agreed to abolish that Custom To conclude the famous Huniades is as great in Story for his Humility as for his Victories and as much celebrated that he would not tho on his Death-bed receive the blessed Sacrament but on his knees as for the many Overthrows that he gave the Mahometans Since therefore these and the like Excuses are but Engines to entrap and betray me And since the same Authority that forbids me to kill or to steal bids me do this in remembrance of my Saviour I do from henceforth resolve to communicate upon every Occasion as I love my life and my salvation The Collect. GRacious God the instructor of the ignorant and the guide of them who are out of the way convince me of my folly remove my prejudices and arm me with thy Grace against the assaults of Satan that I may not consult with Flesh and Blood but with thy lively Oracles that I may long for all occasions to communicate with thee and may stifle all Excuses that would hinder that holy Converse that above all things I may love thee here and live with thee for ever hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. III. Of the danger of unworthy Receiving BUT do not thou imagine O my deceitful heart that there is nothing required of thee but only to approach this holy place and taste of the Dainties it affords They never relish well but to the Palat that is seasoned This Bread turns to a Stone and the Wine into Gall and Wormwood to the sinner whose soul is vitiated Our Saviour does not vouchsafe to eat this Christian Passeover but with his Disciples with the penitent and the devout He is the Carkass and here the Eagles are expected but Dogs are prohibited * Revel 22.15 without are dogs and all that work iniquity And whatever wretch should dare break through these Fences and commit a Rape on this blessed Sacrament he will be deceived of the benefit expected for this spiritual food to him hath no extraordinary relish nor does it differ from that which ministers to his Lust and his Wantonness and he runs the greatest hazard of eternal damnation He had better have swallowed the deadliest Poison I dare not therefore magnifie constant Communion so as to depretiate the Vertues that must qualifie the Communicant and make him worthy It is an insufferable affront to Religion and an intrusion not to be pardoned when the crafty Usurer shall come from his yesterdays grinding the face of the poor to eat to day the Body of his Saviour the Shop-keeper from his little arts and methods of fraud the Glutton from his cramm'd dishes the Intemperate from his last nights debauch and the lustful from the arms and embraces of his Mistrisses to force themselves a way to Gods House and Table that man unavoidably * 1 Cor. 11.27 29. eats and drinks damnation to himself and is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. And tho perhaps the word in the Original which our Translators render Damnation be sometimes taken in a softer sense and only signifies Temporal Judgments And it be a Quaere whether he who thinks himself unworthy be for that Reason unfit because the most humble is the best prepared or whether every actual unworthiness makes a man liable to so severe a sentence Yet doubtless every prophane and impenitent Wretch is in the high-road to Ruin And hardly can salvation it self save such a man * Heb. 6.6 c. who after he hath been inlightned from above and tasted of the good gift of God falls away For he hath anew crucified to himself the Lord of life I therefore as a private person charge thee O my soul look to thy self and examine severely thy state Thy happiness and eternal welfare depend on thy due preparation And as God's servant in the Function of the Priesthood I charge the Drunkard and Adulterer and I do it in the Name of our adorable Saviour I charge the Covetous and the Extortioner the Proud and the Revengeful the Prophane Man and the Hypâ—crite the practical Infidel and Debauchee not to presume to tread this holy ground Fire will break from this Altar and consume them Here is an angry Cherub with his Flaming Sword turning every way to secure the Tree of Life that it may not be tasted of by the wicked and profligate but I also charge the same Atheistical and vicious liver to alter his evil habits to wash his soul clean in the waters of true penitence and then let him visit the Temple It is equally damnable not to come at all and to come unprepared The Collect. In imitation of St. Chrysostome HOly Saviour who hast been in all places who didst not disdain to visit the Grave with thy Body and Hell with thy Soul while thy Divinity was with the penitent Thief in Paradise and with thy Father on his Throne Thou Spirit of Truth thou Heavenly King and Comforter who art present every where and fillest all things Thou Treasure of Goodness and Guide unto Eternal Life where wilt thou that I shall provide the Passeover O! come and pitch thy Tents in my Soul and purge me from all pollution cleath me with thy Righteousness give me Faith and Knowledg Love and Obedience that I may always be fit to enjoy thy company and to share in thy Merits Pardon my sins and save my soul O thou Author of all Goodness Amen CHAP. IV. Of Examination in general THere is an indispensible necessity of Examination preparative to worthy receiving For tho Charity inclines me to judg Favourably of others yet I dare not flatter my self And if severity be at any time lawful it is in the Offices of Repentance I ought to suspect my best actions and censure my very devotions I ought to fly the very appearances of evil as I dread the shadows of the Grave and to tremble at a temptation when first in View For nothing can be so terrible as the state of a * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Reprobate For if the Sacrifice must be without blemish if it must not only not want any Essential or Integral part not an Ear or an Eye but also must not so much as have a Scab or an Ulcer the blood must not be tainted nor the Lungs scirrous how much more ought the Priest to be perfect throughly furnisht unto every good work It is the Apostle's advice 1 Cor. 11.28 Let every man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a word of a very large and comprehensive signification I ought to examine my self as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 h. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. S. Chrysost Hom. 20. in Ep. ad Rom. to 3. p. 174. the Ancient Priests did their Sacrifices For both the Jews and Gentiles when an Oblation was brought to the Temple did not only inspect its Out-side but cut it down by the back
the men and the Deaconesses to that belonging to the Women and this they were advised to do with this sober caution * Const Ap. ub supr that no one should salute his brother deceitfully and treacherously as Judas kist our Lord when he betrayed him In the Liturgy of St. Basil the people are bid to salute one another that they might unitedly confess the Father Son and Holy Spirit the consubstantial and inseparable Trinity and then they repeated the Creed and in that of St. Mark there is a prayer to be said at the performance of this Ceremony wherein ' They desire God to look down on his Church and to bestow on them his Love and his Assistances and the Gifts of the Holy Ghost that with a pure Heart and a good Conscience they may salute one another with the Holy Kiss not in Hypocrisie but in purity and innocence in one Spirit in the bond of peace and of Love that they might become one Body and one Spirit in one Faith and one hope of their calling that at last they might all be partakers of the Divine and infinite Love o-Christ Jesus Then in ⸫ Cyril ub supr the Church of Jerusalem the Priest did bid the people lift up their hearts and they answered We lift them up unto the Lord the Priest rejoined Let us give thanks unto the Lord The people answered It is meet and right so to do after which the Church calling upon the whole Creation to praise God did sing the Angelical Hymn Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbath Which Hymn was usher'd in with this Preface o Liturg. S. Jacobi ' Let all Flesh keep silence and stand with fear and trembling and put off all worldly and sensual Thoughts for the King of Kings the Lord of Lords Christ our God is coming forth to be slain and given for Meat to all his Faithful Servants the Quires of Angels go before him and with them Principalities and Powers the Cherubim with many Eyes and the Seraphim with six Wings shading their Faces and singing the Hymn Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Then followed the Prayer of Consecration and with that the Prayer for all states of Men and for the peace of the World together with the recital of the Diptychs which was always closed with the Lord's Prayer But in other Churches it was otherwise * Constit li. 2. c. 57. li. 8. c. 11 12. First the general Prayer for the whole state of mankind for Peace and Prosperity and all other Blessings was said at the end of which the Names of all the Eminent Persons who either had dyed in the Communion of the Church or yet lived in it were recited out of the Ecclesiastical Tables or Dyptichs and then the people were bid to lift up their hearts unto God c. Whereupon the Bishop making the sign of the Cross blest the People saying Preserve O Lord thy people and bless thine inheritance which thou hast purchas'd by the blood of thy Christ and hast called to be a royal priesthood and an holy nation And then the Bishop standing at the Altar proceeded to the Prayer of Consecration which was agreeable to our Saviour's Form at the Institution at * Dion areop ub supr Basil de spir S. cap. 27. which time the Elements which were before cover'd with a fine Linnen Cloath in Imitation of Christ's being so wrapt when he was lay'd in his Sepulchre were uncover'd that the people might see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out After the Prayer of Consecration the ⸪ Cyril ub supr Priest first heartily said Amen And after him ‡ Just in Apol. 2. Dion Alex. apud Euseb li. 7. c. 9. c. the people praying that so it might be and protesting that they believed that that Sacrament was the true Body and Blood of Christ but in the Liturgy of St. James when the Words of the Institution were recited the Deacon first said Amen and then acknowledged That they did believe and confess that as often as they did eat that flesh and drink that blood they did show forth the Lords Death To which the people answered We do show forth thy death O Lord and we do acknowledg thy Resurrection This being done the Deacon bid the people attend to the holy oblation in peace and quietness and to bow their heads to their Saviour Jesus in honour to his name and institution Then it was said Holy things to holy persons To which the people answered There is one holy one Lord one Jesus Christ blessed for ever in the glory of God the Father Then the people were exhorted to the reception of the holy Mysteries the Priest singing with heavenly Melody the words of the Psalmist ‡ Cyril ubi sup Psal 34.8 O taste and see that the Lord is gracious to which the Congregation in some ‡ Liturg. S. Jacobi Churches answered Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. When the Consecratlon was done which probably if there were many Bishops or Priests present they all joined in the person consecrating said ‖ Liturg. S. Marc. As the Hart desireth the water-brooks so longeth my soul after thee O God And then himself received in which Action it is observable by St. Chrysostome's Liturgy he was obliged to drink three times of the Chalice bowing all the while in honour of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and afterward he gave it to the Clergy if any were present the Bishop giving it to the Priests the Priests to the Deacons and the Deacons to the people after the ⸪ Const Apost ji 8. c. 13. Clergy the Monks received for they gave them the preference because they look't on them as a sort of Ecclesiastical persons not purely Laymen tho not in Orders and after the Monks the Deaconesses Virgins and Widows then the Children then the rest of the Laity in their several Orders that is as I conjecture first the Men afterward the Women * Conc. Tolet. 4. c. 17. the Priests and Deacons communicating at the Altar the Inferior Clergy in the Quire and the people at the Rails without tho I am well perswaded that in the first Ages the Laity also came up to the Altar to which they were invited to draw near in the Fear of God and with Faith and Charity and when they approacht they were commanded by the Deacon to stand decently and reverently in the fear of God and with contrition of heart and to receive modestly and piously behaving themselves as those who approacht the presence of a King And accordingly they received in a posture of deep Reverence and Adoration for no man durst to receive but he adored and while the Mysteries were distributing the Congregation * Const Apost ubi sup Liturg. S. Jacobi S. Chrysost c. sung the 33d Psalm or as we reckon it the 34th I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall be continually
as fearful of offending and as tender of my duty as the first day that I vowed or as I was when I last communicated Do I remember how dear my former Offences cost me and how dâ—fficult my Repentance was How many sighs how many disturbances of a distracted Conscience it gave occasion to And have I courage enough to resist a temptation for the future to put a knife to my throat when I am at a Feast and to wear Sackcloath in the Palace of Princes Can I be grave in light company and reserv'd among the vain and virtuous in a debauch'd Society and chaste among the effeminate Are these my Resolutions constant do they dwell in my mind Or am I holy only by occasion and outward accidents and extraordinary events Am I as humble and devout in my prosperity as in the day of affliction Do I pray as often on the days of my pleasure as on a fasting-day And am I as just as charitable and temperate when I follow my worldly business as when I communicate Have I remembred * 2 Cor. 13.5 the Apostle of the Gentiles to examine my self whether I am in the Faith or else I am a Reprobate Is my Faith such as works by Love and publickly declares it self by an intire Obedience to the Laws of Christ and is fit to give me a right to communicate For the Catechumens who were not baptized had Faith and so had those who were in a state of Penance and yet their Faith was not thought sufficient to intitle them to the Priviledges of God's Table For Faith is not so much an affiance in God as a giving credit to his Revealed Will as it is a body of Laws adapted to the promoting of God's Honour and our Salvation Therefore when I say I believe I mean I resolve to live according to those injunctions that I take Jesus for my Saviour and expect to share in the benefits of his Death and Resurrection no further than I obey his will I must also further examine Am I in perfect Charity Is my hope firm and my love to Jesus unalterable Do I as earnestly long for this spiritual food as I do for my daily sustenance And could I be content rather to want the Necessaries of life than to be deprived of the Bread of God And do I bear in mind the doom of those who slighted the divine Invitations and would not come and of him who intruded not having the Wedding-garment These and many other such Questions are necessary to make this duty of Self-examination advantageous For nothing less than the strictest scrutiny can make a worthy Communicant It was therefore an excellent Observation of the Ancients That the preparation for the Holy Eucharist should be as strict and compleat as our preparation for our dissolution and that I should no more dare to appear before God's Table with any known sin unmortified than I should dare to appear before his Tribunal with it For when I approach this tremendous place I am not concern'd about matters of curiosity and of light value but about the most momentous affairs of Religion about my Souls health and eternity I do not therefore puzzle my self with little questions nor do I dispute what are the exact dimensions of the Kingdom of darkness where it is and what different Climates are in it but the question is whether Heaven and Hell be real or imaginary places Whether the Judicature of Conscience signifie any thing in this world or the Tribunal of Christ in that which is to come Can I dwell with everlasting burnings and a consuming fire where the torments are infinite in their height and infinite in their duration Is not depending on a death-bed-Repentance a deceiving of our selves And if so what shall I do now that when I go hence I may die in God's favour What shall I do to be saved This is a terrible Interrogatory a question of weight and moment For as no man is fit to die but he who loves God above all things and is in perfect charity with all Mankind who is unconcerned with the affairs of the world and hath learnt and practised an intire Resignation of himself into the hands of his Creator whose accounts are adjusted whose life hath been one act of intercourse with Heaven and whose interests in eternity are secured so neither is any man fit to approach the holy Table without the like preparation The Collect. LET thy holy Spirit so assist me O most gracious Father that my preparation for the Sacrament may be as exact as if I were to fit my self to stand before the Throne of my eternal Judg that nothing may a lienate my affections from thee nor alter my Resolutions Heavenward but that I may so worthily eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of the Son of man that when I go hence I may be admitted to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. VII Of the Examination of my Knowledg 'T IS not to be denied that some knowledg is requisite to fit me for this Heavenly Communion that I may be able * 1 Cor. 11.29 to discern the Lords Body But this knowledg rather consists in the understanding of the Offices of Holiness than in the comprehension of the depth of this and other sacred Mysteries I am very sure that at the first Institution the Apostles were very meanly furnisht with such Learning The very Foundation of the Sacrament the Death and Resurrection of our Saviour was a Riddle to them Nor did they then understand either the method of working out our Redemption or of the establishing of the Kingdom of the Messias in the world And yet because they were humble and devout sincere and obedient our great Master gave them admission to his Table And so was it also in the Primitive Church For the Bishops of old allowed every one as soon as he was baptized to come to the Holy Eucharist altho they carefully avoided any discourses about this Sacrament before those who had never been partakers of it And when their Subject led them that way they spoke in Figures and Metaphorical Expressions and appealed to the understanding of those who had communicated For they were well perswaded that it was a Mystery Now Mysteries are not to be pryed into but admired not to be commonly talkt of nor curiously disputed about but to be lookt on with Veneration and Respect to be studied and reverenc'd They knew it was no slight and perfunctory employment to communicate with the Holy Jesus but they withal knew that a little measure of Knowledg and a great degree of Humility Piety and Charity would intitle to the Priviledges of God's Altar Now all that they instructed the Candidates of these Mysteries in was only the duties of Morality Justice and Honesty Peaceableness and Compassion Chastity and Temperance together with an ardent love to God only now and then they could not forbear reprehending an Heretick
our great Master at that season first gave Being to the Sacrament dispensing with Peoples eating before they received which at other times was not allowed And ⸪ Aug. Ep. 118. in some of the African Churches they celebrated the Eucharist twice on this day in the morning for the sake of those who intended to dine and in the evening for the sake of those who fasted and in the * Ludolph li. 3. c. 6. alii Aethiopick Churches to comply the more exactly with the practice at the Institution they use unleavened Bread whereas all the rest of the Year they celebrate in Leaven And the ‖ Prateol de Haer. p. 202 Guid. Car. Alph. a Castro c. Greeks are perswaded that the Sacrament consecrated on Maundy-Thursday is of more Virtue and Efficacy than when it is consecrated at any other time and therefore they and the Moscovites in imitation of them reserve some of the Sacramental Bread consecrated on this day to be administred to the sick the whole Year following and it is not a little remarkable that among the Roman-Catholicks in Holland and as ‖ Ep. Vossio init Ep. Ecclesiast Theolog. Ep. 557. p. 807. Grotius thinks elsewhere time out of mind until now on this day after Supper the Father or Master of the Family in imitation I suppose of the Jewish Custom after the eating of the Passover having read the History of the Sacrament out of the Gospel gives to every one of his Family a piece of bread dipt in Wine This day is also called among the High-Germans Green Thursday among the Low-Germans White Thursaday and among our Forefathers Sheer Thursday as it was generally and among all the Western Christians Lavipedium and Maundy-Thursday either because of the Maundy or Alms that were given this day to the Poor by Princes Bishops and religious Persons or rather because of the Mandate or Command John 13.34 A new Commandment I give unto you that ye love one another which Passage is the Antiphona for this day in the Wâ—stern Churches an Instance of which Love and Condescention our Blessed Saviour then gave when-he wash'd his Disciples Feet which in the East was the Office of Servants toward their Masters and this Custom also is not only continued in the ‡ Smith p. 40 41. Greek Church and among the other Oriental Christians but in the Latin Church also the Bishop performing this Office to his inferior Clergy and the Governour of every Religious House to those of his Fraternity the custom being Ancient and Apostolical ‡ V Conc. Aquisgr c. 20. Aug. Ep. 119. c. 18. tho the practice as to circumstances were not uniform in all Churches and on this day the King of England anciently in his own Person now by Proxy the Grand Almoner supplying the place does wash the feet of as many poor men as he is Years old to whom also he gives an Alms as the Bishops do on the same occasion which was wont to be called the * Anastas in Adrian P.P. p. 112. Paschal Alms or the Easter Charity The Lessons on this day if I mistake not the Fathers were the Book of ‡ Ambr. ub supr Jonas a very proper Portion of Scripture to set forth the Divine Pity and inclinations to forgive and the ‡ Chrys ub supr History of Judas's Treason together with the Account of the Institution of the Blessed Sacrament The Epistle 1 Cor. 10.16 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 Bread and one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread The Gospel out of the Evangelists and St. Paul THE Lord Jesus the same Night in which he was betray'd after his Disciples had eaten the Paschal Lamb took Bread and when he had given Thanks and Blessed it be brake it and gave it to them and said Take Eat This is my Body which is broken and given for you This do in remembrance of me after the same manner also when he had supped he took the Cup and when he had given Thanks he gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it for this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins This do as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me Verily verily I will no more drink of the Fruit of the Vine until I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom and they all drank of it And having sung an Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives The MEDITATION THE Condition of Mankind in this Life is relative and made up of dependancies upon Heaven nor could Adam in his best Estate subsist without the Benediction of his Maker Communion with God is the End of Religion and was the Employment of Paradise nor can any thing else make the World happy But because God who is a pure Spirit cannot converse with men without condescending to treat us according to our Capacities therefore Truth when it visits us is content to be drest in our Habits when God speaks to us he entertains us not with his own Losty and Majestick Expressions but with modes of Speech and Representations of Things that we are acquainted with It is true had we been made without Flesh and Blood our Graces had come to us like themselves not wrapt up in Emblems and Figures but because we cannot live without our senses and are most affected with what we hear and see theresore God speaks to our outward man in visible ministrations the Almighty Wisdom treating the World with sensible Objects the better to lead them to the Contemplation of those things that are invisible and this was the cause why Rites and Ceremonies were instituted in the Church as marks of Communion and incentives of Devotion Angels we know who are not clogg'd with a load of Flesh and Blood and whose dwelling is above have no need of Sacraments they who have the Honour of a clear Vision of the Almighty and the freedom of a more immediate Converse with him need not these remoter Encouragements to Piety and such also shall be the Happiness of God's Servants after they dye but man in his best and most innocent Estate wanted them and therefore God planted and by a particular sanction constituted the two Trees in Eden to be two Sacraments outward and visible sings of the Favour which Adam should partake of if he perform'd the conditions of obedience which God required from him they representing to him the state of Wisdom and Felicity which was reserved for him in Heaven and serving to inform him that to attempt the knowledg of the highest Mysteries to the prejudice of the Divine Commands is not the way to Life and Immortality To maintain this Union with God Adam was endued with Original Righteousness he had no
Appetites to mortifie no Lusts to conquer no Doubts to be resolved his Understanding was clear and his Will regular and there was need of nothing but an external Law to guide him and the two Trees to be his instructors And when Paradise was lost Adam and his followers still retain'd their peculiar Ceremonies they had their set places and times of Divine Worship and the eldest of the Family was deputed to the Priesthood till the generality of Mankind corrupting themselves the Divine Vengeance swept them away drowning the Old World and sealing a Covenant of Mercy with the New ratified by the Sacramental Sign of the Rainbow that God would no more bring a Deluge on the Earth Out of this new Race of Men did God select the Jews among whom he was resolved more solemnly and in an extraordinary manner to fix his dwelling the Divine Majesty refiding over the Mercy-Seat This Seed of Jacob he singled out to be a Holy Nation and mark'd them as his own People by Circumcision which was a Character of Genealogical Sanctity and having united them into one numerous brotherhood instituted the Passover which was a publick Foederal Rite of their Union with their Maker And to this purpose he required them to furnish him continually with a Table whereon should be Bread and Salt and the Flesh of the Morning and Evening Sacrifices with the Drink-Offerings which they were obliged to tender him Not that God did either need or actually devour these Oblations or lived on the steam of the Blood or the souls of slain beasts as the Gentiles imagined nor that hereby a contrivance might be made for the easier maintenance of his Priests this was the custom of the Temple of Baal but because eating and drinking together was look'd on as a Confirmation of Friendship and one of the strongest engagements to love and kindness as to trespass the Laws of Hospitality to eat of a Man's bread and then to lift up his Heel against him was accounted the Character of a most profligate and vile person But this was only a temporary institution and to last no longer than till the true Passover came till the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World should be offered on the Cross for the Sacraments of the Jews were only Emblems of the Christian Sacraments which were ancienter than that Polity for the Fathers speak a great truth when they assert that the Evangelical Sacraments began under Melchisedech who brought out Bread and Wine to Abraham the Father of the Faithful in whose Seed all the Nations of the Earth were to be blest to inform us that the Christian institutions as they were to last longer so they began sooner than those of the Jews And it is very observable that tho our great Master came into the world to institute a new Religion and in pursuance of that design to abolish all the typical ceremonies yet he was pleased to adopt almost all the other Rites of the Jews and to make them free of the Christian Church thus he chose to complete his most excellent prayer out of the usual forms of the Synagogue and as he establisht the government and jurisdiction which he left behind him according to the different Orders of the Priesthood So especially he ordain'd that as they Baptized their proselites so all that were admitted into the Society that he purchased with his Blood should be washed in the Laver of Regeneration and as after the Paschal Lamb was eaten the Master of the Family took Bread into his hands and lifting it up from the Table that all who were in the House might see it blessed it by calling upon the name of the Lord and when that was distributed took the Cup in like manner so did our blessed Saviour And whereas the Jewish Masters did not only allow the people when they did eat the Passover to mix and dilute their rich and generous Wines thereby to correct the strength and heat of them ‡ Misch Beracoth c. 7. but would not permit them to bless the Wine till they had put Water to it our Master probably did so in the Eucharist as all the Ancients believed and according to that example practised and when the Office was over he sang the great Thanksgiving as their Rubricks required condescending in all things to the Jewish customs that by these methods he might the more easily induce them to become Christians and to correct the scrupulous squeemishness of some of his followers who he knew would take unjust offence at the conforming the Ecclesiastical ceremonies to forreign observances This was the institution of this tremendous mystery nor was it only a temporary institution for our Saviour being willing that his Disciples should always carry about with them the marks of his love and always have in remembrance the benefits of his crucifixion not only gave this Sacrament to his Apostles but enjoyned them himself to take Bread to bless it break it and distribute it as their Master did to the worlds end and obliged also the Laity by the mouth of St. Paul to take eat and drink the Body and Blood of their Saviour until his second coming for as often as they did it the whole action was a remembrance of the dying Jesus a commemoration of his sufferings for an undone world and of his sacrificing himself to the Divine justice The first Sacrifice that our blessed Master made was the Eucharist but that was but a type of what was to be done the next day when himself was offered on the Cross on a new and unheard of Altar And there ought to have been an Altar erected such as the world never knew of because the Sacrifice was such as was never before heard of for himself was the Sacrifice and the Priest too He was not therefore to be offered at the Temple but without the Gates because to be number'd among the Transgressors and the Altar was erected on high that he might purge the Air and drive the Prince of it thence and that his Blood streaming from him to the Ground might wash and cleanse the Earth also polluted with the sins of its inhabitants Had this Sacrifice been offered at the Temple in Jerusalem the Jews might have pretended a sole claim to it but it was offered without the City that all the world might partake of its benefits This was the primary sacrifice to which we owe our Peace and our hopes of Salvation and this Sacrifice is again slain and offered when the Holy Man stands at the Lords Table for the Eucharist is not only an Emblem of spiritual refreshments how much the soul is nourish'd by Grace and good resolves nor is it only a representation of the joys of Heaven when we shall feast on the everlasting Supper of the Lamb but it is truly a Feast in which we make a Covenant with God by Sacrifice it is a Feast upon that Sacrifice and that a Sacrifice for sin a Sacrifice
which our Redeemer once offered to cleanse the world from their sins and we offer as often as we communicate setting that Immaculate Lamb before the Eyes of God and by that intreating him to have Mercy upon us For our Saviour commanded us to do as he did at the Institution in remembrance of him not only to our selves and our Neighbours but to God also as the Ancients and the most judicious of the Modern Writers affirm For tho my Saviour was many Hundred Years since Crucified yet he is the Sacrament represented as if his Passion commenc'd at the same time in which the Holy Office is performed and what should hinder my receiving the benefits of his sufferings tho so long since undergone For if by reason of my share in the first Adam's Transgression notwithstanding the vast distance of Time and Place I and every one that is born is infected with Original Sin what should hinder but that the Crucifixion of my Saviour tho transacted so many Ages past and in a Countrey so remote as Judea should be available to my Salvation For as by one mans sin many were made Offenders so by the Obedience of one many are made Righteous The Priest therefore offers a Sacrifice at Gods Altar a commemoration of that one full perfect and intire Sacrifice which was once offered on the Cross And at the same time Jesus our High Priest offers in Heaven pleads his VVounds and the merits of his Death and implores the Divine Pardon and the assistances of Grace for all his Servants And this is as much as the Church can pretend to while it is Militant so under the Old Law the Priests who had admittance into the Temple were denied entrance into the Holy of Holies thither only the High Priest went once a Year but they were not denied the Liberty to direct the smoak of their incense toward that sacred Place and their Prayers and their Incense had access where themselves could not come And so is it in the Christian Congregration for when the Oblation is made we that are concern'd in the Offertory cannot reach Heaven while we are in this state of Imperfection but our High Priest is there already and gives his People liberty thither to address their supplications and the sweet Odours of their Devotion this is the Honour and these the Priviledges that are purchased for the Church by that Sacrifice and secured to it in this Sacrament Blessed Eucharist Glorious things are spoken of it in the Writings of the good men of old It is called the Supernatural Bread the Divine Mysteries the Sacrifice of Sacrifices the Honourable the Holy the Heavenly the unspeakable Gifts the Sacrament of Sacraments the Holy of Holies the food which gives Life and Salvation the nourishment which endears a man to his God which recovers those that languish which recals those who are in error which raises them that are fallen and secures to the dying penitent the rights of Immortality and by way of eminency it is called the Sacrament the blessed and holy Sacrament when we eat of it we feed on the fatness of the Lord's Body and when we drink of it we taste the immortal Blood of our dying Saviour If Manna were Angels food this is the Bread of God and what an honour is it to receive my Saviour If Joseph's Tomb tho but a little and narrow place when it entertain'd the Body of our crucified Lord was by that means made more venerable and august than the Palace of Kings and became more glorious by containing the Son of God than by being the residence of the Angels who there took up their station how much more excellent is my injoyment when I give my dear Saviour a lodging in my heart and my bosom becomes an habitation for the Lord of Life With trembling therefore will I approach the Altar of God I will admire the Mystery and contemplate the circumstances of his Passion in which every word that he spoke was a Sermon for his Cross was his Pulpit and Mount Calvary the House of Prayer for there he prayed for his enemies and from thence he preached patience and submission to his Friends and I will remember his last actions for tho in all his discourses he spake so as never Man spake like him yet he never entertain'd the world with so eloquent and convincing a Sermon as when he went dumb before his persecutors and opened not his mouth when he carried his Cross silently and bore the marks of his adversaries cruelty without murmuring I will remember this my greatest and best Friend I will remember his last words and dying injunctions and I will communicate with him in the benefits of his Passion till his second appearance to judgment when the just shall eat of the Tree of Life in a better Paradise at that time all Signs shall cease all distant methods of conversation shall expire for in Heaven there are no Sacraments so that at the dawning of the day which the Lord himself shall enlighten when no other beams shall be needful but those of the Sun of Righteousness to make it glorious for ever then all Types and symbolical emblems shall be accomplisht then I shall be united to my Jesus and personally enjoy that immediate communion of which these Mysteries are but shadows and remote representations The Collect. BLessed Lord who bast so graciously invited me to partake of the merits of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ conveyed to me in the blessed Sacrament grant that I may receive it to the remission of my past sins and to the preservation of my Soul against future temptations to the correcting of the deformities of my mind and the rooting out all evil customs out of my heart to the inlightening of my understanding to the strengthening of my faith and that I may be able to give a good account at the dreadful seat of thy judicature help me to spend this day and every day in thy fear and in the offices of holy Religion let thy Mercy pardon me thy Angels guard me and thy Goodness lead me to repentance that I may live and dye thine for Jesus Christ's sake our only Mediator and Advocate Amen The Anthem PETER Mourning IN a cold dark and melancholly night To gloomy shades which did augment the sright Where dismal horrors and confusion dwell And ghastly sights that made the place like Hell The trembling Peter tends and with swoln eyes Deeply laments his fear and cowardise Wretch that I am thus to deny my Lord Fit to be scorn'd by men by God abhorr'd Disconsolate and sad where shall I fly T'escapte the lightnings of my Master's eye That glance that passionate and killing look When Jesus turn'd his head me thunder strook Sufficient was the warning which was given By the infallible Oracle of Heaven Peter said my wise Master boast no more The rich in brags are in performance poor In vain thou promisest with me to dye Thou e're
before Christ's Passion is by his Resurrection put into a state of favour and a capacity to return and to be reconciled to his maker And God grant that his whole Church may be reconciled to their Saviour and to each other that they may duly keep the Feast and live in love and unity here till they all triumph together in Heaven Amen The Epistle Philip. 3.8 YEA doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by Faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead The Gospel Luke 24.13 BEhold two of them went the same day to a Village called Emmaus and while they communed together Jesus drew near and went with them but their eyes were holden that they should not know him and he said unto them What manner of communications are these which ye have one to another as ye walk and are sad They said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth whom the chief Priests and our Rulers have delivered to be condemned to death and have crucified Then said Jesus unto them Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory And beginning at Moses and at the Prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself And he was known to them in breaking of bread The MEDITATION AMong all our Blessed Saviour's unhappinesses the incapacities of his Disciples understandings was not the least by reason of which tho their Master was the Wisdom of the Father and endowed with the Holy-Ghost without measure which enabled him to speak not only vvith the greatest authority but vvith the greatest veracity and plainness yet they vvere alvvays unvvilling to give entire credit to his sayings Some of them they could not understand and others they vvould not believe So vvhen he discoursed of the great mystery of the Sacrament and averred that no Man could have life in him except he did eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood many of his follovvers apprehended that he vvould oblige them to turn Canibals and so vvent back and vvalked no more vvith him Among vvhom St. Mark himself say the Ancients vvas disgusted and left that holy Society and had not St. Peter opportunely reclaimed him the Church had lost that Evangelist Nor was St. Peter himself free from this crime for vvhen our blessed Saviour gave the Twelve an account of his sufferings and that the redemption of the World was to be accomplish'd by his Crucifixion he whose mind was possest with other notions of the Kingdom of the Messiah was scandalized at the declaration and rebuked his Lord not knovving that our Saviour's Cross vvas to be his Throne and by his Agonies only he was to merit Crovvns and earn Triumphs Nor could all that their infallible Guide could say to inform them better drive out this notion out of the heads of the rest of the Apostles no not vvhen they savv him crucified dead and buried and could not but remember that he promised to rise again the Third day The Women more officious than vvise had brought Spices to embalm him as if the Lamb of God had fallen like a common Sacrifice as if the Lord of Hosts had been captivated by the Grave his Povvers baffled and his Promises cancel'd And tho the empty Sepulchre the sight of the Grave-cloaths orderly laid up and the testimony of the Angel vvere undeniable proofs that Jesus was not there but was risen yet their admiration was stronger than their Faith and the Disciples of both sexes were surprised they hardly believed their eyes for as yet they knew not the Scriptures that he must rise from the dead and wondred at all that was come to pass In the head of those devout female proselites was Mary Magdalene who tho once an Angel of darkness had now the purity and zeal of one of the Seraphim she was all ardor and resolution she was the first who went to the Sepulchre on the day of the Resurrection she was earlier up than the beloved Disciple who lay in his Master's bosome and for that reason should have afforded his Master a place in his own heart in his memory and in his love and she had more courage than Peter tho a man of extraordinary fervor she dreaded not the guards nor the shadows of the night that had not yet given place to day but hastens her steps to the venerable Tomb and when she beheld the empty Sepulchre how deep is her concern at the loss of her Saviour She wept bitterly as if she would have softned the Rock and made the most insensible and obdurate parts of the Creation mourn with her the death of her best Friend And tho these were sad disappointments and the sight had affrighted all that followed her yet there she still continues she was the last who return'd from that awful Garden nor did she at length miss of her expectations for they who sow in tears shall reap in joy The Angels first confirm her hopes and immediately after the Lord of the Angels gave her a view of his sacred Person Remember O my Soul the first appearance of our Saviour after his Resurrection was to the most sinful Magdalene nor do thou despair but that thou maist also be admitted to a share in his favour but remember also that this honour was vouchsafed to the penitent Magdalene to Magdalene transported with the ardors of Divine Love that had destroyed all the heats of Lust If thou longest therefore to be blest with such priviledges rise early and begin betime to serve thy Maker weep over thy follies that have deprived thee of the company of thy Saviour and these methods will recall thy departed Redeemer and thy sins which are many shall be forgiven because thou hast loved much To Mary Magdalene among the softer Sex was the first appearance vouchsafed and among the men the next was to St. Peter the first a Woman of the loosest manners and most profligate conversation the second a Man of strong boastings and a weak faith who when he promised to dye with his Master denied him thus the worst of sinners had the preference in this discovery and why should I doubt but that there is mercy also for me and my Saviour hath the same compassion for my Soul as he had for Mary Magdalen's or St. Peter's Magdalene was our Saviour's first Apostle after his Resurrection she had a commission to instruct St. Peter himself and the beloved Virgin too and to tell them their
devout person on such an occasion ' Lord how sad was I when I came last from thy Holy Temple And had I not great Reason to be so considering that I left thy service to be involv'd again in the world How tedious hath been the time since I last communicated with my Jesus And when shall I come again and appear before him that I may meet my Saviour in his Mysteries and converse with him with delight and true satisfactions * Psal 42.12 Like as the hart pants after the water-brooks so longs my soul for thee O God My soul is athirst for God yea even for the living God When shall I come and appear before the presence of God My Saviour when he first ordained this Sacrament exprest himself with Earnestness and Vehemence * Luke 22.15 With desire have I desired to eat this passeover that is according to the expressions of the Synagogue Greek I have heartily desired I have passionately longed to do it and yet he had no need of Sacraments to strengthen or confirm him And should there not be in me the same mind and the same measure of Love that was in my Redeemer Wise men tell us that three things incite the will and create love Excellency Difficulty and Absence and all these meet here 1. This is the most sublime Mystery of our Religion and the most excellent And therefore the Fathers give it the most Honourable Titles and call it the Mystery and the Sacrament of Sacraments c. Nor can any enjoyment make me more happy but being admitted to the Marriage-supper of the Lamb in Heaven For neither eye hath seen nor ear heard nor can the heart of man conceive the present Favors which God in this life bestows on them that love him 2. It is no easie slight thing to be a Worthy Communicant The deepest Sorrow the heartiest Resolutions the most unalterable Vows and the strictest Obedience are qualifications indispensibly necessary to worthy communicating The Table of God is not lightly to be talkt of much less presumptuously to be addrest to And therefore the Fathers when they mentioned the Holy Eucharist because their Congregation was mixt only hinted at things and subjoin'd * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys Passim Those who have been partakers of that Table know what we mean And others are not fit for such sublime Notions And for this Reason * Sec. 46. de Verb. Dom. St. Austin preaching on that Text My flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed purposely avoids a plain Explanation of the words And that he might tempt that part of his Auditory which had never received to a love to that Sacrament he uses this way of Reasoning ' If thou who art a Catechumen art willing to be instructed in this Mystery now is the Feast of Easter enter thy name among those who are to be baptized at the Festival and then thou shalt be inform'd If the time do not invite thee let curiosity incline thee And for this Reason the Table whereon the consecrated Mysteries were plac'd was concealed * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Curtains from the view of the people during the first Service and Sermon till the Communion-Office began 3. The day that I long for is to come and the substance represented under these symbols is in Hnaven For they shall contain the Son of Man till the time of the consummation of all things But till I see him in his Glory this is the most proper and most advantageous way of enjoying him I know not how long it shall be ere I die and go to the lover of my soul and therefore I will converse with him in his Ordinances nor know I but I may die to morrow and therefore I will if I can communicate to day For how can I live without him either in Person or Representation who is the light of my eyes the joy of my heart and should be dearer to me than my Life and Being It is a strange whimsey I acknowledg in * De Hierarchia p. 611. Ed. Rotomag Father Celot the Jesuite That the multitude of Masses bring so much glory to God and so much profit to souls that there could not be too many if not only according to Moses's wish all the Lord's people were Priests but also if all men and women if it were possible and all inanimate bodies and even brute beasts were turn'd Priests to celebrate the Mass And yet every Priest in the Romish Church is bound to say Mass every day Nevertheless I must say it were well to be wisht that both by Priest and People this Sacrament were addrest to with greater frequency and more Reverence and that all the parts of the Creation were imployed in praising their Creator For can I be happy too osten or too much I will therefore love every thing that bears the divine Image stampt upon it and nothing shall occasion my thinking the Table of the Lord contemptible The Collect. MY soul O Lord is delighted with thee and with whatscever hath a relation unto thee Thy Name is Holy and Reverend in my thoughts thy Word Powerful and sacred in my ears thy Body and Blood sweeter than Honey to my mouth and beyond all Delicacâ—es to my taste Give me therefore gracious Lord frequent occasions of calling upon thy Name of hearing thy Word and receiving thy Mysteries that my Saviour may dwell in my heart by Faith here and hereafter I may dwell with him in the Vision of his Glory to all eternity Amen CHAP. XVII Of Resignation and Self-denial NOR must this love which I prosess to my God and his Ordinances be faint and weak but it ought to be strong enough to conquer all that opposes it For can I say I love God if I deny him preference in my esteem to all things else For if I love Father or Mother or any other Relation or my own Ease or Life it self beyond my Saviour I am not worthy to be called his Disciple and am unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven 'T is a Maxim in the School of Jesus * Mat. 16.24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophil in loc If any man will come after him let him deny himself and that not by way of Ceremony or Complement with the Elder Brother in the Gospel who said I go sir but went not but with the greatest sincerity and the most intense zeal For to be a Christian is to be a Follower of the Son of God who paid so exact a deference to his Father that tho his own and his Father's will were the same yet he protests that he came into the world * John 6.38 not to do his own will but the will of him who sent him and that when nothing else could do it when Sacrifices and Burnt Offerings were insignificant then was it Recorded of him that he came to do the will of God And what greater Instance could be given of
in my mouth but in St. Austins time at * August Retractat lib 2. cap. 11. Carthage they used to sing the Psalms of David not only during the distribution of the Sacrament but also before the Oblation I suppose he means only those which were suitable to the occasion and mystery In †Just M. Apo. log 2. Palestine and in many other places the Bishop or Priest brake the bread and gave it into the hands of the Deacons and they gave it to the People as they also distributed the Cup. At ‡ Tertul. de Coron cap. 3. Carthage and else where especially in Africa the people received both the Elements from the hands of the Bishop while at ‡ Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. Alexandria the people were allowed themselves to take the consecrated Bread from the Patin tho I think this was a peculiar custom of that Church and lasted but a little while but generally he who consecrated gave the Bread and the Deacon the Cup. ' In the ‖ Cyril Cat. myst 5. Church of Jerusalem when the Communicants received the bread they took care not to spread their hands abroad or to widen their fingers but placing their hands in the form of a Cross they supported the Right Hand with the Left and in the hollow of the Hand received the Body of Christ This o Vid. Chrys to 5. p. 519. holy bread they first put to their Eyes and then did eat it being extreamly careful that no part of it should fall to the ground thus they received the bread and when the cup was to be received the * Cyr. ubi supr Const Ap. li. 8. c. 3. Prosper in Sentent Communicant was forbid to stretch out his Hand and only advised to bow himself and being in the posture of Worship and Adoration the Wine was poured into his Mouth and before he swallowed it he was obliged to moisten his Fingers in it and then to touch his Eyes his forehead and the rest of the Organs of his senses thereby sanctifying them and securing them from the assaults of Satan He who Ministred the blessed Sacrament ‖ Chrys l. 3 de Sacerd. Aug. Ep. 259. carried it in his right hand and when he gave the Bread he said * Ap. Const l. 8. c. 13. The Body of Christ or ⸫ Liturg. S. Marc. the Holy Body and the Communicant said Amen And when he gave the Cup he said The Blood of Christ the Cup of Life or the precious Blood of our Lord God and Saviour and then also the Communicant answered o Vid. Aug. contr Faust Manich lib. 12. cap 10. Amen But afterward the form ‖ Liturg. Greg. Dialog was enlarged as I conjecture by Gregory the Great The Priest saying The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thee unto Eeernal Life Amen To which the Communicant replyed I will receive the heavenly Bread and will call upon the Name of the Lord and when the Priest delivered the Cup he used this Form The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thee unto Eternal Life Amen and the Communicant rejoin'd I will receive the Cup of Salvation After the Distribution was ended * Const Ap. ub Supr the Deacon spoke to the Congregation in these words Let us who have received the precious Body and Blood of Christ give him our Thanks and Praises to which end he did bid them put themselves into an erect posture and to stand upright that both Soul and Body might be intent on the Office that in the Prayer which compleated the Sacrifice they might praise God heartily and with a good courage for the Honour and Priviledg of partaking of those Mysteries and then they were dismist The remainder of the Consecrated Elements was ⸫ Just M. Apolog 2. some of it sent to those who were absent especially to the Confessors in Prison who were every day in expectation of Death the rest the faithful who had communicated carried home with them and o Naz. Or. 11. Or. 19. that in both kinds and ‖ Tert. ad Vxor l. 2. they commonly did eat of this Bread before their ordinary meals especially at their entertainments of Friends and Bishops usually sent pieces of it one to another as a token of mutual Communion In after times in some Churches the Communicants did eat what was left in some they buried in others they burnt the remainders and in other places they gave them to the School-boys and other Children who had not communicated What was left of the Oblations unconsecrated found the Ancients the materials of their Love-seasts tho the Apostolical * L. 8. c. 31. Constitutions give it to the Clergy afterward the Bread was given to the Catechumens or Penitents who were speedily to be reconciled or it was sent instead of the Sacramental Present abovementioned by one Bishop to another These were the Ancient Methods and may our good God give this present Age his Grace and fill our Hearts with a holy Fear of his Majesty and a due Reverence and respect to all his Ordinances that the Examples of the devout Christians of the Primitive Ages may incline us to an Imitation of their Piety Humility and other Virtues till we come to the general Assembly of the first-born in Heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. XXII Of the honour done to the Sacrament by the Ancients THE Holy Eucharist being the highest Office of Religion and the greatest Priviledg of Christians on Earth the Church hath thought fit on all occasions to testifie what a Reverence ought to be paid it and what honour is justly due to it And therefore took all care to sence and secure it from any attempts that might lessen its esteem or profane its usages of which I shall mention the most materal For 1. None was permitted to be present at the Celebration but those who had right to receive the Mysteries for tho the Governours of the Church prohibited no Persons to be present at the Sermon ‖ Conc. Carth. 4. c. 84. were they Infidels Jews or Hereticks yet as soon as the Sermon was done * Const Ap. lib. 1. cap. 5 6. the Deacon made a Proclamation Let no Infidel tarry here and lest that warning should not secure the Mysteries from being prostituted the faithful People were bid to ⸫ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys adv Jud. examine and take Cognisance one of another and to look distinctly that there were no Stranger among them the Church having pray'd for them already That God would convert them to the Truth When they were dismist and Silence made o Id. hom 2. in 2 Ep. ad Corinth the People were bid to stand decently and to pray for the Catechumens who were all the while Kneeling or Prostrate that God would bring them to Baptism ‖ Const App. ub Sup. the People in the mean while praying silently to themselves and saying Lord have mercy after
of Religion to an Infidel Debauch't and Superstitious World for let Men and Devils combine against such Persons and exert all their Strength and Cunning to ruin them they suffer no more than what their Master hath done already nor can they perish because they are under the Shadow and Protection of the Almighty Not but that Christianity like the Author of it is and always will be attended with Opposition and the contrivances of the Kingdom of Darkness to ruin it but that man does not deserve the Priviledges of the Kingdom of God that cannot be a Martyr for it that cannot patiently suffer an unjust Excommunication from the Synagogue and from Life it self that he may follow his Saviour It is true the Doctrine of the Cross is uncouth and uneasie and Men naturally are unwilling to court Ignominy and Tortures especially when their Bigotted Enemies shall by their uncharitable Censures as much as lies in them destroy their Souls as well as their Reputations and their Lives by pretending the Advancement of Religion and God's Service when they murder the Professors of the best Religion that ever was or shall be in the World But these are the Terms of the Gospel Covenant and this is owning our Master for tho a Man may formally call Christ Lord and yet be shut out of his Kingdom yet no man can say so effectually but by the Holy Ghost and he who will not embrace the Hardships must renounce the Advantages of this Religion Nor is this so disconsolate an Estate as Men imagine for besides that it is better to be afflicted here than to be damn'd for ever that man cannot be miserable whom the Holy Ghost comforts and tho in the World he shall unavoidably meet with Tribulation yet he ought to be of good Chear because he hath Peace in his Saviour who hath by his Death and Resurrection overcome the World and emancipated the Sons of God from a state of Slavery to enstate them into the Glorious Liberty of the Gospel There was no need that the Son of God should have promis'd these Consolations to his Apostles while himself was with them his own Presence was a sufficient Blessing great enough to supply all their wants but this was a Felicity that they were not always to enjoy it being requisite that he should depart to make way for the descent of the Comforter who when he should come into the World should direct the Apostles in the discharge of their duty giving them an intire Account of the Nature Excellency and Extent of their Masters Kingdom and instruct them in all other things which during their Masters Life time their shallow Understandings were capable of comprehending and who also should solidly convince all their Enemies that notwithstanding their Pride and Confidence they were in a state of sin particularly guilty of Unbelief and that nothing but Faith in a Saviour could render them acceptable to God that all their Righteousness whether by the guidance of the Law or by the strength of Nature was insignificant and of no value and that nothing could reconcile the World but the Death of Christ but if this Holy Spirit could not perswade men it should at last assure them that they shall be judg'd for their perverseness for Satan is already condemned and so shall all his Followers be This Spirit our Compassionate Saviour engaged to bestow on his Apostles and as his Performances always out-do even his own Promises so he filled them with Wisdom and Power and the other Gifts of the Holy Ghost till they by the incredible method of suffering and dying overcame all Prejudices and triumpht in the Conquest of the World And so shall all the other Servants of God who sincerely take Jesus for their Master tho they may not be enabled by the Holy Ghost to cure the desperately diseased or to raise the dead tho they cannot allay Tempests or cast out Devils yet their Triumphs shall be as great tho of another Nature the Blessed Spirit shall impower them to mortifie their Lusts to resist Temptations and to raise a Soul dead in Trespasses and Sins to a state of new Life and holy Performances and this in Truth is a nobler Honour and a more beneficial enjoyment than Ability to work Wonders for many that have called others from their Grave have themselves dropt into Hell But he that hath renounc'd himself and despised sensualities shall infallibly enter into unspeakable Joys And now what hinders but that I also should be my Redeemer's Disciple and partake of his Grace Why should any of thy Creatures O my God love thee better than I Why should any of thy Servants tho Prophets Apostles or Martyrs be more conformable to thy Laws than I Hast thou done more for them than me Didst thou not dye for me also And hast thou not given me thy Gospel thy Blood thy Sacraments and the Assistance of thy Spirit Nay hast thou not done more for me in forgiving me more and greater sins than ever they committed And where there is much forgiven should there not also be a proportionable Degree of Love I will therefore hearken diligently to these passionate Words of my dying Saviour and I will remember they are his last Will and Testament and as I hope to enjoy the Legacies that he hath left me of inward Peace and Heavenly Bliss so I will comply with his Desires and perform all that he enjoyns me and so tho I here come behind the Apostles in Age in Knowledg in Zeal and Holiness yet I shall overtake them at the Day of the Retribution of all Things when I shall be enabled to understand all Mysteries and to fulfil all Righteousness and shall share in the Crowns and Scepters that shall be the largesses of that happy time which shall end in Eternity The Collect. HOly Saviour who didst despise secular Pomp and wert the greatest Pattern of Self-denial I most humbly beg thee give 〈◊〉 thy holy Spirit to be my Guide my Instructor and my Comforter that I may pray by its Assistances and be heard for thy Merits and because nothing on Earth can make me truly and perfectly happy I beg nothing more but that Blessed Donative I beg nothing that may gratifie my senses that may please or profit me but what may most honour thee and advance thy Glory that I may love and serve thee and obey thy Commandments now and for evermore Amen The Anthem for Tuesday The NATIVITY I. FRom the lov'd Mansions of the Blest Where true Pleasures are possest Where bright Angels always sing Hallelujahs to their King The lovely Gabriel who does Heav'n adorn The happy Tidings brought Jesus was Born II. Glorious were the Beams that shone Brighter than the Summer Sun Midnight had its Curtains drawn And the Morn was far from dawn When Beams of wondrous Lustre did display Beauties that baffle all the shine of day III. The humble Shepherds stood amaz'd Awful Tremblings had them seiz'd While they
to the Son of David blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest § 9. When the devont Christian is invited to draw near to the Holy Table he uses one or more of these Sentencs Lord I have looked for thee in Holiness that I might behold thy Power and Glory How dreadful is this Place this is no other but the House of God and the Gate of Heaven This is the Lords Mercy-Seat which the Cherubim of Glory shadow this is the Altar of Jesus round which the Angels clad in their bright Robes stand This is the Altar where Jesus is crucified let all the Angels of God and all the Sons of Men worship him I will come into thy House upon the multitude of thy Mercies and in thy fear will I hold up my hands and worship towards the Mercy-Seat of thy Holy Temple I will exalt the Lord my God and will worship at his Footstool for he is Holy I will fall down and adore for I know that God is here of a truth § 10. VVhen the good man comes up and kneels before the Altar he says Lord I most thankfully receive this gracious Invitation which thou hast afforded me to come to thy Holy Table and tho the number and weight of my Transgressions might justly deter me yet I am resolved to embrace the opportunity because thou hast bidden all who are weary and heavy laden to come unto thee Will Jesus whom the Heavens must contain till the consummation of all things be content to dwell with his poor servant Oh that I could entertain thee in my Soul with the same joy that the Holy Virgin did at thy incarnation with the same Exultations that the Infant Baptist did when he danc'd before he was Born at the approach of a Saviour with the Hosannah's of the Devout Jews before thy Passion and with the Authems of Angels at thy Ascension For who deserves my praises but my Saviour Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing My Soul therefore shall joyn consort with every Creature which is in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the Sea when they say Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power be unto him that sits on the Throne and unto the Lamb for evermore § 11. VVhile the Priest himself is receiving the good man prays for him The Lord hear thee the name of the God of Jacob defend thee send thee help from the Sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Zion Remember all thy offerings and accept thy Sacrifice Grant thee thy hearts desire and fulfil all thy mind § 12. After which if the time will permit he Exercises this or the like act of contrition but if he wants time he does it in his Closet at his return Lord I am the greatest of sinners but here is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World His Blood speaks better things than that of Abel and he is the propititation for our sins My sins dearest Jesu brought thee to all thy shame and all thy sufferings but that satisfaction was necessary for the Redemption of the World I am troubled above measure for thy sorrows and will revenge thy death on my vices which were the cause of it Melt me O God into a soft temper fit to receive thy impressions give me an intire detestation of my sins and an indignation that may engage me to forsake my transgressions and to love the paths of virtue § 13. To which he subjoins this or the like act of Faith Jesus is my God and my Saviour he is the Angel of the Covenant I will not leave him till he bless me This is Jesus whom the Jews slew and hanged on a Tree him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins If God hath given us his Son how shall he not with him give us all things for his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed Lord I believe that thou art present in the Sacrament but in a manner spiritual and ineffable to think that thou art here corporeally bids defiance to my senses and my reason and debases thy glorified humanity and to imagine that I receive nothing more than bare signs is to rob my self of the benefit of communicating with thee Let me feel the truth of that mystery which I admire and believe but cannot prove and let me experiment the glorious effects of this Sacrament tho I am unacquainted with the particular manner how they are derived to me Thou hast convinc'd me that the flesh profiteth nothing but thy Words are spirit and life as therefore thou hast made it so I humbly and thankfully receive it Let it be unto thy servant according to thy word and grant that the days may come shortly when Faith shall be swallowed up of Vision Amen § 14. If many others Communicate before him the good man employs that leasure in reflecting upon the Office of Consecration and because he could not without disturbance interpose his ejaculations while the Priest was saying the Prayer of Consecration he takes this occasion to say When the Priest carries the Patin As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness for the cure of the wounded Israelites so was our dearest Saviour lifted up on the Cross for the redemption of a world of sinners Lord evermore give me this bread When the Priest breaks the Bread he says So was the Body of Jesus mangled so was his flesh torn till there was no whole place in his body When the Priest pours out the Wine he says So when Jesus was in his Agony so when he was scourged crowned with Thorns and nailed to the accursed Tree did the Blood run down so Jesus loved us and wash'd us from our sins in his own blood When the Priest carries the Chalice he says It is the Blood of Jesus that makes atonement being shed for me and for many for the remission of sins I will cleave to the Cross of my bleeding Saviour and will drink his Blood Inable me O my God to overcome all my ghostly enemies by the blood of the Lamb. § 15. When the Priest takes the Elements in his hands to give them to the devout Christian he remembers that so God offers his Son to be the Author of Eternal Salvation to every believer so hath God fitted Jesus a body and indowed him with the spirit above measure that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life § 16. When the Priest delivers the Elements to the worthy Communicant he considers that there are two parts in the form of distribution a Prayer and an Advice the Prayer in these words The Body the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy Body and Soul unto everlasting Life to which with