dragg'd by the rude and incensed multitude into the City and there hurried up and down to all the Judicatories in it he was buffeted and scourg'd the Plowers plowed long furrows on his back he was Crown'd with Thorns and loaden with his Cross having been condemned by clamour and importunity by restless and unsatisfied malice when Pilate his proper Judge had confest him Innocent To his Cross both his hands and feet which by reason of their being full of Nerves are the most sensible parts of the Body were fastened being pierc'd through with sharp Nails the whole weight of his Body stretch'd out as on a Rack resting on his expanded Hands there he languished under an insufferable thirst occasioned by his being so violently transported from place to place by his cruel Agony in the Garden by his loss of so much Blood in that Sweat in his scourging in his being Crown'd with Thorns and nailed to his Cross to which both his hands and feet were fastened that he could no way relieve himself he was exposed to the Sun and the Wind which search'd his wounds and made his pains more grievous his Mother and his beloved Disciple were standing by his Cross in the posture of persons distracted by their sorrows and this increased his torment not only as they were his near Relations but as they represented his Widowed and disconsolate Church And when it might have been expected that his Soul should have received comfort while his body was on this rack this was so far from being the portion of Jesus that his Soul felt more fearful convulsions than his tortured Body when all his bones were out of joint all the anger of God was upon him at once now was the Curtain drawn between the rational faculties of his Soul and God whereas before there was only a skreen between his sensitive faculties and his Father now was the beatifical Union suspended and his God had forsaken him when he stood in most need and when he cryed aloud to his Father for help the rude Soldiers study to encrease his sorrows they give him Vinegar to drink which was proper to stop his bleeding and to lengthen his life and torments and that Vinegar mingled with the bitter juice of Hyssop to make the draught more irksome and unpalatable unless we may believe a modern ‖ Heins Arist in Jo. 19 29. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Critick That they gave him the Vinegar on a Spunge of the coarsest Wooll to do him the greater dishonour Almost a whole day and night was he under continued tortures from his entry into the Garden to his yielding up the ghost whereof six whole hours he was hanging on the Cross and then he died while his Spirit was whole within him and while being in the vigour of his youth his heart within him was like melting wax for in the heighth of all his acute pains he cried with a loud voice and yielded up the ghost his Body being more sensible of pain than usually malefactors are for he had a beautiful shape and was of a fine and pure make and of a delicate constitution born of a Virgin not subject to and so never harrast with diseases and the pains of his Soul bore proportion to his bodily sufferings for he well knew how grievous and insupportable the anger of God is which we are insensible of he dreaded the burthen of those sins which we delight in and the severity of those punishments which we deride his notions of things were clear his apprehension quick and the bent of his mind most strongly inclinable to pity and compassion Thus were his sorrows augmented and his sufferings made intollerable while the rigour of his enemies left no sound part in him for he suffered in his Soul in his bitter Agony in his whole Body in his Sweat his Head was crowned with Thorns his Eyes were a fountain of tears his Ears inured to mockings his Palate disgusted vvith the Vinegar and the Wine mixt vvith Myrrh his Face spit upon his Neck and Shoulders loaden vvith the burthen of a heavy Cross his Back and Sides scourged his Heart pierc'd vvith the Spear his Hands and Feet nailed to the accursed Tree his Flesh torn and his Blood spilt that he might most justly exclaim I am the man that hath seen affliction by the Rod of God's Wrath Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by Behold and see was there ever sorrow like my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger Nor were these all his sufferings for the consideration and foresight that all these mercies should be bestowed on an ingrateful and rebellious World the greatest part of which would be hypocrites and unbelievers would trample on his Blood as an unholy and profane thing and would frustrate the end of his death and the designs of his mercy this doubtless made his sorrows exquisite and so transcendent as nothing could parallel but his Love and his Patience Here the devout Christian may put a stop to his Meditations for a while and subjoin this COLLECT O Lord who wert pleased in the fulness of time to send thine only begotten Son into the World made of a Woman made under the Law that he might become a curse for us and reconcile the World unto thee our Father by his bitter Agony and cruel Death and who hast assured us that thou scourgest every son whom thou receivest grant that I may be conformable to the image of thy beloved Son and our dearest Saviour that his sufferings may be the propitiation for my sins his Blood may cleanse my Soul and I may have life through him and grant that as Jesus offered up himself to thy justice so I may offer my self and all my enjoyments a Sacrifice of praise for the Mercies of God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost now and for evermore Amen After which the devout Christian at what time his strength and occasions will best permit may continue his Meditation Proportionate to the torments which Jesus endured was his shame and ignominy than which nothing is more insufferable to an ingenuous nature His birth was mean his Mother a poor Virgin he was born in a Stable and Cradled in a Manger he was brought up at the mean and laborious Trade of his reputed Father Joseph his many Journies were performed on foot he had no setled habitation and very few Friends and those poor ignorant and contemptible Galilean Fishermen whose very Country was ominous and at his last essay was he not apprehended as a vile malefactor and that not by a party of men of Honour not by the Guards of the Captain of the Temple or the Roman Governor but by the Rabble the meanest of the people tumultuously gathered together arm'd with Clubs and Swords the hasty weapons their fury could lay hold on He was treated as a publick Nusance tho as free from sin as truth and innocence could make
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
this his Piety than that act of intire Resignation in the Garden ' For as * Chillingw Serm. 5. p. 71. an acute man observes he in the manner of expressing this act of his Humility in the Three Evangelists supercedes all scruple and clears all evasion for in St. Luke 22.42 it is Not my will but thine be done In which words he resigns the faculty of his will the whole power of it into his Father's hands In St. Mark 14.36 it is not what I will but what thou wilt wherein he resigns the act and exercise of his will But in St. Matth. 26.39 it is Not as I will but as thou wilt wherein he submits his will not only as to the act and power of it to do what God shall command him but is willing to do it God's way and after what manner God shall please Nor can any man conceive a degree of Obedience beyond this This was his Glory Nor did it lessen his Excellencies or his Happiness For notwithstanding this his Humiliation he was always glorious and always blest as the Angels when they leave the Throne of God and come down on Earth carry their Heaven with them or rather find a new one in their Obedience And ought not I to learn of this our great High Priest not to remove mountains or to curb the winds not to feed five thousand by Miracle or to raise the dead but to be humble and meek to deny my self and to depend on God How should this Love of Christ constrain me For can there be any room for pride or covetousness for lust or ambition for wantonness or intemperance when I have given my self intirely to my Saviour Since * Gal. 5.24 they who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the lusts thereof and must resolve to love nothing but their Saviour to hate nothing but disobedience to dread his power only and to grieve at nothing but his displeasure To such persons all things else are insignificant and cannot cheer the heart unless he vouchsafe his Favours and the light of his countenance And tho perhaps my portion may be severe and my province difficult yet I cannot expect to be better treated when my Master's Cup was so imbitter'd It could not be expected that our Redeemer should love his Disciples better than his Father loved him who was his only begotten and beloved Son But when God loved thee most ardently O my Saviour he inured thee to labours and sufferings to great conflicts and struglings And thus he * Heb. 2.10 consecrated thee to be our High Priest and gave thee perfection by thy adversities For such a sacrifice became us and his sufferings were a great testimony of his Innocence For not only the Blood of the Oblation was first let out at the foot of the Altar to emblem the mortification of our passions before we approach our Maker but it was also observable that every beast was not thought fit to make a Sacrifice Sheep and Doves Creatures famous for their harmlesness and their purity for their innocence and their tenderness were destin'd to the Altar while Dogs and Swine and other creatures that delight in Rapine or Pollution were banisht from God's House And can I expect to communicate with my Jesus in his Kingdom who refuse to share with him in his sufferings How unreasonable is it to expect how impossible to be conform'd to his Ascention and Triumphs without a conformity to his Indignities and Passion to his Agonies and Crucifixion For that Text If any man will come after me let him deny himself is a Prophecy as well as a Precept and so must be fulfill'd in the Church as long as it hath a being and every good man must do what St. Francis and others are only feign'd to do he must bear about in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus Nay it is one of the conditions on our part of the Covenant which we make with God in the Sacrament To be ready if need be to die with and for that Saviour of ours who hath given us his own most precious Body and Blood to represent his dying for our sins For if the love of St. Thomas was so great to Lazarus that he was content * John 11.16 to die with him how much more should I be ready to lay all my concerns at the feet of my Redeemer For of him * Ap. Theophyl in loc p 721. Origen understands St. Thomas to speak How acceptable therefore would Martyrdom be to me for such a friend And how prescrable to the Ease and Honours the Pomps and Voluptuousness of this sensual and giddy world Poor St. Romanus when he was Repriev'd from Execution exprest himself with much grief * Theodorit Eccl. Hist l. 3. c. 17. Romanus is not worthy the Honour of Martyrdom And when the holy ‡ Basil Orat. in S. Gord. Gordius was to be beheaded he was troubled at nothing but that he had but one life to lose for his dearest Redeemer and would have been contented to have shed his blood for his Saviour as often as he had shed his tears for his sins had God given him Powers adaequate to his Will and Resolutions For what can check the Sallies of a Seraphick Passion or daunt that man who lives above the world And what should hinder but that I also should exert as great Courage and as much Resolution and love my blessed Master as much and as heartily as they I am sure my Obligations are a great and therefore my Gratitude should be as eminent and illustrious The Collect. SEnd down O Lord the Spirit of Power into my heart to triumph over the degenerate and fearful Spirit that resides there Enable me to subdue all my Passions to the Laws of Reason and Religion to mortifie my Lusts and to deny my self that what thou determinest may be my choice and I may devoutly and humbly resolve to make thy will the Rule of all my actions through the merits and mediation of the great High Priest and Bishop of Souls Jesus Christ the Righteous Amen CHAP. XVIII Of Humiliation before the Reception AMong the many duties preparative to Worthy Receiving Fasting humiliation and intense devotion are not of the least use and advantage tho the world is so much a slave to sloth and ease and hates any thing that is laborious and painful most men being like * Cicer Tuscul 2. Dionysius of Heraclea who finding the pains of the Gout too strong for his principle of Apathy deserted the Stoicks and turn'd Epicurean an undeniable evidence how much more we are guided by our Senses than our Reason But notwithstanding all our prejudices these methods of severity are very requisite to compleat our preparations for the Lord's Table The Fathers generally observe that Adam undid himself and was the cause of our Ruin by transgressing the Rules of Abstinence which his Maker had prescribed him in Paradise That when the Old
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
his Subjects And when in the Wilderness they went from one Nation to another people how did he preserve them that no man could do them wrong And how did he reprove even Kings for their sake One Miracle brought them Bread a second Flesh from Heaven a third Water out of the Flinty Rock and their Cloaths were kept from wearing out by the same extraordinary Power an Angel was their Guide and the Lord of Hosts their King with what terrible and affrighting sounds was the Law given on the top of Mount Sinai With what Wisdom Eloquence and Authority was it explained by the Prophets Who confirm'd it by innumerable signs and wonders and foretold the Incarnation of the Son of God who should fulfil the Law and all the Righteousness of it and yet how obstinate and disobedient how untractable and sullen how stubborn and rebellious is this People Despising the Divine Mercies and denying the Lord who bought them when he had condescended to cloath himself with humane Nature to be born in their Country of an Israelitish Stock and of the Seed of King David whose Name was by them had in Everlasting Remembrance What could God have done more to his Vineyard that he ever left undone He planted it in a fruitful soyl in a Land flowing with Milk and Honey he water'd it with the Dew of Heaven and cheer'd and warm'd it with the Beams of the Sun of Righteousness he fenc't and secured it by an extraordinary Providence and the Guardianship of Angels Michael the Prince of those Blessed Spirits being deputed to the Tuition he manured it by the Ministry of Kings and inspired Men and by the peculiar Husbandry of his own Darling and with infinite Patience waited till it would answer his Expectations and pay him with a Vintage that might recompence his Cost and his Labour but instead of Grapes it brought forth Bryars and Thistles it rewarded the pains of those who cultivated it with nothing but fruitless labour which not only filled them with melancholly Reflections on their unsuccessful Attempts but cost many of them their Lives so cruel and barbarous is ingratitude that it never is at rest till it imbrues its Hands in the Blood of its best Friends and Benefactors so inhumane were the Jewish Nation so bent to the Destruction of those whose sole business it was to save them from Destruction It was the Jewish Synagogue that was Gods Pleasant Plant the Hedg was the Divine Protection the Winepress digg'd in it was the Law which he gave them written with his own Finger and which continually urged them with the necessity of Obedience the Tower which he erected was the Temple the Beauty and Honour as well as the safety of Jerusalem for nothing but Religion and the true Worship of God can make a people safe or happy and when that is secured all other things are bestowed of course the Husbandmen were the Governours of the Nation Spiritual and Civil who upon a just return of God's Portion to him were to have a liberal share of the Fruits for themselves and who could make a wiser Provision Upon this the Lord seems to take a Journey into another Countrey intrusting them with the managery but lest they should forget that they were not Proprietors but only Usetructuaries he frequently takes occasion to send to them his Servants the Prophets to mind them of their Trust and their Obligations but Michaiah and Jeremy they beat and imprisoned Zechary ths Son of Jehciada they stoned Isaiah they sawed asunder another Zechary they slew between the Temple and the Altar Ezekiel was murdered at Babylon for reproving the Idolatry of the Governour of the People Amos was slain with a Sword and John the Baptist beheaded nay who among the men of God escap't their Malice And what Prince is there but resents the ill usage of his Ambassadors as hainously as if himself were in Person affronted But O the depth of the Riches of the Divine Mercy He is not easily provok'd nor does he delight in the Death of a sinner but trys all methods to reclaim and amend him after so many messages that failed of success he resolves to try the last Experiment he had one only Son the Darling of his Bosom and him he deputes to this Embassy believing that if their malice were not desperate and incurable they would reverence him who was the Heir to the Vineyard but when Jesus came into the World a Preacher of the glad Tidings of Peace all their malice that before vented it self in parcels upon the Prophets concenter'd and fixt in him tho they knew him to be the Messiah and the only begotten of the Father now they join all their Forces summon their Councils unite their different Factions and determine to murther him and then the Inheritance would be their own their Dignity their Reven es their Authority secured to themselves and their Descendants for ever But how empty and insignificant are the Councils of men when they oppose themselves to the Wisdom of God How easily does the Lord confound the Craft of the Wise and bring to nought the Understanding of the Prudent Their very hopes are baffled and they are punish'd in kind according to the nature of their sin for did ever any man fight against Heaven and prosper instead of securing their Title they ruined â—t and instead of an imaginary greatness which they expected to last for ever the fatal period of their Jurisdiction was fix'd their power dwindled into the pageantry of Dominion their supposed indefesable right to the Divine Favour was swallowed up of Vengeance and made a prey to an Indignation that will not be easily atoned their Patrimony was alienated the Title transfer'd to the Gentile World in expectation that they would amend when they saw the Example and avoid the sins that brought down the Judgments It would melt a Tyrant into compassion and soften the most obdutate Temper to view or but hear of the miseries of that distracted City whom their own Iniquities and Gods Vengeance had devoted to ruin To hear of the destruction of the Temple made the Apostles pity the dissolution of that insensible Fabrick but to view the beautiful Pile all in a flame the Holy of Holies polluted and the Blood of the Priests mingled with the Blood of their Sacrifices this would force Tears from a Heart of Flint as it raised a strong compassion in the mind of their very Conqueror and at the same time to see Mothers cramb their ravenous Stomachs with the Flesh of their own Children to see Brethren sheath their Swords in one anothers Bosoms nothing but Rapine and Sacriledg Civil Dissentions and Murders among men of the same Faith and Country till the common Enemy broke in upon them and involved the several parties of a great and populous Nation in the same common desolation These are Reflections that puzzle Belief and create Astonishment Did ever any of thy words O my Redeemer fall to the
That my past sins may be intirely forgiven and the rest of my life spent in the works of repentance I beseech thee c. That the end of my life may be Christian without pain and without shame if thou seest fit and that I may be able to render a good account when I shall stand before thy dreadful Tribunal I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. From mine enemies defend me O Christ Graciously look upon my afflictions Pitifully behold the sorrows of my heart Favourably with mercy hear my Prayers Mercifully forgive the sins of thy Servant O Son of David have mercy upon me Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear me O Christ Graciously hear me O Christ graciously hear me O Lord Christ O Lord let thy mercy be shewed upon me As I do put my trust in thee Pardon O Lord the guilt of my sins remove the punishment and wash out the pollutions keep me from the shame and the suffering due to them and rescue me from the dominion of Satan the tyranny of my own Lusts and from everlasting destruction Amen Bp. Andrews BLessed Jesu Interpose between God and my Soul thy Priesthood and Sacrifice between my self and Satan thy Kingdom and Conquest between my Soul and my Sins thy Innocency between my Soul and my Concupiscence thy Charity between my Soul and the punishments due to a Sinner thy Passion and the satisfaction of thy Blood between my Soul and my Conscience and God's Tribunal thy Advocateship between my Soul and its want of Righteousness thy absolute and complete Obedience between my Soul and its want of desert thy alsufficient Merits between my Soul and its want of fervour in Devotion thy Intercession between my Soul and its want of sâ—rrow and repentance thy Agony and bloody Sweat for what thou did'st and what thou suffered'st O my dearest Saviour O my best of Masters was done and suffered in my stead and for my benefit Amen Id. LET the Soul of Christ sanctify me the Body of Christ strengthen me the Blood of Christ redeem me the Water that came out of his side cleanse me the Stripes of Christ heal me the Sweat of Christ refresh me the Wounds of Christ save me the Poverty of Christ enrich me and the Sufferings of Christ preserve me from eternal damnation Amen Bp. Taylor GIve me the beauties of Wisdom the brightness of Chastity the health of Temperance the peace of Meek persons and the reputation and joy of the Charitable Amen A Collect for the Assistance of the Holy Spirit O God who knowest that we are set in the midst of so many and great dangers that the Temptations of Satan are very prevalent the vanities of the World very deceitful and our own corruptions very strong help and assist me and all thy servants with the succours of thy holy spirit Give me the spirit of Truth of Wisdome and Understanding to keep me from all error and infidelity the spirit of Counsel to guide me in all difficulties the spirit of Might and Power to preserve me from all Apostacy the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord to keep me from all sin and wickedness Let the Holy-Ghost be my comforter in my distresses the assistant of my devotion the quieter of my conscience and let it bear witness with my spirit that I am one of the Sons of God that neither the wiles nor frowns of the Devil the fears of suffering or the hopes of wealth and honour may sway me to neglect my duty but that I may continue thine for ever and that thou mayst be my protector and guide my friend and advocate now and in the agonies of death and at the day of judgement Amen OUR Father which art in Heaven c. MAY the Power of God the Father protect me the Wisdom of God the Son inlighten me the operations and assistances of the holy Spirit quicken me and may the holy Trinity keep me under the shadow of their wings till I come to the palace of Glory Amen Amen The Epistle Heb. 12.1 WHerefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds The Gospel Luke 22.41 AND being withdrawn from them about a stones cast he kneeled down and prayed saying Father if thou be willing remove this cup from me nevertheless not my will but thine be dene And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground The MEDITATION THO every thing that is good and virtuous hath its attractives yet when virtue is attended with power it is in its exaltation and makes as many Votaries as it hath spectators and every one looks on it with admiration and surprize and addresses to it with resolutions either to become good or to beg its protection from evil because Piety so assisted proves a great exemplar and a puissant shelter And such was the holy Jesus who was wonderful in all his atchievements for nothing less than unspotted Innocence and Omnipotence conjoin'd could furnish the World with a Saviour The whole Life of Jesus was a miracle of Love and Compassion and the attempts of the Patriarchs appear mean and inconsiderable when compared with the transcendent performances of the Son of God for if to consult the wants of mankind and to relieve them if curing their Bodies and instructing their Souls if feeding them with temporal food and giving them the Bread of Heaven be demonstrations of a large and a divine Soul then that title is peculiarly to be ascribed to the Redeemer of the world whose actions were one continued series of benefits and mercies I will therefore love the examples of good men but I will admire and adore Jesus I will make reflections on their excellent lives but I must fix my thoughts on the conversation of my Saviour who when he requires my adverting to his Pattern and his Laws enjoins me to look off from all other objects and to settle my eyes on him who loved me and bought me with his own most precious blood for they are but a cloud of witnesses but Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness and as when the Sun arises the little handful of Clouds and dusky vapours dwindle and vanish so when the glorious God appears in competition he eclipses all humane perfections For that which sustained the great Apostle when he was ready to be poured out as a drink-offering for the truth of the Gospel 2 Tim. 4.6 and what excited