and the most weighty Controversies concerning it so the Matter of Fact it self is too evident to be doubted or denied and of too great moment to be lightly pass'd over As will appear if we consider the Time the Form the End of the Institution of this Sacrament compared with that of the Passover and the Expressions of Iohn the Baptist and the Apostles relating to the Communion it self or to our Saviour who ordained it The Time of its first Institution and Celebration was the Night of the Paschal Supper immediately after Supper We are told by * Buxtorf Synag cap. 13. p. 302. de Paschat celebrando Fagius in Exod. 12. learned Men that the old Iews had a very antient Tradition amongst them that the Messias should come to redeem them the very same Night in which God brought them out of Egypt the Night of the Passover whereon they also say that God vouchsafed to the old Patriarchs and holy Men most or all of those famous Blessings and Deliverances which we read of in the sacred Writings which is no obscure Indication that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was to succeed the Paschal Supper § VIII The manner of their celebrating the Passover also proves the same For the Master of the House took Bread and brake it and gave it to those about him and said This is the Bread of affliction which our Fathers did eat in Egypt * Buxtorf ubi supra that is the Memorial of that Bread in the same Sense that our Saviour said This is my Body after he had taken Bread and blessed and brake it and gave to his Disciples as the Iews also call'd the Passover The Body of the Paschal Lamb. And in like manner the Cap. The Master of the Feast took it after Supper and when he had given Thanks gave it to the rest and said This is the Fruit of the Vine and the Blood of the Grape This was the third Cup which they drank at the Passover and call'd it The Cup of Blessing * Lightfoot Vol. II. p. 260. All the Company drank of it the sick as well as the healthy †Buxtorf p. 296. Thus our Savior after Supper took the Cup this third Cup and when he had given Thanks gave it to his Disciples and said Drink ye All of this for this is my Blood of the New Testament New Covenant or this Cup is the New Testament New Covenant in my Blood * St. Mat. 26. 28. St. Luk. 22. 20. As Moses said when he sprinkled all the People with Blood †Heb. 9. 20. Exod. 24. 8. This is the Blood of the Covenant which God made with you it was not only the Seal of the New Covenant but likewise the Sanction of it And 't is remarkable that our Saviour calls it the Fruit of the Vine as did the Master of the Feast at the Passover And so the Apostle calls the Sacramental Cup the Cup of Blessing § IX There 's yet another thing remarkable in the Passover which our Saviour retain'd in his Sacrament and that is the Hymn or great Hallel which the Iews always sung at this Festival and still continue to use it in that shadow of the Passover which they yet retain * Buxtorf ubi supr Patrick in 113 Psalm It consisted of six Psalms from the 113 to the 118. inclusively wherein were mentioned as their Rabbins teach 1. Their Deliverance from Egypt 2. The Division of the Red Sea 3. The Giving of the Law 4. The Resurrection from the Dead And 5. The Sorrows of the Messias †Lightfoot Vol. II. p. 354. 'T is expresly said that our Saviour and his Apostles sung a Hymn after they had eaten 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they all doubtless joyn'd in it as was the Custom of their Country-men which they could not have done had it not been a Form well known unto them And what more proper than those Psalms already mentioned which shows the Lawfulness of singing in the Christian Church and of the whole Congregations joyning in it some think Iudas not being here excepted ‖ Lightfoot and that in a set Form out of the Psalms of David which have made a great part of the Liturgy of the Church for near Three Thousand Years Nor was this Sacrament ever celebrated without singing by any regular Christians St. Chrysostom on Heb. 10. says of those of his Time That in the Sacrament they did offer Thanksgiving for their Salvation by devout Hymns and Prayers to God And before him Pliny's famous Letter mentions the Christians as jointly singing Hymns to Christ And Tertullian in his Apology has left it on Record that it was
by the Death of a Redeemer as Justification or actual Pardon of our Sins the reinstating us in God's Favour and assuring us that he is reconciled to us and that we are accounted righteous before him as well as Sanctification or actual Strength and Grace to conquer our Sins and to obey his Commands 'T is true the beginnings of these are conferred in Baptism we are so far regenerate therein as to be grafted into the Body of Christs Church and to partake of its Privileges by the operation of his Holy Spirit within us who will never be wanting to us or forsake us unless we our selves do put a Bar to the Divine Assistance by confirm'd ill Habits and by a wicked Life But since the Divine Image which we there recovered is very often obscured again by the Temptations of the World and the Devil and the remains of Sin within us there is need enough of our being renewed again by Repentance nor has God here left us without Hope or Comfort but notwithstanding the Dream of the old Novatians has appointed a Remedy even for those who sin after Baptism and that is this other Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord wherein as we renew our Covenant with him we receive new Strength to obey his Commands as hath been the constant Faith of all good Christians in all Ages we therein obtain not only the strengthning but likewise the refreshing of our Souls as the Catechism expresses it which includes Divine Consolation and Ioy in believing and such Peace as passes all Understanding § XXVIII But may some here object Where is this Blessedness you speak of Where are these Promises in Holy Scripture of such wonderful assistance in this Sacrament In answer This Holy Communion is the Substance of all other Christian Duties to which so many Blessings are promised throughout the whole Gospel or else why do we perform them of Faith and Repentance and Thanksgiving and Holy Vows and Prayer and Praise and Confession and Adoration and consequently it must share in all their Blessings and Benefits 'T is a Memorial or Commemoration of our Saviour's Love and Sufferings and if God has promised in the old Law that in every place where there is a Memorial of his Name he will meet and bless his People * Exod. 20. 24. much more may we expect it under the Gospel If our Saviour has so solemnly promised that where two or three are gathered together in his Name there he will be in the midst of 'em and bless 'em much more will he be so at this great Synaxis this more general and solemn Assembly of Christians to celebrate his Name and record his Praises †Thus Ignatius in Epist. ad Ephes. If the Prayer of one or two be of so great force that it brings Christ among them how much more will the unanimous Prayers of the Bishop and the whole Church ascending to God prevail with him to grant all they desire He has not commanded us to seek his Face in vain nor is it in vain to do this in Remembrance of him The shewing forth the Lord's Death cannot be without exceeding Comfort to those who have reason to hope they have a share in it 'T is a big Expression The Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ 't is surely far more than an empty Figure 'T is not a little matter to eat the Lords Supper to partake of the Table of the Lord wherein if he that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks Damnation surely he that does it worthily must eat and drink Salvation No less can be intended in our Communion of Christ's Body and Blood than the eternal Son of God's uniting himself by his Spirit to our Souls in this Holy Sacrament and even by his own Divine Nature whereby he in a sense and in some degree makes us Partakers thereof and communicates unto us all the Blessings he has obtained for us by this Heavenly Food nourishing up our Souls to everlasting Life Giving us herein the Earnest and Pledge of our Immortality as well as the means of it and assuring us that because he lives we shall live also which is the meaning of those Expressions Dwelling in Christ and Christ in us and being one with Christ and Christ with us and of the Ministers praying in the very delivery of the Elements That the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ may preserve our Bodies and Souls to Everlasting Life according to our Saviour's own Words He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him he shall live by me he shall never die he hath Eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last day And whether or no these Expressions were then precisely meant of the Sacrament which they might well be by Anticipation and Prophesie though it were not then actually instituted for he speaks in the same place of his Death in the same manner they are yet certainly true of the partaking of Christs Sacramental Body and Blood and feeding on him in our Hearts by Faith with Thanksgiving § XXIX Which brings to the close of our Description that all these Benefits are conferred in the Sacrament only on the faithful Receiver For none but such are properly Partakers of the Body and Blood of the Lord. If Iudas did outwardly partake of this Sacrament as our Church seems to have thought he did †See the Exhortation Lest after the taking of the Holy Sacrament the Devil enter into you as he entred into Judas Satan did but the sooner enter into him because he received with a Heart full of Treachery Covetousness and Malice I take Faith here in the largest Sense for a practical assent to the whole Scheme of the Gospel and consequently a ready and firm Belief of its Revelations Threatnings and Promises accompanied with sincere Resolutions and Endeavours to obey its Commands Tho' the more peculiar object of Faith in this Sacrament must be the Merits of our Saviour and that Pardon which he purchased for us by his own Blood But of these hereafter more at large under those Qualifications which are requisite to those who would partake worthily and profitably of this Holy Communion CHAP. II. Of the perpetual Obligation that lies upon adult Christians to communicate and even to frequent Communion § I. WHerein I shall first prove in general the indispensible Obligation which our Saviour has laid upon us to receive this Sacrament 2. The Extent of it it reaches all adult Christians 3. It s Duration 't is perpetual it lasts till the End of the World 4. That we ought to receive it frequently And in the 5th and last place I shall answer those Objections which are brought either against receiving the Communion in general or against frequently receiving it § II. 1st Of the Obligation in general to receive And one would wonder how any who are called Christians and do but remember the Reason of
prevent any misinterpretation of this innocent and decent Ceremony she has expresly declared * Rubrick after Communion Service That thereby no Adoration is intended or ought to be done either unto the sacramental Bread and Wine which is bodily received or unto any corporal presence of Christ's natural Flesh and Blood And this has so far satisfied all Persons who are not extreamly prejudic'd that the Members of Foreign Churches who have received the Communion here in England have willingly and gladly done it kneeling †Tigurin Liturgy p. 139. And one would think none of those who differ from us should any more object against this practice till they had answered what one of their own Opinion in other things has offer'd in the defence of it * Baxter ' s Christian Directory Part 2. pag. 3. Who acknowledges that for kneeling he never heard any thing to prove it unlawful If there be any thing says he it must be either some Word of God or the Nature of the Ordinance which is supposed to be contradicted But 1. There is no Word of God for or against any Gesture Christ's Example can never be intended to oblige us more in this than in many other Circumstances that are confessedly not obligatory as that he delivered it but to Ministers but to a Family c. and his Gesture was not such a sitting as ours 2. And for the Nature of the Ordinance it is mixed and if it be lawful to take a Pardon from a King upon our Knees I know not what can make it unlawful to take a sealed Pardon from Christ by his Ambassador in the same manner § XLIV To the second Objection That Persons cannot joyn with unworthy Communicants we may first ask who made any Man the Iudge of Hearts and how we are sure any Person is unworthy since none is so but the Impenitent When our Saviour told his Disciples at the Institution of this Supper that one of them should betray him they did not ask him Lord is it my Neighbour But Lord is it I And accordingly we ought surely to be more concerned for our selves than for others And is it not suspicious that there 's something very much amiss in our selves when we are so ready to censure our Neighbours Does it not look as if we were solicitous to take off Mens Eyes from our own Faults tho' at the expence of another's Reputation Let any one consider the World and he 'll soon acknowledge that the worst of Men are the most uncharitable But farther 't is certain that the visible Church will always be made up of Good and Bad and the Tares will never be entirely separated from the Wheat till the End of the World Our Saviour knew that Iudas was a Devil and yet he did not remove him from the Sacrament nor refuse to receive with him If other Men receive unworthily to their own Master they stand or fall but that shall never injure me if I my self am a worthy Receiver But supposing there ought to be more exact Discipline in any Church and we know too well who those are that have now render'd that almost impracticable among us yet this can be no just Reason for our not communicating with it Since the Church of Corinth was more notoriously corrupt in this matter than they can pretend ours to be There were not only Drunkards but even an incestuous Person in their Communion and yet St. Paul did never advise any to separate from them or to call a more pure Church out of that Church but only to Try and Examine themselves and so to receive Besides if any Person be publickly scandalous so as to give Offence to the Congregation we know our Rubrick permits him not to receive but orders the Minister to put him back from the Communion Tho' in large Parishes 't is perhaps impossible for him to know every Person and if any be really scandalized at another's wicked Life he ought to make the Minister acquainted with it if he has first reproved him himself without Success and till he has done both these he has not the least pretence for an Objection on that account against receiving And as this is agreeable to the constant practice of the Church of God so 't is also the Opinion of the most sensible of those who are dissatisfied with some things in our Communion * Baxter ubi supra § XLV The Objections against receiving in general being thus I hope fully answered there remains only something like one against frequent Communion and that is that there 's danger lest as in other things Familiarity breeds Contempt so the commoness of this Sacrament should take away the Reverence due to it But this is easily answered because the same might be said of Prayer and Preaching Besides if it were a good Argument against frequent Communion now it had been so in the Primitive times when they received every day but this rather encreased than diminished their Reverence for the Sacrament and would do the same by us if we received with that Care that we ought and with a just Consideration of the Dignity of this sacred Ordinance CHAP. III. Of Examination before the Sacrament and Preparation for it § I. WHAT has been said in the former Chapter is by no means intended to disswade Persons from a due Preparation before they receive the Holy Sacrament it being certain that none ought to come thither without being habitually prepar'd none if it may be had without some superadded actual Preparation He that comes without the former of these is certainly without the Wedding-Garment and in danger of being bound Hand and Foot and cast into utter darkness He that comes without the latter where it may be had will fall short of that Comfort and Benefit which he might otherwise have in this Holy Ordinance It may not therefore be unnecessary to enquire more distinctly into each of these and to shew wherein they consist § II. By habitual Preparation is meant that which is transacted in the entire frame the uniform course of a Religious Life When a Person has made it the main Business of his Life to mortify all ill Habits and to introduce better in their room to cleanse himself from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit to perform his Vow in Baptism to be sanctified and renewed to repent and be converted and Holy as God is Holy And he that is in this happy Condition as he is always fit to die so is he always fit to receive the Sacrament even tho' he should be hindered from any actual Preparation § III. Nor yet does it hence follow that such actual Preparation is to be neglected where it may be had nay it is undoubtedly highly useful and tends very much to the perfection of a Christian Life This Preparation chiefly consists in Examination or the strict trial of our Lives and Conversations by the Rule of God's Word A due knowledge of the Nature of
Cannot the Blood of Jesus soften it and cleanse it that Blood of sprinkling which speaks better things than that of Abel Shall I not now at least detest abhor forsake all those Sins which cost my Saviour so dear shall I again commit them shall I any more favour those Iudas's which betrayed those Herods which mocked those Pilates which crucified the Lord of Glory O Lord my Heart is deceitful and desperately wicked and has often already deceived me and my Goodness is as the morning Cloud and early Dew which soon passeth away and without thy Grace I shall again fall into those very Sins which I now detest and abhor which that I may never more do imprint I beseech thee in my Mind so lively a Sense of my Saviour's Sufferings and let me receive and carry away so lasting an Impression of them from this Sacrament that I may henceforth die unto Sin and live unto Righteousness that I may subdue and mortifie more and more all criminal Desires and the whole Body of Death thro' Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen! An Act of Faith I Desire to believe Lord help my Unbelief I believe that thou canst do all things and if thou wilt canst make me clean I chuse thee for my chief Good I depend upon thee as my only Happiness I believe all thy Promises are Yea and Amen faithful and true in thy Son Jesus and that those who come unto thee by him thou wilt in no wise cast off He is able to save to the uttermost he is mighty to save and to forgive In him alone thou art well pleased thro' him O God art thou reconciled to Mankind and hast made them capable of everlasting Happiness from whence none shall be excluded who believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus and obey his Commands On him therefore do I cast my self and on his Merits is all my hope for Time and for Eternity believing that there is no other Name given under Heaven by whom I may receive Health and Salvation In this perswasion do I now approach to thy Holy Table humbly believing and expecting that my Saviour will be known unto me there and will meet me and bless me that his Body and Blood shall preserve my Body and Soul to everlasting Life that he will pardon my Sins and strengthen me in Grace guide me by his Counsel and bring me to his Glory Amen! An Act of Humility immediately before Receiving WHence is it O Lord that such a Wretch as I so loathsome and deformed with Sin should once more be admitted to thy presence to taste the Bread of Life Whence is it that my Saviour should be Guest to one that is such a Sinner O Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my Roof nor that I should come under thine I desire to humble my self before thee with the utmost prostration and adoration I cast my self at the Feet of Jesus and will not let him go except he bless me I am nothing I have nothing I desire nothing but Jesus and to be with him in Peace in the heavenly Ierusalem The lowest place in Heaven will be infinitely above what I can deserve who wonder why thou shouldst cast thine Eyes on such a nothing A Covenant and League uses to be made between those that are equals but there is an infinite distance between God and me by Nature and if possible a yet greater distance by my Sins Yet has that God who dwells in the High and Holy Place vouchsafed to promise that he will also dwell with the humble and contrite Spirit that trembles at his Word Come therefore O Lover of Souls O ever blessed Jesus who tho' thou fillest Heaven and Earth with the Majesty of thy Glory didst yet humble thy self when thou camest into the World to the inconveniences of a Cave a Stable and a Manger My Heart is yet meaner than any of these but thou canst purifie and cleanse it and make it a Temple fit for thy self to dwell in Come and meet me in thy own comfortable Ordinance who hast promised tho' thou wilt resist the proud to give Grace to the humble I beg this O Father for the sake of Jesus Christ my Saviour who humbled himself to the Death upon the Cross for me a miserable Sinner to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost Three and One be all Honour and Glory now and for ever Amen! An Act of Praise after Receiving ALL Glory and Honour and Praise to him who sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever To him who has loved us and washed us from our Sins in his own Blood and has now entertained us with that heavenly Food which those who taste with Faith shall never die I have tasted that God is Good and that blessed are all those that trust in him he is not a barren Land or a dry Wilderness He has given me Meat to eat at his own Table which the World knows not of such Joy as no Man can give or take from me He has assured me of his Favour and Goodness towards me and given me the Seals of his Pardon and the Pledges of Everlasting Happiness Alas how poor am I of Thanks for such inestimable Benefits what have I to render to the Lord of Life and Glory for these and all his Favours I devote and dedicate all my little all unto him my Soul and Body for Time and Eternity without Exception and without Reserve 'T is but a mite but 't is my All O give me more that I may restore it to the Giver Accept O gracious God this my poor Sacrifice of Praise and help me also to order my Conversation aright that I may see thy Salvation that in Heaven the place of Eternal Praises I may with Angels and Arch-angels and all the glorious Company there adore and magnifie and bless thee and sing Hallelujabs and Hymns of Praise unto thee for ever and ever Amen! An Act of Love O Infinite Goodness O amiable Jesu O bleeding dying agonizing Love What Man what Angel in Heaven durst have ever thought of such a way to appease God's Anger against Sinners as the Death of thee the Only begotten Son of God had not thy Father freely sent thee hadst not thou thy self as freely descended to Earth and taken our mortal Clay upon thee to do and to suffer the Will of God Who could have believed this hadst not thou thy self revealed it and confirmed it by so many Miracles Nay as if it had not been sufficient to die for us thou hast also given us the heavenly Food of thy blessed Body and Blood to be our spiritual Nourishment in this Holy Sacrament Thou hast made me partaker of those venerable Mysteries Thou hast renewed that Covenant with me which I trust shall never be broken O! was there no other way to save Mankind but the Death of him that lives for ever were all the Souls of the lost Sons of Adam worth one Groan one