shew his all-sufficiency for the life of our Souls And of all kinds of drink he hath chose Wine to represent his most precious blood for this is called the blood of the Grape m Deut. 32.14 1 Macc. 6.34 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem Alex. paed l. 2. and in colour comes the nearest to it this minds us of Jesus who is the true Vine John 15.1 and of the Wine-Press of his Fathers wrath Isai 63.2 3. wherein he was grievously pressed till all his holy blood yea and his Soul was exhausted And as Wine was given to chear mans heart n Jud. 9.13 Psal 104.15 Duo sunt liquores corporibus humanis gratissimi intus vini foris olei Plin. l. 4 c. 22. item ap Homer Il. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Odyss β. and raise his decaying spirits so was the blood of Jesus shed to revive poor disconsolate sinners with the hopes of the divine favour It was the Custom among the Jews for the Master of the Family after Supper to take a Cup of Wine in both hands and giving thanks to him that created the fruit of the Vine to drink to all the Guests as a Symbol of Charity Fag in Deut. 8.10 and among the Gentiles also their Feasts were concluded o Postremo Graeci Mercurio litabant bono daemoni cui gratias agebant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alex. ab Alex. l. 5. c. 21. Schol. Aristop Mos erat cum mensa auferenda sit bono genio litare Hoc hoc mensa claudatur scypho Sen. with a Cup offered to their good genius But our Lord hath spiritualized these usages and here we may behold him with hands and eyes lift up to Heaven Consecrating this Cup for an Excellent Mystery that it may be a Cup of Salvation and of Charity and may be offered up with praise to the most high when therefore we see the holy Man beginning to bless the Wine also let us say within our selves Oh what preparations is our gracious Master making for us he thinks it not enough to give us his blessed body with the merit of all those torments which he suffered in the flesh but he is pleased to pour out his blood and his life together with it that we might drink thereof and so take as it were his very Soul into us p 〈◊〉 â—7 14 ita 〈…〉 llud Virgil. 〈…〉 vomit ille â—â—â—â—tam Secundum eâ—s inquit qui sanguinem animam dicunt Alas we are faint and feeble ready to die and languish and he hath made us a Cordial with his own hearts blood miserable wretches as we are that nothing less will help us but oh how gracious a Redeemer have we that will not deny us this behold O Lord we thirst and this Wine of joy makes us more q Non facile esuriens positâ retinebere mensâ Et multum saliens incitat unda sitim Ovid. impatient to tast of this Cup of Salvation and Thanksgiving thou that hast prepared it for us make it thy holy blood and then it shall cleanse our Souls and make us thine for ever § 12. He gave it to them saying Drink ye all of this for this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for you and for many for the Remission of Sins Since our Saviour did give the Cup to every one of his Disciples and plainly commands both them and us all to drink of it r Math. 26.27 1 Cor. 12.13 Et Vulg. Editio Pontificiis Authentica 1 Cor. 10.17 addit Et de uno calice we have cause to bless God that we are not of that Church which hath lately Å¿ Secundum antiquam Ecclesiae consuetudinem omnes tam corpori quam sanguini communicabant quod etiam adhuc in quibusdam Ecclesiis servatur Aquin. in Johan 6. robbed the people of half the Sacrament and I wish that as the Legacy is preserved to us intire and a double portion provided for us that we would endeavour to receive with twice as much devotion as they do Furthermore when we hear the most efficacious words of Christ pronounced we must exercise our Faith and not only join our desires that this Wine may become the Blood of Christ but with our hearts say Amen for it is unto us according to our Faith if we believe it is to us the Blood of Christ and that which makes us partakers t 1 Cor. 10.16 communicatio sanguinis Christi Vatab. idem in Margin annotae vel participatio Graec. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the benefits thereof And although it be still Wine unto our senses because we naturally abhor to drink humane blood u Similitudinem pretiâ—si sanguinis bibis ut nullus horror cruoris sit pretium tamen operetur Redemptionis Ambros de sacr lâ—b 4 cap. 4. yet by the power of Jesus and the mercy of God it shall make our attonement be accepted as fully for our expiation as if our own lives had been laid down or our own blood spilt in a Sin-offering For it is now to be esteemed as the blood of the New Covenant or Testament w Math. 26.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 h. e. propriè â—â—â—guis novi foederis 〈◊〉 Grot. Ham. annâ—â— in Titul Beza in lâ—cum Latini autem Testamentum vertunt Grotius For the Original word signifies both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the first and common sense it is used for a Covenant and those of old were confirmed with blood x Exod. 24.8 Haustu mutui sanguinis foedus faciunt de Scythis Herodot l. 4. Quod idem refert etiam de Medis ut Solinus Cap. 20. but this New-Covenant between God and Man could not be made without it because God could not in justice grant remission unless some blood were spilt the visible Soul being given as a ransom for the invisible and this most precious Blood of Christ is that which was shed to appease the divine anger and so to engage God to enter into this Covenant with us wherefore it may be called the Blood of the New Covenant Secondly This word also is used for a Testament or Will y Heb. 9.16 17. Testamentum est voluntas defuncti Quintil. Viventis nulla est haereditas Digest Roman J. C. dicunt Testamentum morte confirmatur Grot. by this account we call the Gospel the New-Testament because it contains our Lords Will and therein he hath left us as Legacies his Merits and Graces his Spirit and his Peace and secured them to us by his Promise wherefore when we see this holy Blood it is to us as it were the Seal of the New-Testament because it shews us that the Testator hath dyed and consequently assures us that all those promises shall be made good unto us especially that of the pardon of our Sins for since we and many had deserved Eternal Death by our offences this Blood was poured forth to procure a Pardon not for us alone but for
Essens d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porph. ut supr l. 4. c. 12. and the Christians e Tert. Ap. c. 39. Nec cibi sumantur nisi oratione praemissâ Hieron ep 22. ad Eustach began their common meals with a solemn Prayer for a blessing The Jews would not eat of the Sacrifice till Samuel came to bless it 1 Sam. 9.13 How much more then ought we to expect the Prayers of the Priest over this mysterious food of our Souls before we eat thereof especially since Jesus himself did not deliver this Bread and Wine until he had Consecrated it by giving thanks There are some other parts of this Office which may upon some occasions be omitted * Non prius discumbitur quam oratio ad Deum praegustetur but this must never be left out it being the most antient and Essential part of all some learned Men do believe that the Apostles themselves in their daily Communions did ever use the latter part of this form from who in the same night c. Alcuin de divin off and it is most certain that no Liturgy in the World hath altered that particular For in every Church the Priest repeats the words of our Saviours Institution and by those words the Consecration is made f Quomodo potest qui panis est esse corpus Christi Consecratione consecratio igitur quibus verbis est Domini Jesu paulò post ubi venitur ut conficiatur venerabile sacramentum jam non suis sermonibus sacerdos utitur sed Christi Ambr. de sacr l. 4. c. 4. ita D. Chrys serm de Judâ prodit Vbi Christi verba deprompta fuerunt jam non panis dicitur sed Corpus appellatur Aug. de verb. dom ser 28. ita Author de Card. op Christi ap Cypr. for it is not the power of the Priest but the efficacy of the Author which makes the Elements to become sacramentally the body and blood of Christ S. Chrys hom 2. in 2. ep ad Cor. versùs fin The Roman Church indeed hath made large additions to this Primitive Form so that it is not above a tenth part of the Canon of their Mass much of the rest being the names of Saints and commemorations of the dead But these corruptions and innovations being removed our excellent Reformers have given us the Apostolical and Catholick Form alone only with a short Prayer to introduce it and because all the Communicants ought to join with the Minister therein we will proceed so to explain it as may assist every ones understanding and devotion The Analysis of the Prayer of Consecration § 2. The Prayer of Consecration hath Three Parts 1. An Introduction shewing the Reasons of this Duty because 1. We have a dying Saviour given for us Almighty God our heavenly Father who of thy tender mercy didst give thy onely Son Iesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our Redemption 2. That Death is so perfect and meritorious who made there by his own oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World 3. We are commanded to remember it and did institute and in his holy Gospel command us to continue a perpetual memory of that his precious death until his coming again 2. A Petition for a Blessing on it intimating 1. The Author of this Blessing Hear us O merciful Father we most humbly beseech thee and grant 2. The occasion of desiring it considering 1. The Act which we are about to do that we receiving these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine 2. The Manner we intend to do it in according to thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christs most holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion 3. The Blessing desired may be Partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood 3. The Consecration it self reciting 1. The time when it was instituted Who in the same night that he was betrayed 2. The Manner how it was Instituted 1. As to the Bread 1. The Preparation I. Took Bread II. And when he had given thanks III. He brake it 2. The Administration and gave it to his Disciples saying Take eat This is my Body which is given for you 3. The Direction Do this in remembrance of me 2. As to the Wine also 1. The Preparation Likewise also after Supper I. He took the Cup II. And when he had given thanks 2. The Administration He gave it to them saâ—â—ng Drink ye all of this â—or This is my Blood of the New-Testament which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins 3. The Direction Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me Amen A Practical Discourse upon the Prayer of Consecration § 3. Almighty God our Heavenly Father who of thy tender mercy didst give thy only Son Iesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our Redemption Our blessed Lord hath taught us to whom we should direct this Prayer even to God the Father of whom he himself did first beg this blessing and since the foundation of this Ordinance was the Death of Jesus Christ we do most fitly begin this Prayer with a Commemoration of that Mercy for how can we more effectually move Almighty God to give his blessing to us in this Sacrament than by acknowledging his infinite love in granting so glorious a Redemption to us And he that spared not his own Son but delivered him up to death for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things Rom. 8.32 He that made him a Sacrifice for us will certainly make these Symbols to communicate him to us if we be desirous and prepared to receive him It is the method of the divine bounty to give his second mercies meerly because he had freely given the first g Cui initio ratio non fuisset praestandi aliquid ei praestamus ob hoc quia praestitimus Sen. de benef l. 4. c. 15. especially when he finds the former thankfully accepted so that we cannot have a better introduction to this Petition than the acknowledgment of Gods goodness in first giving his own Son for us especially if we make it with an humble and graâ—eful heart Besides it must need be a mighty strengthening to our Faith and a great encouragement to our hope of prevailing in this request when we have first remembred so rare an experiment of Gods mercy already received Let us therefore most thankfully confess the incomparable bounty of our Heavenly Father in giving his only Son to suffer for our Redemption and then we may with more confidence beseech him to sanctifie these Elements that they may be his body and blood to us because the divine appointment hath made them to be the means whereby we may become partakers of the benefits of that Holy Passion § 4. Who made there by his own Oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice
so afterwards that we may retain the benefits which we have received as the more particular consideration thereof will shew The Analysis of the First Prayer in the Post-Communion § 2. This First Prayer consisteth of Three Parts 1. A Supplication to the Father 1. For the Acceptance of our Sacrifice of Praise O Lord our heavenly Father we thy humble Servants entirely desire thy Fatherly Goodness mercifully to accept this our Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving 2. For the Benefits of the Oblation made by Jesus Christ Most humbly beseeching thee to grant that by the Merits and Death of thy Son Iesus Christ and through Faith in his Blood we and all thy whole Church may receive remission of our Sins and all other benefits of his Passion 2. An Oblation of our selves by 1. A solemn Dedication 1. The thing dedicated And here we offer and present unto thee O Lord our selves our souls and bodies 2. The end of the Dedication to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice unto thee 2. A Petition for Grace to make good this Vow Humbly beseeching thee that all we who are Partakers of this Holy Communion may be full filled with thy Grace and heavenly Benediction 3. An Act of Humility expressed in 1. Acknowledging our unworthiness And although we be unworthy through our manifold Sins to offer unto thee any Sacrifice 2. Petitioning to be mercifully accepted yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden Duty and Service not weighing our Merits but pardoning our Offences 3. A Doxology to the whole Blessed Trinity Through Iesus Christ our Lord by whom and with whom in the Vnity of the Holy Ghost all Honour and Glory be unto thee O Father Almighty world without end Amen A Practical Discourse upon the first Prayer with Meditations after the Communion § 3. O Lord our Heavenly Father we thy humble Servants entirely desire thy Fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving The devout Soul being newly refreshed with these Heavenly Comforts and even ravished with joy to find him whom she loved and longed after desires now an opportunity to express her gratitude But alas what have we to return we can make no requital only we must acknowledge the favour and offer up a Sacrifice of Praise for it and since this is all we can do we had need do this very well but if we reflect upon the manner even of this Oblation we shall easily perceive there have been many defects so that without a merciful acceptance it could never avail us in the sight of God how apparent is it that we have not praised God so affectionately and unfeignedly as so infinite a mercy doth deserve Wherefore if we be really his humble Servants the first thought in our hearts and the first word in our mouths will be the confession of our failings even in the whole office from the beginning to the end for the Ancients called the whole Communion the Sacrifice of Praise c Ecclesia immolat in Corpore Christi sacrificium laudis Aug. l. 1. in advers legis cap. 20. as our Church here doth whereas the Romanists only call it a Sacrifice d Praesta ut hoc sacrificium quod oculis tuae Majestatis indignus obtuli Missal Rom. without any other addition but it is not the Sacrifice of Christ which we here speak of for that is always pleasing to God and was absolutely perfect but it is our own Peace-offering in Commemoration thereof in which there have bâ—en many failings and therefore we desire and beg that it may be accepted in mercy so that our infirmities may not deprive us of the benefit and the comfort thereof to which purpose let us thus Meditate When I compare thy acts with mine Holy Jesus I am exceedingly ashamed to behold so vast a disproportion thou givest me thy merits and graces thy life and thy love at present and hast promised thy Kingdom to me in reversion and I have scarce returned this with the intire devotion of one half hour Oh how little is my obdurate heart affected with the sense of my own guilt the fears of the divine wrath or the apprehensions of thy sufferings Yet Lord I do desire and did endeavour to praise thee so that I hope thou wilt consider my infirmities with much compassion and measure my services not by the exactnâ—ss of the performance but by the sincerity of my wishes so shall I be accepted before thy Heavenly Father and by the mercy of that acceptance be obliged unto thee for ever § 4. Most humbly beseeching thee to grant that by the merits and death of thy Son Iesus Christ and through Faith in his Blood we and all thy whole Church may obtain remission of our sins and all other benefits of his Passion Our Heavenly Father doth not at any time require our praises meerly for the advancement of his own glory but that we may thereby be the more fit to receive greater benefits from him e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ch. in Gen. hom 52. thus in the design of this holy Sacrament he doth not only intend it as a Sacrifice of Praise for the Death of Christ but as a means to convey the blessings thereof to us Wherefore we must in the next place petition that we may find the happy effects of our Lords Passion and then we shall have good grounds to turn this memorial thereof into Eucharist and Thanksgiving We have beheld that sacred body broken and that precious blood spilt in a mystery which is sufficient to attone our sins and the sins of the whole Church and we have now perceived our own need of mercy and we are in perfect Charity with all Christian people so that it is now most proper for us to pray that that so excellent a price may not be paid in vain so glorious an offering may not want its due effects But that by this Sacrifice as the meritorious and moving cause and by our Faith therein as the instrumental we and the whole Church may find remission at the hands of God This is the great end of our Communicating and if we would most earnestly intreat for it we may thus enlarge our selves Gracious Lord we have beheld the efficacious and all-saving Sacrifice which thy Son hath offered for us we have remembred it and blessed thy name for it as well as we were able though not so highly as we are obliged to do f Gratias agimus Deus omnipotens non quantum debemus sed quantum possumus Liturg. S. Clement For the benefits thereof are inestimable Oh let them not all be lost unto us for want of Faith to believe and receive them There is no want of merit in Jesus to deserve no want of mercy in thee to bestow remission Oh let there not want in us or in any of those for whom Christ died grace to accept this Pardon Behold Lord how we struggle under a load of guilt
profess if we had not been encouraged by his love and goodness and commanded by his own Precept we durst not have approached to these terrible mysteries Yet since it is our bounden duty and a service so fit so just and reasonable we may hope he will accept us not because we are worthy or have done any thing to merit his favour but because he is merciful y Non aestimator meriti sed veniae largitor Ambros Rom. Missal and apt to forgive our failings if he should take a measure of the worth of our Sacrifice by the Holiness of the offerers z Qui petit primo debet attendere ut pro suis meritis nihil accepturum se putet sed de Dei misericordiâ tantum Bern. in sent it is sure ours would be rejected and therefore it is best for us to fly to his mercy For the best of Gods Saints whose devotion far excelled ours have set us this Example and found it the wisest and safest way I confess to thy goodness saith St. Ambrose that I am not worthy to come near to so great a mystery for my manifold sins But thou canst make me worthy Wherefore although a Sinner I come to thy Altar to offer the Sacrifice which thou hast appointed Whose example we may follow by this or the like Act of Humility O thou all-seeing and most holy Lord God I have been admitted to make an Oblation of my praises and my self unto thee and I am infinitely concerned that thou shouldst accept me therein not for any merit in me but for thy own mercy sake O my God thou knowest I have been polluted with Sin undutiful to thy commands unfaithful to my promises unmindful of my obligations confederate with thy Enemies yea and even in the time of these holy mysteries so obdurate and confused that I might justly fear lest my wretchedness should make my Sacrifice an abomination I blush that I am no fitter I lament that I should bring so many defilements where the purity of an Angel is scarce sufficient but I take sanctuary in thy most obliging condescensions and because I am so unworthy I will endeavour to esteem my self as vile as I really am in thy sight O do not look upon the deserts of a wretched sinner but remember thy own mercies and accept what thou hast required of me And so shall thy favour be more illustrious because it is bestowed upon so undeserving a Creature and the sense of my unworthiness shall enlarge my thankfulness and make me praise thee more than if I had approached with all perfections § 8. Through Iesus Christ our Lord by whom and with whom in the unity of the Holy Ghost all honour and glory be unto thee O Father Almighty World without end Amen When the people prayed without Luke 1.10 they directed their faces toward the Temple and the Priest who was there offering Incense but we have much more reason to lift up our hearts to our great High Priest who is now entred into the Heavens and doth there present most perfect intercessions and unreproveable Mediations for us We know our own services to be altogether imperfect wherefore we do here declare that our only hopes of Acceptance and Pardon is Through Jesus Christ by whom we are directed to offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving Heb. 13.15 as we here do in this present Doxology which comes very near to the antient form used in this Office a Audi quid dicat sacerdos Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum in quo tibi est cum quo tibi est honor laus gloria magnificentia potestas cum Spiritu Sancto à seculis nunc semper in omnia secula seculorum Amen Ambros de sacr l. 6. c. 5. and doth glorifie the whole Trinity from every person whereof we have now received peculiar testimonies of grace and favour and I wish that we may do it with a devotion proportionable to the great Obligations now laid upon us and then it will be accepted according to our desire Amen The Paraphrase of the first Prayer § 9. O Lord whom though we may make bold to call our Heavenly Father through Christ Jesus yet We esteem it our honour to be accounted thy humble Servants Having now finished this great mystery we do most heartily and entirely desire thy Fatherly goodness to pass by our failings therein as the infirmities of thy own Children and beseech thee mercifully to accept this our Oblation of our selves together with our Eucharistical Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving for the sufferings and merits of our Redeemer Most humbly deseeching thee who hast given such a Sacrifice for us and in this holy Sacrament offered the benefits thereof unto us That thou wilt please to grant that it may not be in vain to us or any of thy people But that â—y the merits of the Passion and death of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ which we have now commemorated and through a lively Faith in his blood which was shed for us Both We who have now Communicated and thy whole Church throughout the World may receive a free Pardon and full remission of our Sins And also obtain reconciliation and adoption sanctification and power against sin assurances of peace hopes of glory and all other benefits of his all-saving Passion And here at thy Altar where thou hast re-minded us of thy giving thy Son for us and where thou hast offered to make a League with us in his most precious blood We offer not only the praises of our lips which are too mean a return for such favour but we dedicate and present unto thee O Lord that which thou chiefly requirest and all that we have to give even our selves wholly and entire all the powers of our Souls and all the members of our Bodies designing them absolutely to thy service and intending them to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice and therefore we have consecrated them unto thee And we hope thou wilt accept us for thine own and never suffer us to be enslaved to sin hereafter And that we may keep this vow we do here crave thy gracious assistance humbly beseeching thee to send thy holy Spirit to take possession of our hearts so that all we who are partakers of the outward part of this holy Communion being made thine may be fullfilled and replenished in Soul and Body with thy grace within us and thy Heavenly benediction upon us And although we confess thou maist justly charge us to be unworthy through the stain and the guilt of our manifold sins which mingle with all our duties to offer unto thee so pure and holy a Majesty any Sacrifice of Praise or to make any Oblations before thee Yet we have ventured in hopes of thy goodness upon this â—acred mystery and we do beseech thee to accept this our imperfect endeavour as a testimony of our desire to please thee since it is our bounden Duty to shew
Almighty almost weary of Correcting thee and shewest thou lovest thy Sin too well to be easily torn from it Fifthly And finally how mischievous have the effects of thy transgressions been They have dishonoured God disgraced thy Religion incouraged the wicked to persevere incited the innocent to follow thy steps and offended weak and tender Christians This is indeed a sad story and if we rightly apprehend it may make the best to cry out with trembling and deep contrition Lord have mercy upon us But lest this dismal Account which will scarce fetch one sigh from a stupid Soul should overwhelm others in grief and desperation I shall add that we are not like the Jew who when the Law thundered from Mount Eball could only sign it with a dreadful Amen For we look further and beholding the Lamb of God make bold to crave mercy the very acknowledgment of our Sin being wrapt up in a Petition for Pardon And the right use of all this is not to affright us from Jesus but to drive us to him to shew not only how little we deserve but how much we need a pardon It is to represent how far God can forgive and how highly our dear Redeemer hath merited seeing so great and deserved vengeance is yet with-holden and the Gate of Mercy still kept open for such wretched Creatures Our design in this discovery of Sin is to convince us that it is high time to desist from adding to this infinite heap that it is extreamly necessary to seek for Absolution and that it will be an admirable ingaging favour if we be again accepted For Mount Sinah is the way to Sion and the Law our School-master to bring us to Christ When therefore your heart is full of these thoughts and when hope and fear sorrow and desire are strugling within you In the midst of these Passions bend your knees and begin to arraign your self at the Bar of your merciful Judge where humble Confession a In quantum tibi non peperceris in tantum tibi Deus crede parcet Tertul. is the readiest way to Remission Acknowledge therefore all you have found relate your shame and indignation at your self your grief and anguish for all your misdoings intreat as for your life and with all earnestness beg for pity and pardon remembring he never did cast off any that thus came to him Your Confession it self will be no other than a larger Paraphrase of Lord have mercy c. But if you require a form the Church hath made excellent provision in that acknowledgment before the Consecration b See Part. 2. Sect. 3. Sect. 9. to which the Reader is desired to turn and while his heart is in this frame with great Devotion to recite that Form § 8. But that this is not all the use of these Ten Commandments we may learn from the other part of the Versicle repeated after each of them which is Davids Prayer Psal 119.36 viz. And incline our hearts to keep this Law Which minds us of the next part of our Preparation for the Holy Sacrament to which the Law is apt to minister viz. Secondly The Renewing of our Covenant and this will necessarily follow our Confession if it be sincere and the language of a contrite heart Since we now have discovered the vileness and danger of our sinful courses We must needs be full of indignation against those ways and cannot but wish we may never fall into the like circumstances again Nay God may expect that those who are so drenched in tears and amazed with fear shall now study how they may keep the right paths of his Law hereafter And this was the principal end why you were put upon considering your ways that you might turn your feet to his Testimonies Psal 119.59 And if you be now desirous to do this it is the best sign of your Repentance the surest evidence of your pardon and the best disposition in the World for your reception of these Mysteries wherein it is Gods part to seal your Absolution by the blood of his dear Son and yours to give up your self entirely to his Service for ever hereafter since he hath so graciously quitted the old scores So that there is no doubt but the true Penitent doth now desire with all his Soul to forsake his Sins and do his duty better Only because he finds his heart averse and not easily inclined to this which his Conscience tells him is his interest and his happiness The Church hath added this short but significant Petition to him that can turn the heart and work in us both to will and to do That he would Encline c. Which Prayer that it may be said with Davids Spirit c Et oremus quod ille â—ravit quod oremus imitemur effectu si eramus sermone compatiamur mente S. Ambr. in Psal 119. We must resolve to follow those good inclinations when it pleaseth God to work them in us And to that purpose before we make this our solemn promise we must labour to bring our hearts to condemn the wayes of Sin and to approve of the ways of Holiness lest we should mock the Almighty by begging his help in that which we never intend to perform and lest our vow should vanish into Air if we do not first consider the particulars to which we bind our selves And for our assistance herein viz. that our Engagement may be advised and well grounded and our Prayers for the divine Aid may be hearty and sincere We may after our Confession while our hearts are yet bleeding for our former offences enlarge our thoughts into these or the like Meditations § 9. First to alienate our affections from Sin that we may in earnest and for ever renounce it Let every one of us ask his Soul these Questions First How little of either true profit or solid pleasure have I reaped from Sin The gain is cursed and intangled the delight short and unsatisfying ending either in vexation or a restless desire which stays longer and wounds deeper than ever the fantastick pleasure reached How certain is it that none of these purchases can last beyond the short duration of my frail life and how little security have I that my death shall not be ere the next Morning Secondly How great a trouble yet have I had all my life for this trifling and uncertain reward the gain was a shadow but have I not thereby lost my good name or my health my time and my parts the love of my best friends and the hopes of Gods favour Have not these Sins hindered my Prayers disquieted my Conscience set my Neighbours against me and filled my ways with losses crosses mischiefs and evil Accidents Have they not often made me ridiculous and base hated and distrusted and left me full of fears and sad expectations making my life uneasie and my death far more bitter and more terrible Thirdly But these are but the beginnings of sorrow
man considers before he set upon any great affair First He surveys the nature of the work Secondly He examines his own fitness to undertake it Thus did Solomon when he was to build the Temple 1 Kings 3.3.8 9. and when a marriage with Sauls Daughter was proposed to David Seemeth it saith he a light thing unto you to be a Kings Son c. so must we meditate of this divine Ordinance and say to our own Souls O how dreadful is this place Gen. 28.17 seemeth it a small thing unto thee to be feasted with God waited on by Angels fed with the body of Jesus and refreshed with a Cup of that saving blood which hath attoned the sins of the World What meaneth this secret that so poor a Wretch and sinful a Rebel should receive so mighty a favour and be received to so near embraces How can I approach to these Terrible Mysteries till I have pulled back the Veil and worshipped him that feeds my body to convey grace to my Soul and makes that stoop to the Eye of sense which Angels cannot behold with open faces The Minister's considering this before doth not excuse us from considering it also but we our selves must as he adviseth consider withal the dignity to make us full of desires and humble and the danger to put us upon the strictest care and preparation And if the peril of unworthy receiving do only make us more diligent to come well it becomes its own Cure and the consideration of this danger makes that really there is none to those who come humbly esteeming this Ordinance as it doth deserve § 7. And so to search and examine your own Consciences and that not lightly and after the manner of dissemblers with God but so that ye may come holy and clean to such an Heavenly Feast in the marriage garment required by God in holy Scripture and be received as worthy partakers of that holy Table Having spent some time in a serious contemplation of the dignity of this mystery our next duty is to search and try how we are fitted for it we must not only admire the Guest but prepare and cleanse the House for his reception and if we have done the first part so as that we have begot in our Souls a due esteem of the blessed Jesus we shall not dare to bring him into a filthy heart the receptacle of his Enemies and his Murderers When Augustus found but mean entertainment at the House of a Roman Citizen to whom he was invited he accounted it a disrespect to his Person and in anger said Sir I thought you and I had not been so familiar but our Lord is not offended at the meanness of his treat if there be no mixtures of uncleanness and iniquity Pythagoras his mystical precept not to cast Bread into a draught i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may fitly warn us not to put this Bread of Life into a Soul more odious to the Eyes of God than the receptacles of abomination can be to ours How careful was Joseph and Nicodemus to wrap his dead body in the purest linnen and shall we shew a less regard to his Person now that he liveth for ever But surely no Christian need be urged to so plain and so necessary a Duty only let us note those excellent directions for the manner of doing it which are here given us viz. That which we must search is the the Records of Conscience which if we examine l Salvatorem nostrum suscepturi totis viribus debemus nos cum iplius adjutorio praeparare omnes latebras animae nostrae diligentèr aspicere ne fortè sit in nobis aliquod peccatum absconditum quod conscientiam nostram confundat oculos divina Majestatis offendat Ambros de Sacram. seriously and strictly we may find there an impartial account of all the good we have omitted and all the evil which we have committed for there are those remembrances which will either accuse or excuse us at the holy Table Rom. 2.15 Wherefore we must take heed that we do not this lightly only out of Custom before a solemn time or meerly that we may seem to have done it as most men do who only gently touch these sores and give a slight and superficial glance at some of their greatest or latest committed sins but never care for searching into the bottom and looking into the inward Corners of their Corruptions These alas are but Dissemblers with God who only seek for some matter to confess and tell a sad story without any sorrow or real purposes of amendment yet call this preparation and come to this Sacrament with expectations of pardon and acceptance But truly we had as good do nothing neither God nor Conscience will so excuse us we do but lose our labour and cheat our selves with a shadow for the substance unless we do it impartially and with real designs to see our sins clearly and be humbled deeply for them so that we may hate and forsake them for ever hereafter Now that our Examination may be thus performed let us as the wise man adviseth Remember the end and we shall never do amiss Ecclus 7.16 We must consider therefore in the present case That we are so to try our selves First That we may come to this Heavenly Feast holy and adorned with the Wedding Garment Math. 22.2 that is we must examine not only till we see our sin but till we hate it and instead of those filthy rags have put on pure and pious dispositions which are that clean Linnen even the Righteousness of the Saints Revel 19.8 for by these Ornaments are holy Souls fitted for that Coelestial Company which is to be met at this Solemnity And secondly another end of our Examination is that we may be accepted by God himself as worthy Communicants that he who seeth the heart may approve the sincerity of our Repentance and the great King who comes in to see the Guests may by his gracious estimation supply the defects of our performance and call us worthy though strictly we are not so It is not that men may think we have duly prepared but that the All-seeing God may receive us that is treat us nobly and entertain us kindly as the word to receive signifies Math. 18.5 Act. 21.17 at this Heavenly Banquet And can we think a formal search will procure these graces or prevail for the divine acceptance nothing less than a through Repentance will suffice to this end and how to perform that the next Paragraph will discover § 8. The way and means thereto is first to examine your lives and Conversations by the Rule of Gods Commandments and whereinsoever ye shall perceive your selves to have offended either by Will Word or Deed there to bewail your own sinfulness and to confess your selves to Almighty God with full purpose of amendment If all that hath been said have convinced us of the necessity and advantage of a strict preparation
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Suidas whether he were fitted to come or no. The Magistrates of Sparta were wont to examine all the Citizens how well they observed Lycurgus's Rules honouring those that were found blameless with the Title of Approved h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Persons and shall we not think our pains well bestowed if our merciful Father give that Character of us I grant that after our strictest Examination we cannot bespeak our God with the confidence of the Grecian Wrastler who challenged Jove as he was just to give him the Victory if he had duly prepared all things for the Exercise Clem. Alex. but yet the severer search we make before we come the greater Comfort and the more success we shall have in our approaches Obj. But some will say it is too late for men to consider now when they are come to the Altar and it is impertinent to urge it here since all is done that can be done in this matter in order to this Communion Ans Not so for if any have presumed to come altogether unprepared it is not yet too late to warn them of their sin and danger And it were better for them to go out to day saith St. Cyril i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Hieros praef ad Catechum Meliùs est de mediâ viâ recurrere quam semper currere malé that they might come better fitted against the next opportunity yea Christ himself adviseth Math. 5.23 24. in some Cases to leave our gift before the Altar and retire till we are better disposed intimating that it offends Godâ— less to withdraw even from the beginning of his service than to proceed if we are unfit St. Ambrose knowing the Emperour Theodosius to be guilty of blood unrepented of although he was come to the Church with purposes to Communicate sent him back from thence with a serious Exhortation to Repentance k Recede igitur ne conare novo scelere scelus ante editum augere in vit D. Ambros So also St. Chrysostome being disturbed by a malicious and impertinent request just as he was about to consecrate the holy Symbols went out of the Church and desired another to finish the mystery which he durst not do being discomposed in his mind l Palladius in vit Chrysost Secondly But if we have in any measure prepared our selves yet is not this Exhortation to be thought unseasonable for as the most famous Orators though they had composed their Orations some days before yet were wont privately to recite them immediately before they spoke them to the Pâ—ople so it becomes us Christians to review the Records and sad Catalogues which we saw yesterday and briefly to act our Examination over again lest if the number and heinousness of our sins be at present out of our mind we should become as obdurate as if we never had beheld them What was done yesterday was to humble us just now and we are at this instant m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arr. in Epic. l. 1. to give the proof what we did in private and St. Pauls adding and so let him eat seems to direct us to make this the immediate duty before our receiving Let us then remember afresh what we found upon our inquiry and if we pass directly to the participation from this review of our offences we shall no doubt become so penitent and desirous of Pardon as not to be judged presumptuous Receivers § 4. For as the benefit is great if with a true penitent heart and lively Faith we receive that holy Sacrament for then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood then we dwell in Christ and Christ in us we are one with Christ and Christ with us Although the command of God by his Apostle is enough to require our obedience yet it is here backed with two of the most prevailing motives of all shewing that it is not only required of us to examine our selves but necessary for us and that we ought to do it for our own sake n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arrian in Epic. l. 2. 1. Because of the great benefits of worthy receiving 2. The dreadful danger of coming unprepared And first if we bring with us a penitent heart and a lively Faith the benefits are so many and so excellent that whosoever considers them cannot but long for them and they that obtain them may despise all other pleasures because they are as blessed as they can be on this side Heaven and are they not worth a little pains to dispose our selves for them They are surely most unworthy of them who will lose them rather than submit to the trouble of a sincere Examination of themselves The particular benefits are here expressed in the words of Christ John 6.54 55 56. in that mystical Sermon wherein he did secretly prepare the minds of his Disciples for this Sacrament shortly to be instituted and clearly alludes to the same The first benefit is the spiritual eating Christs body and blood For the humbled Sinner believing in the Incarnation Death and Passion of Jesus and receiving this Bread and Wine in token that God hath given him for his sins and that he doth rely on him as his only Redeemer This doth convey to such a penitent Believer all the benefits of the Birth and the Death of Jesus and as the Bread and Wine being received do communicate to us all the strength and comfort that they contain so the worthy Receiver by apprehending and embracing a Crucified Saviour draws perswasions of his pardon and encouragement to his Graces and so hath spiritually eat the flesh and drunk the Blood of Christ and hence flows the second benefit viz. His Dwelling or remaining in us and we in him that is when he have thus received our Saviour there is a blessed Communion between him and our Souls for he communicates of his fulness to us and we open our necessities to him and Thirdly hereby there is produced so near an Vnion that God esteems us as members of his dear Son lays our sin upon him and imputes his satisfaction to us and consequently all those benefits are derived to us which are mentioned by many and found by the Devout Communicant hope of pardon encrease of Grace assurance of our Resurrection and the expectation of Eternal Glory O Blessed mystery which dost communicate my Saviour and convey his Graces to me which givest me an interest in him and makest me one with him whom my Soul loveth How am I ravished with the sweetness of this Heavenly Feast how strongly do these benefits attract me if any pains or cost trouble or difficulty stand in my way I will account the pains to be pleasures the cost gain the trouble delight and the difficulty easiness which leads me to such blessedness O my Soul dost thou not wish with all thy Powers to be reconciled to God to be one with Christ and to be filled with the Spirit behold the
may go with boldness to the Throne of Grace Thirdly He is the Maker of all things and of us among the rest Now he hateth nothing that he hath made for his mercy is over all his Works wherefore we may have good hopes that he will pity and help the work of his own hands Lastly He is the Judge of all men Let us therefore now make our supplication to him for it is yet the time of mercy Job 9.15 and he is now willing to help them whom he hath redeemed with his precious blood Being thus prepared by meditating on these Attributes we may fitly begin to confess as followeth § 4. We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness which we from time to time most grievously have Committed These two words to acknowledge and bewail are taken out of Psal 38.18 For I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sin And if as St. Augustine notes Davids bare resolution to do this before the words were in his mouth did obtain his pardon f Nondum pronunciat sed promittit se pronunciaturum ille dimittit Vox nondum in ore erat sed auris Dei in Corde erat August in Psal 36. how much more shall we be admitted to forgiveness who do actually perform them both They are indeed the proper parts of Repentance to be exercised in Confession and are both of them most reasonable and fit to be done just now 1. What impudence were it to deny our sins before him from whom we cannot hide them and what folly to conceal them from him that would heal us and forgive them g Quis non invitaretur illi ad praemium confiteri cui non possis negare quod feceris Cassiodor in Psal 118. Are we ashamed to acknowledge them in the Church and are we not afraid to be charged with them before all the World h Hoc in Ecclesiâ facere fastidis ubi nihil est quod pudori esse debeat nisi non fateri cùm omnes simus peccatores ubi ille justior qui humilior Ambr. de poen 2. 10. Alas we are all Sinners and he that confesseth it most humbly shall soonest become innocent 2. And there is as great reason that we should bewail them also because here we see the wounds which they have made in the Lord Jesus When David saw his people dying by thousands for his sin immediately he cryes out i As Nisus in Virg. Aen. 9. seeing Euryalus his friend like to be slain No longer could he hide himself nor see So sad a sight but cries at me at me Behold my self who did the fact am by Against me turn your steel ye Rutuli I have sinned I have done wickedly but these sheep what have they done 2 Sam. 24.17 And can we behold the innocent and immaculate Lamb of God bleeding and dying for our offences and not cry out with tears Lord what hadst thou done to be thus used thou hadst acted no evil nor was guile found in thy mouth sweetest Jesus my sins were thy murtherers and thou sufferdest for my wretchedness If I may not weep for thee Luke 23.28 yet let me weep for my self who have brought all this upon thee Now when your heart thus begins to bleed with sorrow and your mouth is opened to confess behold what excellent matter is here prepared First You are taught what you must acknowledge viz. All your Sins and Wickedness your lesser as well as greater iniquities k Omne enim malum etiam mediocre magnum est Cicer. Tuscul qu. l. 3. for though they are many and manifold of several kinds and qualities yet they all agree in this that they are all odious to God and will be damnable to you without repentance Consider also 1. How often 2. How grievously they have been committed First You have been raising this heap and running on this score all your life from time to time l Hebr. de Die in Diem Psal 96. ver 2. that is both continually as to duration and frequently as to the repetition You have long been disobedient and renewed these offences every day and every hour if not every moment so that it is next to impossible to compute them they are compared to the hairs of your head and the Sands of the Sea both which exceed humane Arithmetick yet God that numbers our hairs and reckons the sands can particularly accuse you for every one of these sins and have you not great reason then to acknowledge and bewail them And the rather Secondly Because they are not only many but very heinous and committed in a most grievous m Lam. 1.8 Heb. peccando peccavimus Angl. grievously sinned quam phrasin nostri reddunt Exod. 32.31 A great sin Jer. 6.8 grievous revolters ubi Vulg. C. Par. principes declinantium Jun. Trem. contumacium contumacissimi and provoking manner in despite of mercies and the means of grace in defiance of your own knowledge and your Consciences with so much ingratitude and baseness that it cannot but be grievous to your Heavenly Father to bear it and I hope it will also be grievous to you to consider it and that when you think thereon you will weep unfeignedly § 5. By thought word and deed against thy divine Majesty provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us Although it is impossible to recite here all the particulars in which we have sinned yet we should run into the suspicion of Hypocrisie if we did wholly rest in generals wherefore the Church sees fit to put our thoughts into some method for the furtherance of our penitential recollections and how could that be better done than by that brief yet full division so often found in the Antient Liturgies n Peccavi nimis cogitatione locutione opere Miss Rom. and so much used among the Fathers directing us to consider of the several sins of our Thoughts our Words and our Deeds For the Heart in which Jesus should lodge the Mouth by which he should enter and the Hand with which we should receive him all of them are defiled And Solomon tells us that for every secret thought Eccles 12.14 Christ that for every idle word Math. 12.36 St. Paul that for every evil deed 2 Cor. 5.10 God will bring us into judgment Let us therefore now prevent that by considering and judging our selves First For the sins of our Thoughts for our Cogitations are always vain and roving often haughty wanton or envious sometimes revengeful mischievous or Atheistical and because these sins of the heart require no determinate time or place to their Commission and are acted without either pains or assistants o Animi motus citra temporis moram fiunt citra lassitudinem perficiuntur citra negotium consistunt omnem temporis occasionem idoneam habent S. Basil Conc. 3. they are almost every where and always done and we may all cry out Lord who can tell how oft he
ever since by Jews or Christians or both with the greatest solemnity See how those blinded Jews rejoice over their Paschal Lamb in the midst of all their Calamities for the deliverance of their Fathers But we have a nobler Passover for a greater deliverance Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the Feast and that upon the precious Body and Blood of the Lamb of God who was slain but is alive again and behold he lives for evermore Wherefore I will go to thy Altar with joy and tell out thy works with gladness O most mighty Saviour who hast not only died for my sins but risen again for my Justification and indeed what comfort could I have found in this memorial of thy Death if it had not been for thy Resurrection this Sacrament would have only remembred thy sufferings and renewed my sorrow to think that so excellent a Person had perished in the attempt of my deliverance but now it is become a Feast of joy because it is an assurance of thy Resurrection as well as a Commemoration of thy Passion And since thou livest sweetest Jesus we live also thy Resurrection raiseth our hearts from sad despair it gives a new life to our hopes it makes our sorrows light our labours easie our lives chearful and our death advantage because it hath lost its sting and is become the gate into immortality We can charm all our fears and troubles with this one word The Lord is risen yea the Lord is risen indeed For thou hast washed us in thy own blood and made us Kings and Priests to God to offer up at this thy Altar never-ceasing Praises Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Ascension-Day § 11. I see O merciful Jesus thou art content for our sakes to stay here upon Earth when Heaven longs for thy return thou hast these fourty days denied thy self the full fruition of thy glories to dispel the sorrow and confirm the Faith of thy Disciples and yet at last their tears and embraces shew how loth they are to depart from thee But behold the day of thy Triumph is come and the holy Myriads are sent to wait upon thee the Heavenly Singers that go before cry Open your selves ye everlasting doors that the King of Glory may come in to whom the Angels which come out to meet him answer in extasies of amazement Who is the King of Glory and all the Chorus that follow after reply Even the Lord of Hosts he is the King of Glory and thus with hymns and joyful acclamations is Jesus welcomed to his antient and most glorious Throne And now O my soul why standest thou gazing into Heaven he is too high to be discerned too bright to be seen with mortal Eyes since Cherubins are dazled at his splendor He is gone to his proper place and ascended thither whither thy desires carry thee and where ere long thou shalt see him face to face Thou standest like Elisha looking after him and lamenting thy Masters departure but he hath left his Mantle behind him even the mysteries of this holy Sacrament which to thy Faith is the flesh which he was cloathed with all and is designed to convey a double portion of his spirit unto thee so that it appears he hath left his Love with us when his Person was taken from us Away then with these sighs and tears lament no longer the absence of thy Lord for he is in this Blessed Feast he is here in his comforts and graces here in his merits and his love and his spirit can Minister the same benefits hereby which his personal presence would have given thee Go then with all possible speed and taste of this Heavenly Provision delight in it above all the sweetnesses in the World because it contains so many pledges and emblems of thy glorious Redeemers love when thou beholdest him that is thy head so advanced make haste to unite thy self nearer to him by partaking of his Body and Blood that thou maist finally reign with him in the mean time raise up thy thoughts above this lower World declare thy desire to be with Jesus send thy heart before and protest if he had not left thee some little tastes of his sweetness in the repast of this holy Table by the way thou couldst not have endured so long without him There is nothing which he loves comparable with his Throne in Heaven unless it be an humble and thankful heart into which I am about to receive him and as the Coelestial Quire welcomed him thither so will I receive him with joy into my poor Soul Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Whit-Sunday § 12. I will go to thy Altar O Lord with a New-Sacrifice of Praise because thou hast given me a fresh instance of thy Love this day thou art slow to punish thy Enemies but speedy to comfort thy servants for no sooner was thy misery changed into glory but we received the greatest demonstration of thy affections no sooner didst thou put on thy Crown in Heaven but the Earth felt the bounty of thy Dispensations for it was not possible for thee sweetest Jesus to let thy promise remain long unperformed or the sad expectations of thy Disciples unsatisfied Being assembled therefore this Day with one heart in one place they are suddenly surprized with wonder and inspired with a Heavenly Power such as they had never felt before vigorous as a mighty wind chearing as the morning light inflaming their hearts with zeal and filling their mouths with Anthems indited in the languages of all the World Oh wonderful change their ignorance is turned into learning their mistakes into infallibility their fear into courage their weakness into strength their sorrow into joy and they in a moment made able to confound the Arts and conquer the oppositions of the Heathen World and maugre all the devices of Satan to set up the Kingdom of the Lord Christ And shall not we praise thee for these miraculous dispensations by which the Gospel was made known even to us in these utmost corners and last of times Yes holy Jesus we will also meet with one accord at thy Table not doubting but thou wouldst give us the same measures of thy spirit there if our duty or our necessity did require it it is enough to us that thou knowest our needs more than will supply them we dare not ask less thou wilt not give Thou hast given us thy self wherefore we believe thou wilt not deny us thy spirit without which we can have no interest in thee nor benefit from thee We come not gracious Lord with the carnal Jews to devour thy flesh but to partake of thy spirit which only giveth life the flesh profiteth nothing Behold thy Spirit hath converted Millions let me therefore together with thy precious Body receive here such proportions of thy holy spirit as may suppress my evil affections revive my dead heart comfort
Blessed Sacrament on purpose to purifie us and unite us unto our dear Redeemer Why then do we stand looking one upon another Gen. 42.1 and not rather look up to him that only can help us all will not our own necessities open our mouths nor his tender mercies incourage us to call upon him to give us grace that we may eat and live We do intend to eat but we had better not eat at all than not eat So k 1 Cor. 11.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So let him eat Psal 26.6 So will I compass c. as God requires and So as to be bettered thereby Now to the pure all things are pure but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure Titus 1.15 In vain therefore should we desire in the following Prayer of Consecration that these Elements should become the body and blood of Christ if we did not first pray that we might worthily receive them There must be a change in us or else though Christs natural flesh and blood were here and we should eat and drink thereof every day we could not partake of Christ l Qui discordat à Christo nec carnem ejus manducat nec sanguinem bibit etiamsi tantae rei sacramentum quotidiè indifferentèr accipiat Prosp sent 341. It is our eating with Faith and penitence love and holy purposes that makes it to be Christs body and blood to us most wisely therefore hath the Church ordered that before we pray for the Consecration of the Symbols we should desire to be Consecrated our selves Thus St. Ambrose in that Prayer said to be used by him before he Communicated saith O holy Bread which camest down from Heaven and givest life to the World come into my heart and cleanse me from all defilements of flesh and spirit enter into my Soul heal and sanctifie me within and without Let us consider the spots and stains the foulness and diseases with which our bodies and Souls are overspread and then behold this salutary and living Manna which hath power to restore us to an excellent purity and to make us amiable in the Eyes of God and then we shall heartily put up this Petition we shall hunger and thirst after it groan and long for it m Famelicus accedo ne recedam impastus si antequam comedam suspiro da vel post suspiria ut comedam August Med. c. 39. as it is reported St. Catherine was wont to do with the same passion that the Child doth for the Breast of its Mother Let us come then with most ardent desires and summon up all our Powers now the Angel is so near who makes our Bethesda Medicinal let us passionately cry out and say Lord hast thou set open this Fountain and wilt thou let a wretched Creature die for thirst in thy presence hast thou prepared such balm to heal me and shall I languish here before thee I know if thou wilt thou canst make me clean here is the very instrument in thy hand Grant therefore holy Jesus that I may duly apply it and rightly use it and then it shall prepare me for thee and unite me to thee by such inseparable Bonds as shall never break unless Eternity can have an end Blessed are they that So eat thy flesh and So drink thy blood So as thou requirest and So as thy Saints of old have done for they have been cleansed at this Fountain and here their Vnion with thee first began Oh happy season Excellent opportunity Lord let me do it well this once and I am thine for ever Amen The Paraphrase of the Address § 6. Holy God! thou mightest justly wonder to see so many grievous Sinners daring to come so near but We do not impudently rush upon these dreadful mysteries nor do we presume to come to this thy Table where Angels do attend as if we deserved this Honour O merciful Lord We do not approach trusting in our own Righteousness for alas we have done nothing which can bear that name but that which drew us hither was our confidence in thy manifold and great mercies which exceed our manifold and great offences And now that we are before thee we must still confess whatever favours thy goodness heaps upon us that we are not worthy by reason of our sinfulness and backslidings so much as with the Dogs to gather up the Crumbs which fall under thy Table not fit to receive the least mercies or measures of grace from thee much less to sit as guests before thy Majesty at this Heavenly Feast But yet we make bold to do this because thou art not to be changed by our sins being ever the same Lord whose property is to be unwearied with well-doing and never wanting in pity and thou art wont always to have mercy on those who confess their offences as we have done Grant unto us therefore gracious Lord by the present assistance of thy holy Spirit so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Iesus Christ spiritually in this Sacrament and so to drink his blood as that we may receive all the benefits of his Cross and Passion even that our sinful and defiled bodies may be made clean by his holy and immaculate body and our Souls which are polluted in every faculty washed through his most precious blood which taketh away the sins of the World Let us be so wholly purifyed that we may now begin to be inseparably united to Jesus and that we by Faith may evermore dwell in him abiding in his love and that by his spirit he may dwell in us always Amen SECT II. Of the Prayer of Consecration § 1. AFter all this Preparation we need not ask with Isaac Gen. 22.7 where is the Lamb for the Burnt-Offering for God hath provided his own dear Son whose blood being already spilt is so efficacious and all-sufficient that there is now no need of any other but this unbloody Sacrifice a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril cat Myst 5. incruentam oblationem Liturg. 5. Marci sacrificium absque sanguine Liturg. S. Basil to be offered and that in memorial of that great Sin-offering which taketh away the sins of the World 1 Pet. 2.5 And for this purpose Christ himself hath b Ille mirabilem quandam victimam pro nostra omnium salute obtulit memoriam nobis tradens loco sacrificii continuo offerendam Euseb praep Evang. l. 1. c. 10. appointed these Creatures of Bread and Wine ordaining that because they are designed to express so great a Mystery they shall have a peculiar Consecration The antient Greeks and Romans would not taste of their ordinary Meat and Drink till they had hallowed it by giving the first parts thereof to their Gods c Romani Graeci in convictu familiari ciborum particulis vino in ignem conjectis libamina Diis dabant Alex. ab Alex. gen dier l. 5. c. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porph. de abst l 2. c. 20. The
yea upon all thy Merits and Graces Lord thou reachest out most freely that which I need infinitely and that which I wish for above all things Adored be thy admirable bounty in complyance wherewith unworthy though I am I do stretch out a trembling hand I do open my mouth yea my heart to receive thee Open your Doors O ye Gates of my Soul and the King of Glory shall come in Rejoice and be exceeding glad for behold thy King cometh meek and lowly to visit the meanest of his servants Come Lord Jesus come quickly A Meditation while we Eat the Bread §. 8. In remembrance that Christ died for thee An Act of Contrition O my Soul behold how thou hast incensed the Majesty of Heaven see how he gives up the most innocent and most holy Jesus thy best thy only friend and his own dear Son to be tortured and tormented for thy Sins O how cruelly was he scourged with whips wounded with Thorns loaden with the Cross torn with Nails pierced with a Spear and rackt on the most painful instrument of Death His lovely Face is defiled with blood and spitting his Ears filled with taunts and curses his Eyes drenched in tears for the ruine of his Enemies and his Soul amazed at the terrors of the divine wrath till at length all wounded broken and bloody with many groans yet with admirable patience he breaths out his holy Soul And yet whatever he suffered was my portion My pleasure hath been his pain my wicked life hath caused his bitter death Wretch that I am to live in such a manner that nothing else could satisfie or make my Peace But here I come this day to call my sin to remembrance I will look on thee whom I have pierced with a most tender and sympathizing affection and while I break this holy Bread with my Teeth I will commemorate how thou wast bruised for our iniquities and how our offences did grind thee with grief and pain Holy Saviour I am angry at my self and full of anguish to see what I hâ—ve brought upon thee I am sorry with all my heart that I have given harbour to thy Murtherers but I hope this most dismal spectacle l Est enim tanta vis crucis Christi ut si ante oculos ponatur in mente fidelitèr retineatur ita ut in ipsam mortem Christi intentis oculis adspiciatur nulla concupiscentia nulla libido nullus furor nulla potest superare invidia Origen in 7. ad Rom. shall mortifie in me all desires after Evil and make me abhor all those desperate pleasures which must be so dearly paid for by thee or else stand charged upon my Account for ever No no I will never crucifie thee again by renewing my disobedience for I have done too much already A Meditation after the receiving of the Bread §. 9. And feed on him in thy heart by Faith with thanksgiving An Act of particular Application and Gratitude Hail holy Lamb of God thrice welcome art thou to a poor perishing Sinner was it not enough that thou shouldst suffer so much for me but thou wilt also give all the purchase of those sufferings to me thy loving kindness is truly admirable Thou hast taken my sins on thy self and communicated thy Righteousness unto my Soul Lord while I believe and consider the benefits of thy Passion I am revived and filled with an unwonted vigour My Conscience doth accuse me of many and grievous sins but I do here most humbly and thankfully set forth this perfect Sin-offering before thy divine Majesty and I know thou canst not except against it I believe it is sufficient to attone thy anger what I owe he hath discharged what I have deserved he hath endured so that for his sake I hâ—pe thou wilt set me free Blessed Jesus how is my Soul refreshed that it is thus restored again to thy Fathers Love Let Heaven and Earth praise thee and declare the merit of this glorious Sacrifice and I will bless thee while I have my being I will love thee because thou hast loved me better than thy own life my heart shall feast with joy and Eucharist upon the pleasures and Comforts which I expect to draw from this Coelestial food I have received thine immaculate Body and it shall cleanse my sinful body and teach me by the vertue of so rare an example to relieve my poor Brethren for whom thou hast died and to conquer my Enemies by my Charity for thus thou hast done to me And both my lips and my life shall set forth thy Praise I begin to feel my self one with thee already and I will wait till I am perfectly united to thee in Everlasting Glory Amen Meditations before the receiving of the Cup. §. 10. The blood of our Lord Iesus Christ An Act of Acknowledgment It will not suffice me Dearest Saviour to receive thee in part only for I must be wholly thine and blessed be thy Name thou art willing to be wholly mine also Thou hast already given me thy holy Body to cleanse my nature and now thou art preparing thy precious Blood to wash away my guilt My sins have poured out every drop thereof wherefore thou presentest it to me by it self to shew how truly thou didst suffer Death for me And now O my Redeemer thou hast said this Cup is the Communion of thy blood and thy Truth is unquestionable thy power is infinite and thy love was such that thou gavest thy hearts blood for me I will receive it therefore as the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant the seal of all the Promises of thy holy Gospel I have indeed vile Sinner that I am drunk in iniquity like water and therefore am unfit to taste this Water of Life and yet I shall perish without it for I am all over defiled and this is the fountain which thou hast opened to cleanse us I am scorched with the flames of evil Lusts and unruly Passions and this is the Cup which thou hast provided to cool and refresh us O thou Medicine of immortality my Soul longeth for thee what value is sufficient for me to put upon this Heavenly Cordial how can I reverence it enough since the God of Heaven esteemed it a price sufficient for millions of perishing Mankind Lord let me taste and my soul shall live let me wash in this Laver before I come to thy great Tribunal so shall I be whiter than Snow §. 11. Which was shed for thee An Act of Repentance mixed with Faith Was there ever so base a wretch as I have been who have accounted those sins small and trivial yea and made them my sport and pleasure which have pressed down and wounded the holy Jesus till he is all over drenched in his own blood Woe is me I have easily committed that which nothing but these streams can wash away O ye accursed Lusts ye have by wicked hands taken Crucified and slain the Lord of Life and if he had
not sustained your fury ye had delivered me over to Everlasting Burnings I do abhor and detest ye all how dear soever you have been to me the sight of my bleeding Saviour hath stirred up my indignation against you and I will revenge his blood upon you by sacrificing you all at this Altar How can my Eyes but drop down tears of Contrition when they behold thee pouring forth Rivers of thy Blood but while I grieve to see thy bleeding wounds I must not forget for whom thou didst sustain them thy Blood was shed for me because my life was forfeited why art thou then so cast down O my Soul wilt thou dishonour that price by thy doubts and fears which God hath accepted for all the World cannot that Sacrifice which appeaseth the divine wrath satisfie thy Faith Be not afraid only believe and be assured he will not cast away those whom he hath bought at so dear a rate for thee it was shed for thee it is prepared open thy mouth wide and he will fill it §. 12. Preserve thy Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life An Act of Supplication O Lord I tremble at the apprehension of all those Evils that stand between me and thy glory behold the Grave gapeth for my Body the Infernal Pit threatens to swallow my Soul and Satan is ready were he permitted every moment to devour me wherefore I beseech thee sprinkle me with thy all-saving blood that the destroying Angel may pass over me let me drink of this Cup of Life and so shall my Body be free from Corruption and my Soul from Condemnation Death shall be defeated the Grave dismantled and Satan disappointed Let me drink of thy precious Blood that I may receive thereby abundance of thy Spirit so shall my Body be hallowed into a sacred Temple and my Soul shall be replenished with such Graces that I can never perish Sweetest Jesus how desireable are thy Provisions oh let us not always languish without them but pitty our dry and parched Souls and water them we intreat thee with these living streams for behold we thirst and long with a mighty Passion to drink of this Fountain of Life that we may not faint in our journey to those Rivers of pleasures which are at thy right hand Oh give us this divine Cordial at present and make it to us a Preservative for Body and Soul to everlasting life Amen A Meditation in the receiving of the Cup. §. 13. Drink this in remembrance that Christs blood was shed for thee An Act of Commemoration How chearing is this Cup to me Blessed Jesus which was so dreadful unto thee it was thy Agonies and thy Wounds which afforded me this Wine of Joy Thou didst find how bitter it was when thou wert appeasing an offended God but I tast how sweet it is now that thou hast made him a tender and reconciled Father I receive this Cup O my Saviour as a new plâ—dge of thy dearest love for from those pits whence these Rivulets did flow I can discern thy heart bleeding in pity to my misery and sick of Love And since thou dost here give me a right to that great expiation which thou hast made I do most humbly commemorate the same before the Father of Heaven as the full satisfaction for my innumerable debts and I will remember the dolours of thy Cross with a brisker sense than ever because thou hast made me drink of thy blood and given me thy Soul thy Life and thy Spirit so that now I will live no more but thou shalt live in me because we have mingled Souls and thou hast joined me to thy self by the Communications of thy Spirit O let nothing separate that which thou hast so graciously joined together A Meditation after the receiving of the Cup. §. 14. And be thankful An Act of Thankfulness and Resolution Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name for now I find the Mercy and the Peace the Comfort and the Grace which flows from the Death of Christ let all the World know what he hath done for my Soul he hath rescued me and many of my poor Brethren round about me from the nethermost Hell wherefore I will love thee holy Jesus more than I can express and I will love them for thy sake And since thou hast given thy self thy merits and graces to me and sealed a New Covenant with me in thy own blood I do here bind my self by this sacred Cup to be sincerely thine m Mos est regibus quoties in societatem coeant implicare dextras pollicesque inter se vincire Mâ—x levi ictu cruorem eliciunt atque invicem lambunt id foedus arcanum habetur quasi mutuo cruore sancitum Tacit. Annal. lib. 12. I will spend my time and strength in thy service yea and Sacrifice my blood to bear witness to thy truth if ever thou callest me thereunto I will never betray nor forsake thee but live and die with thee for I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments Oh let me never unhallow that body nor defile that Soul in which the Lord Jesus delights to dwell let no Oaths or lying prophane those lips no Obscenity or Intemperance pollute that mouth by which those holy Symbols have passed And methinks I feel new desires and new hopes my nature seems râ—newed my blood refined my Soul full of holy vigour blessed be thy name for it let thy mercy keep me in this happy temper till I have accomplished all my resolutions Amen § 15. By these and such like contemplations you must keep your minds imployed all the time that the Heavenly Banquet doth continue and if the Congregation be numerous and there be further opportunity the devout Soul will easily find more fuel to nourish these flames viz. by considering the necessities of all Mankind the Calamities of the Church the Miseries of the Sick the wants of the Poor the condition of our Relations Friends and Acquaintance and recommending them all with an effectual Charity to Almighty God through Christ Jesus As also by lamenting its own unworthiness and indispositions by recollecting all its present wants both spiritual and temporal by surveying the difficulties and dangers of that pious course now undertaken and by calling upon the Father of Mercies for grace and relief for courage and strength for support and protection in order to each of these So likewise by doing Acts of mental Charity to be put in Execution afterwards viz. Resolving for the sake of Jesus to forgive and do good to our Enemies to reprove Sinners instruct the ignorant help those that are in need And finally by contemplating of the wisdom and advantage of a holy Life the comfort and peace of a happy Death the joys and felicities of the life of Glory with the pleasures of those Souls that behold Jesus face to face these and many more which the good Spirit will offer we must improve
back again to thy self better than I received thee There needs no application but that every Communicant do as sincerely make oblation of their Souls and Bodies to God for this the poorest may give and yet this is more acceptable than thousands of Gold and Silver If these reasons do convince us of the justice and the necessity of our making this Oblation we may learn in the next place from the very form in this Prayer how and in what manner it may be done for we are taught therein I. What it is which we must offer viz. our whole selves not only our Bodies but our Souls also n Quodâ—si corpus quo inferiore tanquam famulo utitur anima sacrificium est quanto magis anima ipsa cum se refert ad Deum August Deinde cum plena resignatione integrâ voluntate offer teipsum in honorem nominis mei corpus tuum scil animam mihi fidelitèr câ—mmittendo Tho. à Kemp. de imit Christi l. 4. c. 6. for we consist of both these God hath created and redeemed both and each of them in their capacity can do him service wherefore we must give him both or he will accept neither o Pectora vestra duanon admittentia curas Juven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Macrob. Saturn because he hath no equal he will have no Rival All the members of our Bodies and all the powers of our Souls our Limbs and Senses our Will and Affections our Reason and Understanding must be dedicated to him for so long as any of these are under the bondage of sin the rest cannot be intirely the Servants of God Math. 6.24 II. To what end we make this Oblation of our selves First To be a reasonable Sacrifice The offering up of our Souls and Bodies since we are rational Creatures is not like the Sacrifices of brute Beasts by dying but by living agreeable to the will of God and the rules of right reason p 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epicharmus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Socrat. ap Stobaeum for reason as it is inlightned in us Christians doth direct us to approve of all things that are good and doth attest and confirm the Duties which God requires He therefore makes himself a reasonable Sacrifice who doth live prudently and piously and walk according to the dictates of the best reason he that is religious and just sober and humble meek and patient compassionate and charitable q Qui innocentiam colit Deo supplicat qui justitiam Deo libat qui hominem periculo subtrahit optimam victimam caedit Min. Foelix Vis Deos propitiare bonus esto satis illos coluit quisquis imitatus est Sen. ep 95. for these things are in themselves the most rational and we have the greatest reason and the highest obligations to perform them Secondly We offer our selves to be an Holy Sacrifice that is to be pure and spotless as all those offerings were appointed to be r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Athenaeus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Suidas which were offer'd to the Divine Majesty And as all such offerings were set apart and sanctified never to be accounted the owners Å¿ Nullius autem scil hominis sunt res sacrae religiosae quod enim Divini juris est id nullius in bonis est Justinian instit l. 2. tit 1. Sect. 7. or to be used to any common or prophane use afterwards so when we are purified by the blood of Christ and dedicated to God it is with intent never to use our faculties as the servants of sin nor our members as the instruments of unrighteousness any more Our Eyes must not look towards wantonness our Ears must not hearken to vanity our tongues must not speak lies or slanders our hands must not wrong nor oppress nor our feet spurn the poor neither may our wit or reason our passions or our will be the slaves of Sin hereafter For we are Holy 1 Cor. 3.16 17. and if we unhallow our selves again it is a crime equal to Belshazzers sacrilegious drinking in the holy Vessels of the Temple Thirdly That we may be a Living Sacrifice for we do not vow to kill or destroy our selves as some of the Heathens did in honour to their less-deserving Deities but we resolve to Sacrifice our Lusts t Non enim sicut tunc corpora pro corporibus immolanda sed vitia corporis perimenda sunt S. Ambros in 12. ad Rom. by mortification because so long as they live we are dead to the service of God We engage to be living u Aqua viva Hebr. Dialecto est aqua fontana ebulliens perennis jugitèr manans that is lively and strong vigorous and persevering in all religious duties and that we will perform all kind of good works with such an alacrity as may express life and spirit so that although we do not or cannot return the love of Jesus by dying for him as he hath done for us yet we will live to him and desire our life no longer nor for no other end than to advance his glory and do his blessed pleasure And now if we do so far understand our own interest and are so really weary of the bondage of Satan as to desire and long for a better Master and do wish unfeignedly that we may be accepted as the servants of God let us resign up and dedicate our selves to him in this or the like form An Act of Oblation of our selves or the form of a Vow after the Holy Communion O most merciful Lord God I am amazed at the mighty faâ—â—â—â—s which thou hast shewed to me a sinful wretched Creature I cannot but acknowledge thy goodness although I can make no retribution had I all the World at my disposal I could freely give it all to thee as a testimony of my unfeigned gratitude but I hear thy gracious voice saying My Son give me thy heart It is not mine dearest Lord but me thou seekest sinful and miserable though I am yet I am that purchase for which Jesus hath left his glory laid down his life done and suffered all these things O marvellous condescension I am nothing I have nothing I am void of all good full of evil and deserving thy wrath so that I abhor my self and canst thou delight in me Be it so then for I will dispute no more with unsearchable mercy I believe O my God and wonder I can no longer resist thy condescending and Almighty Love I will with all the joy imaginable give my se f to thee for thou hast but lately restored me to my self Alas I have been a Prisoner to Satan a Slave to Sin and marked for destruction but thou hast procured my Pardon my Liberty and my Life requiring no more for so unexpressible bounty but only that I will intirely become thine Had I the life of an Angel the understanding of a Cherubin or the powers of one of the Heavenly Host
appeased my sins expiated my peace made and my Enemies vanquished It revives my spirit and refreshes me more than comparisons can express more than any can apprehend but thâ—y that feel the like O praise the Lord with me and let us magnifie his name together we should have thought it a great felicity to have beheld the glories of Jesus at a distance but he hath now sent him home to our hearts wherefore we will declare his mercy for ever Amen Hallelujah § 4. And dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us When St. John was to introduce the Institution of this Sacrament he doth it with this Preface Chap. 13.1 Having loved his own he loved them to the end or as the word rather signifies g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Johan 13.1 i. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac He loved them in the highest degree intimating that this holy Communion is designed as a testimony that he loved us with a most perfect love And there are many considerations which do most clearly shew this to be an assured pledge of the favour of God unto us 1. If we consider it only as a Feast it hath always been a token of great respect and a symbol of intire friendship to admit especially our inferiours to our Table h Mensae ejusdem particeps quod magnum amicitiae symbolum olim creditum Grotius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Philo. thus David expressed his kindness unto Mephibosheth 2 Sam. 9.7 and Joseph to his estranged Brethren Gen. 43.25 and no man willingly eats with those whose persons or manners he dislikes Gen. 43.32 Besides Feasts have been esteemâ—d a means to reconcile those who have been at variance whence it is a Proverb in Ben-Syra Spread the Table and the contention will cease And is it not matter of unspeakable joy to us who were Enemies Rebels and condemned wretches to be thus invited to feast with the Lords of Hosts Can we have a plainer Symbol of his favour than thus to be treated as his dear friends 2. But it is not an ordinary Feast for it is a Feast upon the Body and blood of Christ which was the great Sin-offering Now it was not lawful of old for any i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Porph. de abst l. 4. Sect. 44. to tast of the Expiatory Sacrifices because those offerings could not wholly abolish sin nor remove the anger of God he was not so perfectly reconciled by them as to give back the Offerers any part on which they might feast with him But by the perfect oblation of Jesus Christ it is evident that the divine Justice is fully satisfied and therefore the flesh and blood of Christ is by God given back to us in Sacrament that we may eat thereof before him and thereby be assured that he will remember our sins no more but this is more largely described by others 3. It will further appear to be a pledge of Gods infinite love to us if we consider who it is that in this holy Rite he gives to us even Jesus Christ his dearly beloved Son May we not say as God to Abraham Gen. 22.12 Now know we that thou lovest us because thou hast not withheld thy Son thy only Son from us And justly may we argue with St. Paul Rom. 8.32 He that hath given us his own Son how shall he not with him also freely give us all things k 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost in Rom. when he hath given the greatest and best to us to make us his Friends shall he deny us any lesser matters when we are reconciled We may be confident there is nothing which God values more highly than his own dear Son and that his design in giving him to us in this Sacrament is to be a testimony how infinitely he loveth us and how earnestly he desireth our Salvation 4. That which adds weight to all the former is the consideration of the Giver who is the God of truth and is most sincere in all his dealings with us so that we may be assured of all imaginable reality on his part And now how should it fill our minds with joy that we have such a pledge of his favour l Non tam dono lata est quam abs te datum id verò triumphat serió Terent. Eun. 3.11 At illa quanto gratiora sunt quantoque in partem interiorem animi descendunt cum delectant cogitantem magis à quo quà m quid acceperit Sen. de ben l. 1. Sect. 15. who is Almighty in power and governs all the World whose goodness fills Heaven and Earth with joy Were the gift never so mean that were bestowed in token of his favour and goodness it ought to be esteemed above all things therefore let us thus acknowledge our gratitude for so excellent a gift upon so blessed an account from so glorious a Majesty An Act of acknowledgment Part. I. There are many O Lord who are most importunate to obtain thy favour and unquiet till they receive some testimonies thereof and yet when their desires are granted they are unmoved and ingrateful But I will endeavour to praise thee as heartily for these manifestoes of thy love as I desired them fervently I acknowledge therefore that I am full of wonder to find my self honoured with the highest priviledges and remarked with the most illustrious signals of thy endearing love I begged the mercy of gathering up the Crumbs under thy Table and behold thou hast placed me among thy servants and fed me with the choicest of thy preparations thou hast offered unto me a Crucified Saviour with all his merits and graces which is so great an assurance of thy good will towards me that it were folly and impudence to suspect it O Lord thou hast shewed this token upon me for good that all my Enemies may see it and be ashamed for all the Powers of darkness are confounded to behold me a poor despised wretch whose ruine they gaped for every moment thus to be made a Guest at thy Table and treated as one of thy dearest Children or best beloved Friends I will not be proud of this honour because I did not deserve it but I will rejoice in it and bless thy name for it because it hath revived my hope and cheared my drooping Soul and I am perswaded this fresh testimony of thy favour shall engage me to love thee with an unalterable affection There was nothing in the World I desired in comparison of thy Love nor could I have wished a more certain pledge of it than thy Son and my Saviour Welcom O my dearest Redeemer for thy own sake and thrice welcom as thou art the evidence of thy Heavenly Fathers love to me a miserable Sinner I will acknowledge it with delight as I am able at present and my whole life hereafter shall shew how deep a sense I have of this inestimable goodness and when life and breath doth fail it
pleasures of sin 2. It is most base ingratitude to the goodness of God and the love of Jesus to part with these tokens of the divine favour so easily It was censured as an infamous Act in that Epicurean Philosopher whom Athenaeus speaks of l. 5. who having obtained of the Syrian King the priviledge to wear a Purple Robe and a Golden Coronet and to be stiled the Priest of Virtue gave all these soon after to his Courtezan and she was seen publickly wearing the Ensigns of his Honour Yet it is far baser so cheaply to give up the Testimonies of Heavens Love How vile a wretch is he that when his wounds are healed and his Peace made with God will tear them open again and renew the breach so lately made up What can be more horrid than to throw those Souls willfully into the Portion of Devils which Jesus hath with so much sweat and blood rescued from thence 3. It is the immediate way to utter destruction for what can save such an one who is so desperately in love with sin that no mercy can oblige him to leave it no vows hold him from it And as those who at their Baptism were dispossest of evil Spirits upon their return to iniquity were as St. Cyprian notes possessed again c Recedente siquidem disciplina recessit gratia Cypr. ep 75. Ingens periculum ad deteriora redeundi Sen. ep 72. Math. 12.45 So we may be assured the Devil will with more strength return upon those who do wilfully or carelesly relapse after this sacred Communion and they will become more wicked and more hardened than ever And why should God withhold such a person from destruction who despiseth his favour and is weary of the Company of Jesus and longs to be in a state of Evil. To this might be added that to fall off now will shew that the whole Duty was feigned and hypocritical and will cause God scarce ever to be willing to give us grace again if we thus abuse this and it will shew we hate the ways of God when we cannot endure to be tyed to them But I hope this will suffice to convince us of the sin and danger of not continuing in this fellowship and of neglecting to do those good works which God requireth Wherefore to assist our resolutions of perseverance let us observe carefully these few directions 1. Immediately after we return from the Lords Table we must not entertain any business or Company until we have first seriously considered the happiness of our present Estate as to the comfort the hopes and the peace which we now feel and then to consider the folly and the danger of quitting so desirable a condition and this we must meditate upon until we see it is our wisdom our interest and greatest advantage to continue in this blessed Society and these good ways where we may be so easie so safe and so rewarded For many part with their comfort before they ever considered the value thereof 2. Be sure immediately to beg of God as this Petition teacheth the assistance of his Grace to which purpose the annexed form may be used and to excite our devotion let us sadly reflect upon our former backslidings and that we have the same frail nature d Multos impedit à firmitate praesumptio firmitatis Aug. de verb. Dom. 13. our Enemies the same power and policy and greater malice still and if we can pray heartily for grace to be good it is a great assurance that we do sincerely desire to be good e Justa vita cum volumus adest quia ipsum plane velle justitia est August ep 45. And it is the beginning of grace to wish earnestly for it f Vt ergo desideremus adjutorium gratiae hoc ipsum quoque opus est gratiae ipsa namque incipit infundi ut incipiat posci idem Yea we serve such a Master as will be pleased if we do what we can and ask of him what we cannot do though we do not all we should Only it must be remembred that we must not only pray for perseverance just now but every day of our life also afterwards 3. Let us presently begin to do these good works and to perform our Vows while our hearts are warm with these flames for to morrow we shall be less able and perhaps less willing and if we go not forward we shall go backward g Vnum è duobus necesse erit aut semper proficere aut prorsus deficere Bern. divers 36. And by doing Acts of Religion and Vertue that will be pleasant and easie which was thought difficult h Quem unquam ista destituêre tentantem cui non faciliora in Actu apparuêre Non quia difficilia sunt non audemus sed quia non audemus difficilia Senec. ep 104. only because we had not tryed it Besides by denying our desires once or twice we shall perceive how much easier and sweeter it is to deny a Lust than to satisfie it and by the success of these first attempts we shall both give Experiment of the grace received and have somewhat wherewith to upbraid our Souls afterwards if we grow remiss 4. When we feel our zeal to cool our devotion to decay when we find our selves less sensible of former sins and that we begin to abate of our watchfulness and care we must renew our Addresses to these Mysteries for if we receive this Sacrament carefully and often it is the best means to make us persevere and so it must never be omitted too long together A Supplication for the Grace of Perseverance Blessed Jesus the Author and finisher of our Faith who art the same yesterday to day and for ever thou hast given spiritual meat to those that fear thee and wilt ever be mindful of thy Covenant But my goodness is as a Morning Cloud which soon passeth my devotion fleeth like a shadow and never continueth in one stay O do thou establish me with thy free spirit that I may not so easily forfeit my Comfort forget my Duty and break my Vows as I have formerly done How unwearied art thou dearest Saviour in doing well unto me how constant in thy love how amiable and attractive are thy endless and unalterable Mercies And shall I be so ungrateful to thee and so Cruel to my self to forsake thee and my own happiness Alas I justly suspect my own weakness I fear the power and policy of my Enemies I do with shame and sorrow call to mind my former returns to folly and I do most passionately entreat thee not to leave me to my self I have through thy goodness now obtained some measures of peace and comfort my eyes are inlightned my heart is revived my hopes are quickned and my purposes seem to be sincere O grant that I may be as careful to keep these as I have been earnest to obtain them that when I find the pleasure of thy service I may be
est sed tibi gratia cui gratia est ipsa justitia Aug. ep 105. ad Sixt. Presb. yet shall be bestowed by the Mercy of the Master upon all that are so qualified Let us then earnestly beseech this blessed Lord who is the Fountain of eternal goodness and doth govern and dispose of all things to give abundant grace to this his new Servant so that it may have the comfort of these graces here and the reward of them hereafter through his Mercy which Crowneth in us that which he hath first given to us for Jesus sake Amen §. 2. The Prayer of Consecration Almighty and everliving God whose most dearly beloved Son Iesus Christ c. The word of God teacheth us that the World was darkness and a Chaos until the Spirit moved upon the face of the Waters Gen. 1.2 from whence the rude and indigested matter received a quickning influence which produced that beauty and order which we now behold And as it was in the first Creation and Generation of all things so it is in the new Creation and Regeneration of a Christian the Spirit moving upon the Waters of Baptism giveth Light and Life and bringeth in order and comeliness instead of the confusion and darkness which Sin had caused wherefore since there is so great a work to be done by the Spirit we must most humbly beseech that the holy Spirit may return to its antient seat as Tertullian speaks It is true our Lord Jesus did sanctifie Water in general to the mystical washing away of Sin but when this particular Water is to be used in so sacred a Ministry and to so admirable purposes it is necessary it should first be sanctified by the word of God and Prayer 1 Timoth. 4.5 that is by repeating the Words of Christs Institution and by Petitioning for the descent of the Holy Spirit which are the two Parts of this Prayer Yet if any shall ask why we Consecrate the Water and where we have an express command in Scripture for it S. Basil g Benedicimus Aquam baptismatis ex quâ autem Scripturâ nonne ex tacitâ traditione Basil de Spir. Sanc. cap. 27. Answers We do this as well as many other weighty things because of the Constant Tradition and continual Practice of the Church which is a sufficient Warrant in matters so reasonable and pious as this is Now that the Primitive Christians did always use a Prayer for the Consecrating of the Water doth appear by many Witnesses h Oportet vero mundari sanctificari Aqua priùs à sacerdote ut possit baptismo suo peccata hominis qui baptizatur abluere Cypr. l. 1. ep 21. Venit sacerdos Precem dicit ad fontem invocavit Patris nomen Praesentiam filii Spiritûs Sancti Vtitur verbis coelestibus Quod baptizemus in Nomine Patris Filii Spiritûs Sancti Ambros de sacr l. 2. c. 5. In Ecclesia Aqua sacerdotis prece sanctificatur Aug. de bapt in Donat. and which is more their Prayer did consist of two principal Parts as ours also doth viz. 1. The repetition of Christs Word Math. 27.19 and a Petition for the Holy Spirit Only the present form is somewhat fuller having First a Typical Allusion as to the Original of Baptism Secondly A recital of the Institution thereof Thirdly A double request grounded on these premises 1. For the sanctifying of the Water 2. For the right disposition of the Child to receive the benefits conveyed thereby 1. This great Petition is introduced by remembring a remarkable passage in the Passion of Christ viz. the flowing of blood and Water from his holy side as he was hanging on the Cross which the Fathers say was from no natural cause but that it was miraculous and a mystery designed to signifie that as Sin had entred into the World by the Woman made by a wound in Adams side So Salvation came in by the two Sacraments of Water and Blood i Aqua ad lavacrum sanguis ad potum Ambros de virgin ad Marcellin l. 3. idem in Luc. 23. de Sacram. l. 5. c. 1. item Tertul. de bapt c. 16. which flowed from the side of the second Adam and therefore we follow Antiquity in this application and encourage our selves to expect great things from him whose suffering did occasion this Mystery and who poured out his hearts blood for us 2. Our Lord did not only figure this Sacrament in a mystical manner but after his Resurrection by a plain and express Commission made it a perpetual Sanction That all Nations should be Baptized in the Name of the Father c. Math. 28.19 Wherefore since it is by his Command that we go about this Mystery we do repeat the Words of our Commission to shew that we expect the inward part and the efficacy of all from him who set us upon the work And since he is God blessed for ever and now also glorified and invested with all Power in Heaven and Earth Math. 28.18 we believe his words k Accedat verbum ad Elementum fit Sacramentum Augustin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dictum Oraculi Pythii ap Herodot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo de sacrif Abel are sufficient to effect whatsoever he would have done in Baptism There are many believe that in this as well as the other Sacrament the Consecration is made by the divine efficacy of the words of Christ Yet that we may not rest in the repetition of the Syllables only 3. Here is added the requests of the whole Congregation who are all bound to join in this great request that it may be the more prevalent when so many who are already Christian do beg the holy Spirit for the making these Waters effectual to the party now to be baptized And the two former particulars do add much strength to this Petition which we may thus Express O thou who didst so livelily typifie this sacred Ordinance in thy Passion and so plainly institute it after thy Resurrection let us not want thy Presence and thy influence now that we are going about it by express Commission from thee Behold we do all unite our most fervent desires that thou wilt by this Water effect that which far transcends all humane Power Amen Now the things desired are two First That whereas this which we have provided is but common Water yet upon our humble supplication he will send down his Holy Spirit upon it l 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. 3. Ita de sancto viz. Spiritu sanctificata natura aquarum ipsa sanctificare concepit Tertul. de bapt c. 4. that it may signifie operate and effect all that ever any Soul received in this holy Laver and convey all the blessings of Baptism unto this Child We do not desire nor expect the Water should be changed in substance but only sanctifyed to a new purpose and impregnated with a spiritual property for the mystical washing away of Sin And
Oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole World As we have declared the bounty of the Father so now we must acknowledge the merit of the Son before we did set forth the admirable love of the giver and next we magnifie the incomparable worth of the gift for God did not evidence his love to us by any insignificant testimony but by giving us the most real and inestimable benefit in the World The Death of this Saviour which he gave us though suffered but once was so infinitely meritorious as that it was sufficient to satisfie for the sins of all Mankind And where is it more proper to set forth that one all-sufficient Sacrifice in all its glories than here where we come peculiarly to celebrate it with our highest Praises and to make an everlasting memorial thereof If we regard the persons for whom this was done it is a Sacrifice if we respect him that did offer it it is a free Oblation if we consider him to whom it was offered it is a satisfaction and in every one of these respects it is full perfect and sufficient or particularly it is a full satisfaction a perfect Oblation and a sufficient Sacrifice not like the legal Offerings for the sins of one kind or the offences of one Nation or of one Person but for the sins of all the World Let none therefore mistake or imagine we are about to Sacrifice Christ again as the Roman Church falsly teacheth for that is not only needless and impossible but a plain contradiction to St. Paul who affirms that Jesus was to be offered but only once Heb. 9.26 Chap. 10.10 12. and by that one oblation h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theop. in 10 Hebr. v. 12. Illo sacrificio singulari à peccatis omnibus mundaremur Aug. de Civ Dei l. 7. c 31. he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctifyed ver 14. so that there needs no more offering for sin ver 18. And besides if we think that in this Sacrament Christ is daily offered up it seems we do not believe that which he did on the Cross to have been sufficient and so we should exceedingly derogate from that most meritorious Sacrifice to which we pretend to do honour by this Commemoration nor shall we make any difference between the all-saving Death of our Saviour and the daily offerings of Mosaick Institution if this also be continually to be reiterated Wherefore we do deny this Communion to be any new sacrificing of Christ For there is but one Sacrifice saith S. Ambrose not many and this is but the exemplar of that i Ambr. in 10. ad Hebr. This is only a memorial which the Lord hath delivered to us instead of a Sacrifice saith Eusebius k Euseb praep Evang. l. 1. c. 10. The Sacrifice need not be reiterated it is sufficient to remember it with Eucharist and Thanksgiving Rejoyce ye poor repentant Sinners for the price is paid by Christ and accepted by his Father already Acknowledge it gratefully and believe it firmly express it with all the honour you can devise since you came to this Heavenly Feast on purpose to glorifie the compleat and absolute satisfaction which your Redeemer hath made Let no man deceive you for Christ on th◠Cross assured you that the work of expiation was then finished there is nothing left for you now to do but only to pray that these outward Elements may be so blessed as to convey unto you the benefit thereof § 5. And did institute and in his holy Gospel command us to continue a perpetual memory of that his precious Death until his coming again The work of our Redemption is so very excellent in it self that it deserves a perpetual memorial and who so fit to direct the particular manner of remembring it as he that did so nobly accomplish it and this is that very way which he himself hath instituted so that we have a most direct and powerful Argument to move our Lord to sanctifie these Elements because we celebrate this mystery in obedience to his own Commands Do this saith he in remembrance of me Luke 22.19 and we are bid to shew forth the Lords Death till he come 1 Cor. 11.25 26. And surely he will make these Symbols to be his Body and Blood to us because we are about to receive them purely by his Order no doubt he will establish that which he hath wrought for us l Grandis in rebus humanis est praerogativae ut aliquis operibus beneficiis faveat suis Amb. ser 10. in Ps 119. Psal 68.28 for otherwise he would seem saith S. Ambrose to abrogate that which he hath appointed We are desirous as much as in us lyeth to be partakers of his precious Body and Blood and according to his command we are come thus far but we can only strike the Rock it is he must bring forth the Water we must now stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord for till he have blessed the Bread and Wine we can go no farther Now if this Holy Rite were a meer humane device we could hardly expect to have so great a grace and power shewed for its ratification they that invocate God for those that are falsly called Sacraments cannot so rationally hope to be heard as we who only desire him to be favourable to the work of his Hands and to prosper us in that which we undertake by express Commission from the blessed Jesus O let us then revere this Ordinance which hath so divine an Author on which the Image of God is so plainly stamped let us with a mighty affection embrace our dying Saviours love who was so much afraid we should forget him and so desirous to be ever with us let us chearfully go on without doubts or fears knowing that he who hath bid us Do this is able to make it whatsoever he will or whatsoever we need let us not startle at the difficulty of this Sacramental change but rest satisfied in the power of the Author and Enjoyner let us call on him earnestly and then believe that he will so be present by his Spirit and his Grace as that we shall feel the virtue and efficacy thereof from time to time from one Communion to another even till we come to see him unvailed and face to face at his coming again in glory § 6. Hear us O merciful Father we most humbly beseech thee and grant that we receiving these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine according to thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christs most holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood We have now made a sufficient Introduction to this great Request by acknowledging the mercy and merit of Christs Death as also by declaring the divine Original of this Sacrament wherefore in the next place we come to the Petition it self which is the very Grace before this Coelestial food and herein