Reason we may grow also in the Knowledge of our part in this Covenant and may come to Understand what we are bound to And that the Baptized person himself may ratifie and confirm his Baptismal Engagement he must when he can exercise his Reason and know his part of this Covenant readily chuse and consent to it and solemnly renew it And so he must make it his own Act and Deed to devote himself to God This our Church has very justly ordered should be solemnly and publickly done in the receiving of Confirmation A thing alas too much neglected to the great decay of true Christian Piety among us But if this were duly and generally practised we should in all likelihood see more persons live according to their Baptismal Vow and as becomes Christians than commonly do But this Discourse is design'd chiefly to bring Men prepar'd to the Lord's Supper that they may worthily and profitably Receive that And therefore it must not be diverted so as to insist long on any other Subject but what is necessary and serviceable to that design and end of it SECT X. The Lord's Supper a Confirmation of this Covenant I Shall now therefore bring the Discourse more close to this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which has been all this while leading and aiming towards it And I shall begin to discourse particularly of that by showing That it is appointed and design'd by God as a Faederal Rite and is to be used as such by us As a Ceremony wherein this New Covenant between God and Man is renew'd and confirm'd This by a little search we shall soon find to be very Evident in Holy Scripture Our Saviour Himself when He first instituted this Sacrament speaks thus of it as He was delivering the Cup to his Disciples This Cup is the New Covenant in my Blood Luke 22. 20. For what our Translation renders Testament there had been more exactly and properly render'd Covenant Our Saviour's plain meaning is this Take this Cup as the Instrument of Conveyance to you of the Divine Blessings of the Covenant of Grace which are the inestimable Purchases of my precious Blood Again when our Lord says of the Bread in this Sacrament This is my Body which is given for you and of the Cup This is my Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the Remission of their Sins He plainly means That this Sacrament is intended to renew to us the Blessings and Favours which are the Purchases of his meritorious Death and his Sacrifice which He offer'd to God in Dying for us And the Apostle Paul plainly teaches us to understand our Lord thus For He says of the Bread in this Sacrament It is the Communion of the Body of Christ and of the Cup It is the Communion of the Blood of Christ 1 Cor. 10. 16. By Communion he means the Communication of these It is faithfully intended by God that in the Use of this Sacrament those who are fit Receivers shall partake of the Body and Blood of Christ and this Bread and this Cup shall be the Communication of the Body and Blood of Christ to them These outward Elements of broken Bread and Wine poured out shall bring with them to those humble and prepar'd Souls which receive them this Spiritual Grace Which means they shall be partakers of the Benefits and Blessings purchased by the breaking or wounding of the Body and the shedding of the Blood of our Saviour the Blessings procur'd by the valuable Sacrifice of his Death which are the Blessings of the New Covenant fore-mention'd This Sacrament is Ordain'd of God to be a Pledge and Conveyance of these Blessings and shall actually and infallibly be so to meet Receivers God will never be wanting to his Sacraments nor leave them without the Efficacy He designs them for if the Receivers of them be not wanting to themselves He faithfully intends the Renewal and Confirmation of this Covenant with us in this Sacrament and will actually do it if we sincerely intend the same thing And that the Renewal of our part of the Covenant at this Sacrament is expected and required by God cannot chuse but be very easily apprehended When God offers good things upon Terms and Conditions He requires the binding our selves to perform those Conditions if we would partake of those Good Things and our embracing the Offers He makes implies and ought to imply the accepting of those Terms and the engaging our selves to perform those Conditions To be sure God never intends we shall be partakers of those Good Things without performing those Conditions When 't is said God gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask him 't is implied that asking is the necessary Condition and Means of having When 't is said God gave his only begotten Son that they who believe in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life 'T is required that Men believe as a Condition of their obtaining Everlasting Life So when 't is said Jesus Christ is the Authour of Salvation to them that obey Him and Repent that your Sins may be blotted out These things evidently imply that our Sins shall not be forgiven unless we repent of them nor will the Blessed Jesus Himself be a Saviour to us if we do not devote our selves to his Service and give up our selves to follow his Example and Conduct Now this being the constant Tenour of the Gospel We must needs conclude that when we are offer'd to be made partakers of these Blessings in this Sacrament it is required that if we desire them we must bind our selves to perform such Conditions Our receiving therefore of those things which are God's Pledges and Conveyances of those Blessings upon Conditions is an outward profession and declaration that we bind our selves to do what is required of us And if that outward Profession be not attended with an inward and sincere Intention it is a horrid Hypocrisie and makes a Man undoubtedly guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ He is reckon'd to have abused and profan'd the Body and Blood of Christ as did the wretched Men that slew Him The receiving these Elements in the Sacrament is an Outward Profession and Declaration that we accept of God's Covenant and then it certainly binds us sincerely to intend our performance of the Conditions of it The Apostle plainly gives us this Instruction in 1 Cor. 10 in that he intimates the partaking of this Sacrament to be a Rite of the same Nature and Signification with the Eating of the Sacrifices which had been offer'd to any God As the Eating of those Sacrifices therefore signified the Owning Him for God to whom the Sacrifice had been made and so the obliging of themselves to worship and obey Him and the reliance upon that Sacrifice to find Favour and obtain a Blessing from Him so the Eating of the Lord's Supper must be reckon'd to imply and declare the same Professions and Engagements This is the Eating of a Sacrifice
That He would unite Himself to the Humane Nature and would become Man In that Nature He would perform a perfect Obedience to God the Father that He might merit for Mankind the Happiness which was setled to be the Reward of perfect Obedience And to excuse Man from the Eternal Death which He had deserved by his Sin He undertook to suffer Death in his stead and so to make his Death a Sacrifice for the Sins of Mankind Thus much did He very kindly and of his own accord undertake to do for us and he was accepted of the Father and assur'd that He should by doing thus obtain the Favour for us which He desir'd So He procur'd for Man that he should not be utterly cast off and thrown into endless Misery but have other terms of Favour appointed him And this Dispensation or Appointment is that which is called the New Covenant And it is call'd the New Covenant in his Blood because it was procur'd by his Undertaking to shed his Blood in the Humane Nature as a Sacrifice for Sin Upon this our First Parents were permitted to live to enjoy in some measure the Good things of this World for a while and had space allow'd them to make their Peace with God to recover his Favour and their own Happiness We must know that since it was a setled Law before the Fall of Man that He should propagate such as Himself and his Posterity should be reckon'd in the same state and relation towards God with their Father who begat them Therefore when the First Parents of Mankind thus became polluted by their Sin and were fallen into the state of guilty Rebels against God All their Posterity must needs come polluted into this World as unclean things out of unclean and must be born Children of Wrath as the Scripture speaks We therefore have the same task upon us which our First Parents had that is To recover the Favour of God and our Everlasting Happiness by performing now the Terms and Conditions of this Second Covenant Let us see then what the Tenour of this New Covenant is What are the Duties which it requires to be perform'd on our part And what are the Promises of it on God's part the Blessings which it offers to make us partakers of upon the Condition of performing those Duties SECT VII On Our Part. FIrst let us take notice of our own part of this Covenant and observe what it is that God requires of us to whom the Gospel is preached which we must do to be saved And because all Mankind are now consider'd by God as guilty and polluted Creatures as having sinned and being disposed to do wickedly There is first required of us That we repent and turn from Sin In the next place because we must return to God it is required That we do believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And lastly That we engage our selves and endeavour to keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the Days of our Life But because the Heart of Man is deceitfull and wicked and we are so backward to do our Duty that we are unwilling to know it Therefore it will be requisite to mention somewhat particularly the Things contain'd under these three General Heads The First main Branch of our Duty is That we repent and turn from Sin To which purpose we must stand at a defiance with all the Causes of Sin and resolve they shall not govern us Therefore has the Church been wont to express this Branch of our Duty thus We must Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomp and Vanities of this wicked World with all the covetous Desires of the same And all the sinfull Desires of the Flesh so as that we will not follow nor be led by them We must Renounce the Devil and all his Works It was by the Craft and Instigation of this Apostate Spirit the Enemy of our Happiness that Mankind were at first drawn into Disobedience against God We must resolve therefore never to have any Correspondence with him to abhorr and abstain from all those guilty ways of consulting him or seeking his Assistance which the ungodly World have ever practised We must never knowingly or willingly obey any of his Commands nor comply with his Temptations We must resolve to fight against all those Spiritual Wickednesses in our selves which he infects the Humane Nature with such as Pride Anger Envy Treachery Lying Malice and Cruelty Must abhorr to imitate or follow him in the tempting of others to Wickedness or in the Hatred and Persecution of Good Men for the sake of their Goodness We must also Renounce the Pomp and Vanities of this wicked World and all covetous Desires of the same That is We must resolve and engage that we will not let the Love of the World rule in our Hearts which is opposite to the Love of God We will not let our Hearts fix on the Wealth the Pleasures or the Dignities and Honours here below Nor will make the getting of them the Aim and Scope of our chief Endeavour and Care nor let the Enjoyment of them be our chiefest Delight and Satisfaction That we will not be guided by the Customs of the World nor follow a Multitude to do Evil That our dearest Relations or our most necessary and most usefull Friends and Benefactours shall not be able to Influence us against the Will of God and the Dictates of our Conscience That we will be ready to part with all that is dear all that is necessary to us and which we might otherwise lawfully keep and enjoy when they stand in Competition with our Love and Duty to God And we will submit to any Inconveniences in the want even of necessary things rather than do any thing to gain them which is contrary to the Laws of Divine Love We must further renounce mortifie and abandon all sinfull Desires of the Flesh All the irregular and disobedient Inclinations of our corrupt Nature must be mortified and subdued We must chace away those fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul the Love of slothfull Ease and Idleness all Intemperance and Lasciviousness We must forsake and abstain from all those Sensual Sins which abuse and prodigally waste God's good Creatures which enslave the Thoughts and Faculties of the Soul to the Appetites of the Body and which render the Soul unfit for the due Exercises and Operations of its Faculties and which tend to clog and encumber the Body with Diseases We must renounce all these three Sources of Evil the Devil the World and the Flesh and must resolve we will not follow nor be led by them And this is the First main Branch of our Duty under the New Covenant The Second is this That we must believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And this requires of us to promise and perform the Things following That we will seriously apply our selves as our leisure and opportunity will allow us
of God He will give us Spiritual strength to perform our Duty so far as that we shall be accepted through the Mediation of Jesus Christ If we will not undertake we shall not be able to perform but if we will undertake and bind our selves to do our Duty He will inable us to perform it It might seem a strange thing that God should require of us to bind our selves and undertake to do that which we cannot do of our selves as we do in obliging our selves to all those things fore-mentioned if it were not that the very binding our selves to this does entitle us by the Tenour of this Covenant to Grace sufficient for us In all the Exhortations of the Gospel to any Instance of Duty we may reckon there is comprehended also the Offer of Divine Assistance which shall be afforded to Him who yields in the purpose and desire of his Soul to comply with those Exhortations No Man therefore shall have ground to complain that he would leave his known Sins and do the Duties which he knows he omits but cannot do so For if a Man sincerely desires to leave his Sins devotes himself to his Duty and diligently uses the Means that may inable him to do it That is If he waits on God for this Grace in earnest and persevering Prayer and a due attendance on the Preaching of the Word and the Sacraments that Man shall infallibly come to be able to do what he thus wills and desires For He that hungers and thirsts after Righteousness shall be filled as our Saviour says And God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him It is the Favour of this New Covenant to help us to do what it requires us to do The last Favour and Blessing of this Covenant is an Everlasting Happiness both of Body and Soul in Heaven We are left by it indeed subject to a natural Death to mind us of our guilty Rebellion against God That we may not forget we are Sinners and do deserve an Eternal Death On purpose that the sence of this might quicken our desire and concern to recover the Divine Favour and make us the more ready and willing to submit to the Terms of recovering it But Death shall not long have Dominion over us God will not leave the Soul in Hell that is it shall not be always separated from the Body nor shall the Body be always subject to the Ignominy and Punishment of its Dissolution Since the Sins are pardon'd which did deserve Death the Creature shall be released from it And our Saviour's Resurrection from the Dead does especially assure the Resurrection of those that believe on Him He has also promised that he will give them Eternal life and raise them up again at the last day The Body then however scatter'd and dispers'd and lost to all knowledge of Men shall be gather'd together by the Wisdom of God and be raised to Life by his Almighty Power And it shall be raised with great advantage It was sown a Natural Body it shall be raised a Spiritual Body It was sown in Corruption but it shall be raised Immortal And the Soul shall be again united to it never to be separated more But both shall be taken up to dwell in a glorious happy place where is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore To live in the Fellowship and Communion of kind happy and glorious Angels To dwell in the Presence of God and contemplate and praise and love Him and rejoice in his Love for ever This is now the whole Tenour of the New Covenant which was procur'd for us by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ our kind and powerfull Advocate SECT IX The Sacraments of This Covenant AND this Covenant also hath its Sacraments God has appointed sensible Actions and Signs in and by which it is to be made between Him and us In the use of these Sacraments we must testifie our Consent to this Covenant and signifie that we own our selves engag'd in it And in the use of these must we wait for and expect the Blessings and Favours on God's part to be afforded us It is by these that He has determin'd to convey those Favours which we can at present receive which are the Pardon of our Sins and the Sanctification of our Natures and also to assure that which we are to hope for our Everlasting Happiness and Glory These we must necessarily use then if Means and Opportunity be afforded us to do so that we may be partakers of his Favours And in using them we must sincerely purpose and bind our selves to the performance of our Duty The Sacraments appointed to be as we may say The Instruments of this Covenant since the coming of Christ which are all that nearly concern us are Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. These and these only are now generally necessary to Salvation By Baptism we are admitted into this Covenant and make our first solemn acceptance of it By the Lord's Supper we renew it if it has been broken on our part by any wilfull Sin committed since we were Baptized Or else we therein testifie and declare our continuance still in it and our purpose and desire to do so If any of us have liv'd so happily since we were Baptized as never to violate or break this Covenant by any wilfull known Sin It is true when we are Baptized in our Infancy we are not capable expressly to intend and design the performance of our part in this Covenant because we cannot then understand or know it But this Sacrament is in the purpose of God design'd for the Sacrament of our admission into this Covenant since the Appearance of Jesus Christ in the World And as that which was the Sacrament of this admission under the Jewish Dispensation was by God's appointment administred to Children at Eight days old so the Christian Church has been wont even from the Apostles times to administer Baptism to Infants from whence it is not to be doubted but they learnt to do this from the Apostles themselves And our Saviour gives a plain Encouragement to the practice when he says Suffer little Children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God Our Church therefore as without doubt it ought to do administers Baptism to Infants that they may partake of the Blessings of the New Covenant to their Salvation But because there is an engagement on the part of the Baptized person implied in his receiving Baptism the Wisdom and Piety of the Church has thought fit that it should be express'd too That so the Baptized person may be the better convinced afterwards that he did thus engage himself at his Baptism And because the Infant it self cannot express this the Church has provided that some Christian Friends should do it for us who are also Witnesses that the thing is done And they are bound to take care that as we grow up to the Use of our
made to God even the great Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ and therefore must be attended with Faith or a reliance upon that Sacrifice to find favour with Him the Owning Him to be God and the binding our selves to Honour Love and Obey Him For this reason it is that the Apostle forbids in that Chapter those who would partake of this Sacrament the eating of any Feasts upon Sacrifices which had been offer'd to the Heathen Idols which Sacrifices he says were offer'd to Devils Ye cannot drink the Cup of the Lord and the Cup of Devils Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's Table and of the Table of Devils says He v. 21. Ye cannot may mean 't is impossible you should sincerely intend what is signified by both these things that is the owning the true God as God and the owning those Devils as Gods for in owning one you do imply the renouncing of the other To be sure the True God requires if you own Him that you do renounce all other Or it must mean You ought not to do thus If you partake of the Cup and Table of the Lord you must sincerely intend thereby the owning of Him and then you must not so much as seem to own those filthy Devils in eating of the Sacrifices which have been offer'd to them Therefore he adds in the 22d Verse That in doing thus they did provoke the Lord to jealousie because they made a show and appearance of departing from and of renouncing of Him herein The Apostle then plainly teaches us that in receiving this Sacrament we do make a profession and show of Honouring and Covenanting with God and therefore that we ought really and sincerely to intend it I might show that the Name of Sacrament was given to this Ordinance by the first Christians because they reckon'd the Celebrating this Supper to signifie the Binding our selves to Serve and Honour Love and Obey and Trust in God to be His faithfull Subjects and Servants And so notorious was it that they used it as a Ceremony of Covenanting with God that even the Heathens knew this and therefore one of them speaking of the Christian Assemblies in his time for Worship at which they always Celebrated this Sacrament says They met together on a fixed Day before it was light this was for fear of their Enemies and did there bind themselves by an Oath or Sacrament not to commit any Thefts or Adulteries not to betray any Trust or deal deceitfully with their Neighbour and the like They then took this Sacrament as an Engagement to be of the Religion of Jesus and so to perform the Terms and Conditions of the New Covenant We therefore must when we receive it sincerely intend the Confirmation of that Covenant SECT XI An Earnest Persuasive to come to the Lord's Supper I Shall now insist a little upon an Earnest Persuasive to the frequent attendance upon this Sacrament which the wofull and deplorable Neglect of these times and the sad Consequences of that Neglect do make but too necessary Let all Men know then that when they are come to years and are capable to know and to renew their Vow and Covenant which they made in Baptism they are Commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ in this way to renew and confirm it They are indispensably bound to receive this Sacrament in Confirmation of that Covenant No Man is left at liberty whether he will receive this Sacrament or not but if the Providence of God affords him Means and Opportunity to do so he is bound to prepare himself for and receive it If a Man at any time neglects to prepare himself for it and is therefore unfit and absents himself because he is unfit in that Case he will be judg'd to have neglected the Sacrament it self He that does not endeavour to be prepar'd and to receive it as often as Opportunity is afforded him to do it in that Congregation of Christians which the Order of the Church and Obedience to the Governours of it does oblige him to join with He does so often neglect and refuse it as he thus absents himself from it But the neglect and refusal of this we must know is the neglect and refusal of the incomparable Blessings of the New Covenant of having the Pardon of our Sins renew'd and sealed the Blessed Influences of the Holy Spirit renew'd upon us and our Title confirm'd to Everlasting Blessedness and our Hopes of it encreased and strengthned 't is to neglect our own Interest and to provoke the Displeasure of God more than by any other Sins in neglecting the Offers of his Grace and Mercy Let all those who never mind this Sacrament nor do ever prepare themselves for it nor receive it know That they do therein intimate the renouncing of their Covenant with God and do cut themselves off from all hopes and expectations of the Favours and Blessings of the Covenant of Grace till they repent of this guilty Omission of their Duty and so come to this Sacrament prepar'd for it Oh wretched Creatures they chuse to remain in a state of Damnation To be sure a Man that has contradicted his Covenant since he was Baptized by living in any wilfull Sin if that Man does not resolve to forsake his Sin and come to this Sacrament and hereby bind himself to his Duty he will be in the sight of God accounted to renounce his Christianity to deny the Lord that bought him to trample upon the Blood of the Covenant the Blood of Christ and to despise his Dying Love And as such a Man must inevitably perish so he will fall under the heaviest and the sorest Perdition What-ever pretended Wishes a Man may have to forsake his Sins what-ever Regret and Remorse for them and what-ever Resolutions he makes to forsake them they will not be accepted with God nor bring him into a Title to the Favour of this Covenant if he has opportunity and means to partake of this Sacrament and refuses to do it Because 't is in and by this Sacrament that God expects and requires the renewal of this Covenant after we have broken it Our Repentance is not compleated according to the Will of God till this is done if he affords us means and opportunity to do this We are not allow'd to expect that He will accept our Resolutions and Vows in any other way presented to Him when He has appointed us this way of presenting them Besides Is it not a wonderfull thing that Men should forget that this Sacrament is appointed by God as the means to convey to them the strength to perform their good Vows and Resolutions And then he that neglects this Sacrament lays himself under the Power and Tyranny of his Sins and neglects the mighty Help which Heaven kindly affords Him against it And He binds upon Himself the guilt of all his Sins and as it were seals Himself to Damnation in refusing and neglecting this Ordinance whereby He might be sealed to
Sufferings of my Saviour thy mighty Displeasure against the Sins of Men and it terrifies me to think of it I plainly see how odious they are to the Divine Purity In that so worthy and great a Person He who is so well and so justly belov'd of the Father was sorely afflicted by the Father Himself when He bore the Sins of Mankind I see thy Hatred O Lord against my Sins I believe it very just and I cannot chuse but hate them too I will henceforth hate every false way but thy Law will I love I will love thy Righteousness and Holiness and utterly abhorr what is so contrary to it as my Sins I will account it my greatest Honour to conform to thee and will abandon and be asham'd to be found in the most creditable or the most applauded Sins in the World Henceforth will all Sin have a most deform'd and ugly Visage to my Eye I shall never think any one charming I shall never account any one worthy to be desired But when I consider O Lord the Course of my past Life when I look into thy Commands and compare with them my Thoughts and Words and Actions Oh what a mortifying View does this Examination present me Oh wretched Creature I am confounded I am fill'd with Indignation against my self when I see how much I have had to do with this vile this odious thing Wo is me how many are my Transgressions They are alas more in number than the Hairs of my Head and my Heart even fails me when I review them I have sinned in every Age of my Life ever since I could know or chuse my Actions Oh wretched Creature how early did I begin to sin against thee How many have been the unheeded Actions of my Life the most of which I must fear have been wicked since they have proceeded from one so prone to do Evil as I. And how many more must the Sins of my Words in all likelihood have been especially while I did not set any watch upon my Tongue nor keep the door of my Lips And when I think how easily and abundantly the light Mind multiplies Thoughts I tremble to think how much my vain foolish vicious Mind has multiplied Transgressions too Lord who can understand his Errours I am amazed at the Number of my Sins I have sinned alas against thee in every Circumstance and Condition of my Life I have sinned in every Relation towards Men Not doing that Honour not paying that Justice not exercising that Charity to my Neighbour which I ought I can view none of thy Commands but it calls to mind many Sins I have been guilty of Very often have I repeated the same Sins returning to them as the Dog to the filthiness of his vomit and as the Swine wallowing in the mire I have sinned against thy Law and against the Gospel Oh how cold a reception have I given to the Offers of thy Grace and Mercy How have I neglected the great Salvation Trampled upon the Blood of the Covenant and despised my Saviour's dying redeeming Love Oh how many of other men's Sins have I been guilty of By my ill Example by giving them needless and unjust Provocation by tempting and alluring them to Sins by assisting what I ought to have hindred by conniving where I ought to have bestow'd reproofs and by countenancing and abetting what I ought to have corrected and discouraged I cannot alas pretend to have done any good Action without a mixture of Evil in it My best Works need the Blood of Christ to cleanse them and make them fit to be presented unto thee and indeed I want that Blood to wash even the Tears of my Repentance What a mighty Charge am I able to draw up against my self Here thou mayest particularly mention those Sins thou art sensible of But thou O Lord knowest me better than I do my self And I dread to think how much more thou canst add to the heaviest Charge that I can bring against my self I have been so vile as to sin deliberately against thee to do Evil knowing that I did Evil. I have been easily induced to Sin the slightest Temptations have prevail'd with me I have been alas accustomed to do Evil. O Lord thou hast Exercised wonderfull Patience and Forbearance towards me in a long train and course of Sinning and I have been so base and ungratefull as to encourage my self to transgress by that Patience which should have led me to Repentance Oh wretched and vile Creature that I am I have greatly sinned I am become exceeding guilty What shall I say unto thee Oh thou preserver of Men. I will lay my self down in the Dust before thee I am at thy Mercy O Lord and must own that I have deserved the utmost severity of thy Wrath. In the sad Sufferings of Jesus I see what my Sins have deserved I see in his Contempt how I have deserv'd to be despised I see in his Thirst upon the Cross how I have deserved the want of all things comfortable I see in his Agony and by his Groans under the Divine Wrath what Displeasure and Punishment I have deserv'd to suffer I see in his accursed Death that I have deserv'd to die and be Eternally accursed and cast out of the Divine Favour O Lord I am unworthy utterly unworthy to breath in this Air of thine to inhabit this Earth to enjoy this chearfull Light I am less than the least of all thy Mercies I must judge I must condemn my self I must own thou wert Just and I should have but my deserts if I were now shut up in gloomy darkness if I were now wrapt in Everlasting Flames if I were feeling the Torments of the never-dying Worm and of Endless bitter Despair Lord I will punish I will take vengeance on my self for my Sins I will lead a Life of Mortification rather than Indulgence I will never allow again any high or admiring Thoughts of my self It shall always keep me humble to think how great disparagement and vileness I have contracted to consider my self a Sinner and that there is Imperfection and Sin mixed with the best of my Actions But O Lord I beseech thee do not thou enter into Judgment with thy Servant for in thy sight shall no Man living be justified Oh deal not with me after my Sins neither reward me after mine Iniquities Blessed is the Man whose Iniquity is forgiven whose Sin is covered Spare me good Lord spare thy Creature whom thou hast redeem'd with thy most precious Blood Oh spare the miserable Wretch that confesses his Faults restore thou Him that is Penitent Pity thou Him that is Contrite Revive the Spirit of the Humble chear the contrite Heart A broken and a contrite Heart O God thou wilt not despise Give me then the joy of thy Salvation uphold me with thy free spirit Then will I teach Transgressours thy ways and Sinners shall be converted unto thee Open thou my Lips O Lord and my Mouth
was slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing Oh come Lord Jesus take possession of my Soul and dwell Thou for ever with me that I may be the more fit for such a Happiness transform me into thy Likeness by the renewing of my Mind Open ye everlasting Doors of my Heart that the King of Glory may come in When He delivers it to you join with Him and say The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for me preserve my Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life And as you are eating it say within your self O Jesu Thou art the Living and Life giving Bread which cometh down from Heaven which whosoever eateth he shall live for ever Thy Flesh is Meat indeed and thy Blood is Drink indeed On Thee my hungry Soul shall feed by my Faith with hearty Thankfulness Let me tast and find that Thou Lord art Gracious Thou that fillest the Hungry with good things replenish me abundantly with thy Grace Oh let this Divine and Spiritual Food afford me much Spiritual Strength and Refreshment When He delivers the Cup join with Him and say The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for me preserve my Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life And when you have drank it say Thy Love O King of Saints is better than Wine As the Apple-tree among the Trees of the Wood so is my Beloved among the Sons We will remember thy Love more than Wine The Remembrance of thy wondrous Love shall be the frequent and the most pleasant Entertainment of my Life Thy Love O Jesu shall comfort me in my Sorrows shall strengthen me in my Weakness shall quicken and cure my Sloth and Backwardness to my Duty Oh let thy Love even transform me into Love Amen O Father of Mercies and of our Lord Jesus Christ whom thou hast set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood behold I beseech Thee this precious Sacrifice of thy Son Behold it I pray Thee and turn away from me thy poor feeble Creature all the Wrath and Vengeance which my Sins have deserv'd This is that on which I firmly and solely rely to find favour with Thee and this is that in which I know Thou art well-pleased Oh Father of Mercies have Mercy upon me Deal always with thy Servant according to thy Mercy And teach me thy Statutes that I may hereafter serve and please Thee in Newness of Life And I humbly hope and desire to be accepted with Thee through the Merits and Mediation of thy beloved Son who died for our Sins and rose again for our Justification is now set down at thy right hand and ever lives to make Intercession for us Amen Taking notice of the Sacrament deliver'd to others you may thus improve it Jesus the rich and bounteous Lover has good things in store for as many as come unto Him Jesus is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him Of his Fulness do all we receive and Grace for Grace See my Soul see here thy Master's Bounty and Love See Him here giving even Himself to His Friends My Soul if Jesus so lov'd us all we ought also to love one another This Commandment has He left us that He who loves God should love his Brother also Study then what Offices of Love and Kindness it may lie in thy Power to do to any of these thy fellow Communicants and resolve upon it for the Kind Jesus will take it as even done to Him If thou love Him truly thou must needs love those whom He loves Thou must pity them in all their Distresses Spiritual and Temporal whom He has pitied in their Misery at so costly a Rate Thou must learn to forgive those whom He forgives Thou must be liberal according to thy Power and their Necessities to those whom thou seest the Objects of his Bounteous Love And especially thou must charge thy self not to Hate not to do any Despite or Injury to any of these for even that too would He take as done to Himself Thou must not despise any of these for their mean Condition in this World He may have made the poor of this World rich in Faith Thou must not envy nor grudge at any of them whom the Providence of God has favour'd more than He has done Thee in the Blessings of this World Thou must take heed always that thy Carriage be not a Scandal and Occasion of Sin to any of these that thou destroy not Him whom Christ died for And blessed be thy Name O Lord for these sweet and pleasant Laws I willingly bind my self O Jesu to Observe these thy Laws of Love Oh thou great Pattern of Love learn me to Love O Kindest Jesu thy Body was broken and is divided amongst us to unite us to Thee and to one another Let it be amongst us a Common Incentive of Mutual Charity Let it be in its Effects Unity of Spirit among us a Bond of Peace and all Righteousness of Life in our Carriage one towards another O Thou the Great Fountain of Love pour it abundantly into my Heart and into the Hearts of all thy Faithfull People That we may abound in Love one towards another and by thus bearing thy Glorious Character and Likeness in Love may show to all Men that we are indeed thy Disciples Amen When all have Communicated and the Minister begins the Prayers that remain you are to leave off all private Devotions and to join with Him and the Congregation to the End After He has pronounced the Blessing you may privately say To Him that loved us and wash'd us from our Sins in his own Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father To Him with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen Then rising from your Knees kindly and courteously salute your Fellow Communicants at the parting of the Congregation Some Private Devotions at Home after the Communion SECT XX. A Meditation on the Communion OH my Soul seriously consider how thou hast been honour'd how thou hast been entertain'd in the House of God this Day Thou hast been a Guest to the King of Saints the Lord of Life and Glory Divine Love has been thy Heavenly Entertainment and Man did eat Angel's Food Thy Saviour thy Friend has brought Thee into his Banqueting-House his Banner over Thee was Love Thou canst not surely very soon forget the Pleasures of this Feast Has it not left behind it a very pleasing relish Has it not put thy Mouth quite out of tast towards the things of this World It is very fit that it should do so It would become Thee for some time after this to account this World's best Delights to be but four and infipid and certainly if thou meditate upon the good Entertainment thou hast had it will be so Jesus the Glorious Son of God was Master of the Feast thou