my Duty walked unanswerable to those multiplied obligations laid upon me broken all thy holy Commandments by many and great transgressions made and judged my self unworthy of everlasting life * Here mention your particular failings so that nothing might remain unto me but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation to devour me But thou delightest in mercy and not in the death of a sinner art not willing any should perish but that all should come to repentance Oh take not counsel of thy just indignation but of thy native goodness thy satisfi'd justice Wilt thou destroy him that presents himself to be punished and thy Son to have satisfied that desires not to live unless it be by the benefit of thy mercy and his sufferings Wilt thou not spare me for thy Son who sparedst not thy Son for me Is there not enough in his Merits and Sacrifice to expiate all my sins and to justifie my person in thy sight O suffer not thy self to be deprived of the glory of my forgiveness and salvation as well as of my creation and redemption Save me whom thou hast hitherto spared and forgive me eternal death which I have so often merited by my great offences Bury them all in the bottomless Ocean of thy own Mercy and forgetfulness and my Saviours Blood lay them upon him who is able to bear them and cloath me with his righteousness that is able to cover me Oh free me from the guilt and stain the power and penalty the reign and dominion of sin that nothing may separate me from thy love nor from the sensible discoveries of it at thy Table That I may be a meet and worthy Receiver accept me into thy favour let thy mercy pardon my sins thy grace sanctifie my soul thy goodness supply my wants thy merits inrich my poverty thy precious blood wash away all my spots thy Holy Spirit prepare and direct and assist me Take away my filthy garments my spiritual filthiness and cloath me with the best robe the Lord our righteousness Oh think me worthy for his sake and make me worthy for thy mercy-sake Deal not with me according to my deserts but thy great goodness and my great necessity Let me so remember my sins that thou mayest forget them set them so before my face that thou mayest cast them behind thy back Give me such a lively steadfast Faith in Christ for forgiveness that thou mayest seal it up unto my soul Let me love him and all his members with a pure heart fervently at thy holy Communion and ever after without dissimulation So enlarge my Soul with spiritual affections and desires that it may even break for the longings it hath unto that Ordinance and unto thy Testimonies at all times Remove far from me all blindness of mind hardness of heart unrelenting affections deadness and indisposedness earthliness and distraction irreverence unbecoming apprehensions whatsoever may hinder the blessing and efficacy of that soul-nourishing refreshing Ordinance thy gracious presence my eternal salvation Create in me an understanding heavenly clean heart O God and renew an humble contrite right spirit within me prepared for thee Oh be not as a stranger unto me hide not thy self from me lift up the light of thy countenance upon me Let me feel the comfortable breathings of thy Holie Spirit in my Soul at thy Ordinance sanctifie it to me and me to receive it acceptably with due preparation and apprehensions reverence and humility repentance and faith love and charity joy and thankfulness a deep sense of thy inexpressible love and my own unworthiness And oh that all of us who this day approach thy Table may so eat his flesh which he hath given for the life of the World that we may live for ever and so drink his blood that it may be to us for remission of sins Meet us not in our selves in thy justice as a consuming fire but a reconciled Father in thy righteous and beloved Son whom thou gavest who gave himself for us when we were thy enemies Let us depart thence more under the power of thy love and grace and under greater resolutions and abilities to do thee faithful service all our dayes through Jesus Christ our Sacrifice and Redemption Hope and Confidence Surety and Advocate the Food and Health the Life and Salvation of our Souls who hath taught us when we pray to say Our Father c. As soon as ever the Sermon is ended look towards the Lords Table and say within your selves THis Sacrament I am going to is a standing Memorial of my Saviour's Passion wherein he once offered up Himself to God and a Sign of that nourishing and strengthning Grace which he now offers to me under the notion of Food It is the true meanes and instrument of conveying on me those Blessings and signifies that which by its proper Institution it represents In the making and ordering of those Elements see consider O my Soul the heavy Blows and Bruises the Pressures Piercings Pains and Sufferings of thy Saviour from his Father and wicked men The malice and violence of his Murderers crucified Him as a Malefactor and the fierie wrath of God made him a Burnt Sacrifice and under both these Sufferings He is become to me Meat indeed and Drink indeed the stay and support the comfort refreshment and life of my Soul nourishing and preserving it to eternal life That Bread and Wine could never sustain and nourish me if the one had not fallen into the Earth under the Sickle the Flail the Mill-stone and the Fire the other under the Hook and the Press of the Husbandman nothing less then the Cross the Wounds the Death of my Lord my God of his dearest Son made me a Saviour and by this Sacrament assures me I shall be kept up and fed with a supplie of all necessarie Blessings as certainlie as he gives me to taste that Bread and Wine the ordinarie meanes for preserving my life and strength Whilest we condemned Creatures were passing on to our Execution the Son of God looked upon us and took our Condemnation upon Himself and under it died in our stead Thus by the death and satisfaction of this Sacrifice Justice gave way to my Release God the Father forgave my Sin and God the Son procured my Life Then fall upon your Knees with all imaginable Reverence and say LEt the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer Most gracious God who of thy great goodness hast ordained this Ordinance for a continual Remembrance ofâ— hat ever prevailing Sacrifice which thy infinite Wisdom and Love hast appointed and accepted upon the Cross for us vile helpless wretched Sinners make us truely sensible of all our offences against thee and of his Love and Sufferings for us and accept us in Him to the Praise of thy Grace Rebuke all unseasonable thoughts and imaginations stir up and act in us
among worse as well as died among â—hieves Blessedness is made not earth â—nely but wo to bring earth from wo to â—lessedness Behold him now O my soul hanging â—pon the Cross and thy sins putting him â—nto that gore saying Weep not for me â—hat endures it but weep for your selves â—hat causes it read in me the cruelty of â—our sins see how barbarously they have â—sed me how miserably I am torn and wounded by you how many thorns in this Crown of thorns are your sins how my blood with my warmest love runs out to fetch you home to God Oh my head my side my hands and my feet Look through these gaping wounds into my heart pierc'd first by love and then by a spear for you Was ever any sorrow or love like unto mine Can I do more then die for you Will you not be perswaded what an evil and bitter thing sin is unto me Do you not see how it rakes into my side and tears my very heart how greedily it sucks my blood Behold the pits it diggeth the very print of its nails see the very place where it hath thrust its spear Canst thou hug and embrace bloody Parricides shew any kindness to so deadly an enemy harbour them that have used me thus You say You are my friends will you not take my part against them Have not all these wounds mouths enough to persvvade you to fall out vvith sin Would you have me used thus again Could you find in your heart to see me once more upon a Gibbet Will you tear open my wounds crucifie me afresh Else why can you not be prevail'd with by this sight Why do you not spit in the face of your sins do all the despight you can unto revenge me perfectly upon them â—ail them unto my Cross if you would have me embrace you O how ought my Adamantine heart to rend in pieces when all thy tortures and grones are for are from us And yet as if once were not sufficient how often do we joyn with those that crucifie thee afresh By hypocrisie we bend the knee with ludibrious devotion saying Hail King of the Jews By presumption we put a Reed in thy hand We smite and buffet thee with the works of darkness saying Prophesie who smote thee By Prophaneness we spit in thy face the filth of our rotten hearts By Sacriledge we cast lots for thy garments By Schism we divide thy seamless Coat which the rude Soldiers did not By popularity we wash our hands as innocent and to please men condemn thee By unhallowed cups we give thee gall to drink By Superstition betray thee vvith a kiss and despise thee vvith seeming honour By Apostacy deny forswear thee By Heresie rack and disjoynt thee By the roareâ— laughs and scoffs oaths and blasphemies tear and rend thee By any common sin we prefer Barabba before thee O weâ—â— thy pains so light that we must every day redouble them Is this the kindness the entertainment thou deservest the recompence of thine inestimable love thus cruelly to vex and wound thee O how can we hope to find Redemption by thy Blood while we continue by our horrid crimes to make new gashes in thy side to rub thy wounds afresh and cause them to stream anew that were even closed up before an act more Jewish then the Jews Oh! I sigh unto thee for want of grief for thy grievous sufferings Oh that I could turn my self into tears that I might wash the wounds I have made seeing thou diedst for my sins how ought I to despise my self who have so cruelly offended and tormented thee the very party whose offences have brought those miserable torments and death upon thee Oh how must this needs irreconcile and engage me to pursue them to death that in the eye of all the world brought so great shame and pain and amazement on the Lord of Life and Glory Come along with me Oh ye vile ye sinful passions and corrupt affections into his presence if ye dare live so long and there receive your mortal wound from him Methinks you should begin to die at the very thoughts of a dying Redeemer and swoun away at the sight of yonder Blood and not stay till you come to his Cross but give up the Ghost before you see but the image his death do you not feel the power of it afar off doth not his pierced side pierce your heart before you behold it Oh ye bloody things what have ye done what wounds have you made in the Bodie of my Lord lay your necks quietly on the block prepare your selves for death which is approaching nay never struggle nor resist think not to live any longer for I have vow'd you in sacrifice to him And now what remains Ends in going but that I renew a quick and lively sense of the ends of this Rite and of mine in going and what lies hid under the Ceremonie Oh my Soul whither art thou going What is that Table which I see yonder spread for us and what is thy chief design in going to it what means that broken bread that is provided for vvhat end vvas that body Crucified do men use to drink a cup of Blood Oh let me knovv the bottom of this mysterie let me enter into this secret and my ovvn heart's Renouncing my own Righteousness and Preparation in his name merits mediation strength and righteousness in obedience to thy command and thy follovvers practice to renevv my Covenant vvith thee to commemorate and be affected vvith his death to ovvn and encrease my Spiritual Union and Communion vvith him and his members to further my joy in the Holy Ghost peace of Conscience and hopes of Eternal Life for the nourishment of my Soul to get povver against my sins to act and excite and strengthen my graces to make fresh applications of his blood to have the Covenant of Grace vvith all its blessings sealed unto me I go unto thy Table O stir up in me thirsting desires after strong expectations to receive these blessed ends and benefits and do thou make them good unto me Oh how weak To strengthen my Inner man how imperfect are my Graces I see and know but in part so love obey believe but in part Oh how many temptations adversaries difficulties assault me How seldom have I a will to do good and when I would do good evil is present with me All I have â—an or am is from thee so due unto thee but all still unworthy of thee yet how heart-bound is that little all of service I do thee I pray as if afraid to be heard bear as if unwilling to be saved communicate as if loth to receive thee serve thee as if I would not please thee To that end I go to the Lords Supper sutable and sufficient to nourish my inner man where â—re rendred most familiarly and effectually his Flesh and Blood meat and drink indeed Oh that I may have such â—xpectations of
The DEVOUT COMMUNICANT Exemplified in his Behaviour Before At and After The SACRAMENT Of the LORDS SUPPER More Practical Vseful and Sutable to all the parts of that Solemn Ordinance than any yet extant In this Impression is added a Prayer before and another after the Sacrament together with more particular Directions and Meditations for the Time of Receiving But they made light of it Matth. 22 5. London Printed for Thomas Dring at the Harrow next Chancery Lane in Fleetstreet 1675. TO THE TRVLY NOBLE Sir K. L. Baronet SIR AMong the Multitude of Practical Divine Treatises are none more numerous than on the Lords Supper nor more diversly handled Not a few well-disposed persons yet complain they are at a loss not so much which to make use of variety here distracting as that they know not how to form Directions into apposite Meditations they sequester they sit they seem to reflect as others but know not what to say in themselves to their great discomfort and discouragement The ensuing Manual is so methodically digested for their assistance and presented to your self not as one that needs it but the Composer a better evidence of his great esteem of a person so constant so devout a Communicant so eminently Charitable so rarely Tempered so truly Honourable If it displease any I borrow of so many to discharge one great debt methinks my Honesty in owing it may satisfie their allowing me also to make the best use of theirs I were able And if this be a bad one 't is a right hand error I hope they 'l not condemn but pity and pardon me I was no better advis'd my ambition being not to appear in publik but to be publickly useful and to let the World know how much I am SIR Your great Admirer and Humble Servant A PREMONITION To The READER ALthough the ensuing Treatise was design'd to be ushered into publick view without any other Epistle than that Dedicatory to one who is for no other witnesses of his eminent Piety then those two which are more than ten thousand yet it is found requisite to advertise those who are willing to make use of it 1. As to that part of Preparation which respects Humiliation for sin Matter enough for which every one may find there by examining his manifold breaches of the Law and Gospel yet the Communicant in an especial manner is to reflect upon and be deeply humbled for his own iniquities and particular failings since the foregoing Communion but no exact example could be given of what himself is only conscious 2. For Prayers the Week before and Morning of the Communion they refer for Memory-sake to the requisite Graces and Ends in going to the Ordinance 3. More matter is provided than I doubt will be spent at the time of Receiving in this Frozen Age so deviated from the Primitive when all Christians still partook of that one Cup yet those that notwithstanding all endeavours have Memories so unfaithful as they dare not trust may for ought I know by Book make use of so much of that they judge most pertinent as the spaces of joyning with the Minister will admit 4. A Prayer before and another after the Sacrament with more particular directions and meditations for the time of Receiving is added in this Edition to satisfie those who thought them wanting though the Author did not in the first 5. If any thing be judged unsutable because not usual there is matter enough besides They are left to their liberty that are not of my mind Some Books printed for Thomas Dring at the White Lion next Chancery Lane end in Fleetstreet ☞ Englands Imminent Danger and onely Remedy faithfully considered and represented By an Impartial Hand Necessary to be read by all people in these times Titles of Honour by the late famous and learned Antiquary John Selden of the Inner Temple Esq The third Edition with Additions and Amendments by the Author Folio The History of Romish Treasons and Usurpations together with a particular account of many gross Corruptions and Impostures in the Church of Rome highly dishonourable and injurious to the Christian Religion to which is prefixed a large Preface to the Romanists by Heâ— Fowlis B. D. Folio A Relation of a Conference between Bishop Laud and Mr. Fisher the Jesuiâ—â— The third Edition Folio The Consecration of Places for Gods publick Service Worship and the Reverence due unto them vindicated by Thâ— wemys M. A. in 〈◊〉 The Devout COMMUNICANT Frequent Celebration DO this in remembrance of me is a permission and an injunction 't is our Duty as well as our Benefit to reâ—eive Christ so not to receive him both our â—n and misery 'T is more then a command charge of a dying Testator and Saviour As the benefit is of infinite merit so should he acknowledgment be an Eternal Memoâ—ial His death should always live in our â—earts and we so careful in doing this â—â—at when he comes again he may find us 〈◊〉 doing Doth he not now thus bespeak â—s Can the King of Kings take it kindly 〈◊〉 your hands when he hath kill'd the fatâ—d Calf furnished his Table sent forth his Servants saying Behold I have prepared my Supper come eat of my Bread and drink of my Wine which I have mingled all things are ready come unto the Marriage and you make light of it so mean are your thoughts of his fare and company or desire to be excus'd because you are not drest when indeed you never went about to make you ready Do you not provoke him to leave you to let you go sorrowing to your graves to say None of those that were bidden though they see the plenty shall taste the sweetness fatness goodness of my Supper was there ever any so dear so precious cost it not the Master of it his own life to make it If out of courtesie you invite a poor man to the best that can be had and he saucily ungratefully find fault with your meat ask you why you troubled him to come to so poor Provision or send word you have nothing worth coming for he can provide for himself hath better at home and better company would you think he deserv'd the worst bit of it or another invitation 't is a sign you value not you slight Com 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with me If you loved me you would â—till â—e seeing looking upon desiring to be with me where I am wont to walk to manifest my self to sit at my Table to sup with my Disciples and never be at rest without a renewed sense of my love unto you you are they I live and dye for for whom I do and suffer so much of whom I will always think upon in whose Thoughts I love to live and because my departure is at hand and I must go away from you this memorial I leave with you to put you always in remembrance when you see it think of me who in the very night I was betrayed when taking that doleful farewel
for me but to forbid thy Memory to Dye in me O thou loving and Blessed above all Beloveds when thy passion is engraven by thy own hand in an Holy Mysterie for my mind to wear shall not I keep this memorial Shall I not wear thy Ring who am so ready to wear a Death's-head to preserve alive the memory of a dead Friend O that I may ever keep this Manna that came down from Heaven not in a Leaden but Golden pot not in a dull barren bareley contemplative but humble tender active pretious memory which moves all good affections to thee and promoves all good abilities for thee Such a memory will mind and do all Duty admire and love thee obey endure do and suffer for thee establish Faith excite Repentance inflame Love maintain Constancy I cannot but repent believe and love to the end if thou be in my mind If I fail payment of any duty to thee or man it is because I do not remember thee Of me Of my Death and your redemption by it This Sacrament then is an obelisk to the eternal memory of thy passion so oft as I neglect it what do I but pull down this Pyramid of everlasting date set up in the Church for a solemn memorial of thy death and bury thee and thy Merits as the Jews did thy Body but in a worser grave not in a Garden but Desart a grave of Oblivion Wretch am I that have need of such an help to my memory and spur to my Duty as both a Command and a Sacrament it casts reproach on me O Saviour that thou shouldst give thy Body for me and I scarce give my mind to thee that I should have so great a room in thy heart and thou so hardly get any in mine that thou shouldst be more ready to bleed for me then I to think of thee Dear Jesus thou didst empty all thy veins for me shall not I find a vessel to preserve thy precious Blood Do I not spill what thou shed if I let it run out of my memory yet art thou put to it to find me both blood and mind and when thou hast done all that out of remembrance of me lest it should be forgotten ordain'st a Sanction and Sacrament saying Do this in remembrance of me But more wretch I if I do not so do for Lord if I do thee honour dost thou not do me favour for it If I give thee glory is it more my duty then felicity to do it If thy Sacrament is it not my benefit Receive I not great honour in it Reap I not good benefits by it conveys it not the Blood Royal of Heaven into me Am I not related to Brother of Christ Heir and Prince of Heaven by vertue of that Blood Is not the Godhead bodily in him and is not this Body mystically in me and I near allyed to God by the Communion of that Body And can he want Demeans that is such a Prince Is not the Earth thy gift and Heaven in thy power O thou Son and Heir of all And have I not thy Spirit thy flesh to pledge for all the conveyance sealed in thy Blood and thy Merits made over and assured in thy Body O Lord I am so much concern'd in honour and estate to do what thou commandest that if I consider my self I shall do it to thy memory in remembrance of me as well as thee Wherever God hath bestow'd a vital principle Faith whereby the Just live he affords nourishment to sustain it and an inclination and attractive faculty towards it Christ Crucified is as the cause of our new birth so the food which sustains and preserves us in it unto whose Body and Blood there must needs be as proportionable an appetite in a new Christian as to Milk in an Infant that being more nourishable then milk and Faith more vital to desire it then Nature Oh! I know not what grace and comfort I have lost that others have found in the Consciencious use of this If there be any thing in the lively discoveries of the evil and desert of sin the wrath and love of God the cordials of the Gospel by frequenting it might it not have been much better with me in my Spiritual condition is not this great Hypecrisie and Dissimulation to complain of the hardness of my heart and not apply the Blood of Christ to soften it of the prevalencie of corruptions and not bring them to his Cross to subdue them of my timerous spirit and not come where God secures me and gives evidence for the discharge of his covenant and promise that God is departing when I stand at a distance and will not come nigh him is withdrawn from my Soul when I withdraw from my Dutie that I am a stranger to spiritual joy when I will not come to draw water out of the wells of Salvation of die weakness of grace and not use of all means of strengthening it can I refuse my food yet be nourished grow in grace and neglect the means not grow and be guiltless live in a known sin by neglecting a plain commanded Dutie and expect the rewards of obedience may not partial obedience to Gods commands well increase my doubts of his favour Is not this to slight and disesteem a firm conveyance of all Christs purchased benefits here offered and assured to Believers and then think not much Soul if thou go without them for ever who art also so unwilling to bind thy self to thankfulness and obedience for them Meals which are for nourishment must be often 't is not told me how often I should eat or drink the sense and feeling of the wants of my food directs me to makes me do it often Am I not apt to grow dull lukewarm cold to and in duty to contract guilt blot my evidences disturb my peace to forget him and his matchless love Is he so much in my serious thoughts as he deserves Is it enough to have some accasional thoughts of him Do I not complain that I love and think of him no more can apply him no better have so little of him am so insenble of his kindness and affection to his members Is it not a sin and shame I no more solemnly dwell in meditation upon him am no more in praising of rejoycing in him Do I not often need so great an help to soften my heart to renew my repentance to strengthen and confirm my Faith Hope and Resolutions to increase inflame my love and thankfulness fix my thoughts more solemnly upon him apply him get and maintain more intimate communion with him closer knit my soul to him and his members Is it not a sad sign I perform no Duties as and to those ends I ought but out of custom without expecting therefore without finding any great advantage from them Are the consolations of God small unto me is it not a sign when I was there I miss'd of the benefit Have I not cause to repent of
may therefore have grace whereby I may serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear and be cloathed not only with the Righteousness but Humility of Christ be low and mean base and vile in my own eyes I am not worthy to be called thy Son make me as thy meanest servants the lowest room at thy Table give my sins thy pardon my soul thy grace my person and service thy acceptance in thy beloved and what thou dost convey seal to me by what I am to receive Without Knowledge the Heart Saving Knowledge the duty cannot be good but the Covenant thou hast made with thy people is they shall all know thee from the least to the greatest Oh let me come with knowledge of the nature necessity use and ends of the Ordinance Direct me how to behave my self at and meditate upon those Divine Mysteries that I may not be a blind offerer nor bring a blind offering but offer unto thee a living sacrifice holy acceptable reasonable service that I may receive with understanding discern the Lords Body look into the Mysteries of the Sacrament lest not knowing the meaning Ifeel not the comfort of it but be alienated estranged from thee through the ignorance that is in me That I may eat the Passeover with bitter herbs Godly Sorrow give me a deep sense of my own vileness and unworthiness take away this heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh that I may loath my self in my own sight for mine iniquities and for mine abominations be filled with shame and sorrow hatred and indignation against my self for my offending so good and gracious so loving and bountiful a Father Redeemer and Sanctifier That I may look upon him whom I have pierced and mourn for him with detestation and holy revenge against those my sins that cost him so dear were the cause as well as any other mens of his death and would have cost me damnation abominating them as the scourges and thorns nails and spear thar Afflicted Crucified my dearest Saviour the Lord of Glory The day of mourning for him is at hand oh that I may then slay my most beloved lusts be revenged on them for it and for their endeavouring to rob me of my spiritual Birth-right my eternal Blessedness Let me call to mind and be truly sensible of every sin and of the evil of it and of thine and my Saviour's love manifested to me in his sufferings There where he appears most Bloody let Sin oppear most deadly that I may receive abroken bleeding Christ with a broken contrite Heart a Sacrifice thou wilt not â—espise O God prepare in me that being weary and heavy laden I may be capable of his refreshment being supled in my own tears I may be fitter to be washt in his blood And seeing thou givest thy self only to thy Disciples and Friends New Obedience work in me fresh purposes of amendment that being willing and obedient I may eat the good of the Ordinance Let there be conformity that there may be Communion let me not put that new wine into an old impure but new Heart I cannot Eat the Passeover and stay in Egypt still let me do it with my loyns girt ready to march toward the Promised Land Thou confirmest thy Covenant and expectest I restipulate with thee that I cast out and execrate the old leaven Seeing the Covenant of Grace sealed let me seal a Covenant of Obedience seeing by the merit of Christs death I am purchas'd to be thine by the power of it let me be dead to sin and both receive life and change my life let me bring a wounded heart to and carry wounded sins from thy Table dye to sin seeing Christ dyed for sin let me take him by way of surety and give up my self to him by way of surrender receive him as a Saviour and submit to him as a Prince set my self apart for thee on that Feast of Dedication Let me approach with the most sincere fixed resolutions of an intire resignation and receive such grace and strength from thee as may inable me faithfully to perform them that I may find my self in the number of those to whom my Saviour allows such special manifestations of himself by lifting up the light of his countenance upon them by intimating his good will and love unto them his fulness and righteousness for them as Shows his constant abode with them Let no prophane or unseasonable Thoughts enter into my mind while I am about that Holy Solemnity Purity let me lay aside leave behind me and be kept from all carnal earthly vain Imaginations drive away all drowsiness carelesness slothfulness idle apprehensions that I may wholly contemplate upon and give up my self unto him who sacrific'd his Soul and Body for me and come before thee with such Reverential Hungering Holy Affections as is due to the hand that reacheth to the seal that secureth to the food that strengthneth that spiritual life in us without which we can never be happy O thou that callest me unto thee let thy compassion pitty my vileness let thy mercy pardon my sinfulness let thy grace cleanse my filthiness let thy wisdom enlighten my darkness let thy strength support my weakness adorn me with the wedding garment the righteousness of thy Son and holiness of thy Spirit that all my nakedness may be covered and my great deformities hid from thine eyes pardon me by thy mercy that I may receive thy grace and fit me by thy grace that I may receive thy mercy help me so to accuse my self that thou may'st acquit me so to judge and condemn my self that thou may'st absolve me so to exercise a holy revenge upon my self that thou may'st spare me Let thy Spirit be thy Harbinger to provide entertainment for thy Son in my Soul that he may find â—t swept of sin and garnisht with grace make it day in my Soul by hopes and desires before I there receive the Sun of Righteousness Faith is thy own gift as well as Christ Faith I believe Lord help my unbelief that I may besprinkle my soul and Conscience with his blood not only look upon and remember but close in with and receive him there tendred Eat his flesh and drink his blood apply him as taking on him our nature and giving it as a ransom for sin That I may not stagger at the promise through unbelief but be strong in faith giving Glory to God being fully perswaded that what thou hast promised thou wilt perform When I see Bread and Wine upon the Table let me see Christ there as a feast in token of my reconciliation with thee and on the Cross as a Sacrifice offering up his Body and blood to thee observing the Bread broken let me see Chrirst crucified for and offering himself unto me upon the Wine pouring out let me behold how his blood was poured forth for my sins As I receive Bread and Wine for bodily sustenance
and blood oh my soul drowned not his affections to us his Compassion brake through his passion in the same night which was so full of anguish and dolor to his Soul wherein he was betray'd when death was in sight and all those unspeakable fears and sorrows terrors and sufferings were ready to invade him when his Disciples were readie to betray forsake deny him injuries from men readie to load him and the Justice of God upon sin to be demonstrated on him he then even forgot his own misereies to remember and dispense his meries to us and provide this Banquet for us continually to present himself to us lest after he had endured so much for us we should forget or distrust his love unto us Oh how was he burned between two fires the fire of his Affections to us and that of his Afflictions for us At that time wherein men were designing the greatest cruelty against him was he bestowing the greatest courtesie and gift on us himself leaving us a Legacie a pledge at parting of his dearest love stronger then death that held him on the cross to finish our Salvation when death could not hold him in the grave Before he gave himself to be crucified for us he provides an ordinance the means of his communicating himself to us he gives us in the Sacrament what he did and gave prepared and purchased for us on the cross Oh the infinite love of God that he would give his own Son and of Christ that he would so graciously come and save us and leave us those remembrances and tokens of his love that he should die for us when he was on earth be so mindful of and nourish us with himself now he is in Heaven Oh wonderful misterie that the Bodie of Christ now reigning in Heaven should be laid upon the Table that the Author of life should become the Bread of life that under the broken form of bread and wine whole Christ should be conveyed to everie Believer His Personal Union is with the single nature but his Mystical with every Believer This Sacrament is the representative of the Substance the sign of a Covenant the seal of a Purchase the figure of a Body the witness of our Faith the earnest of our Hope the presence of things distant the sight of things absent the taste of things unconceivable the knowledge of things that are past knowledge a seal of our Saviours engraving whose superscription is Christ's loving us whose Image is Christ dying for us whose deed is Christs New Testament confirmed to us in the sign we have the Image in the seal the benefit of Christ's Body in the sign we see in the seal we by Faith receive him The Bread and Wine are but the dishes in which this Feast not of the belly but mind is served up not the Feast it self Faith eats not the Bread but the breaking of it drinks not the Wine but the pouring of it forth The eating Christs flesh and drinking his blood is nothing else but an act of Faith terminated upon him as our Mediator and Redeemer The participation of his Body and Blood for strength and refreshment sweet to Faith as meat and drink is to hunger could not be better shadow'd forth then by the staff of Bread and Wine comprising all sorts of Spiritual provision for our inner man and Faith is to the Soul what Natural hear is to the body by virtue of which the Nutritive Faculty turns the food into nourishment They present and confirm Christ to us as the most needful beneficial and perfect nourishment of the New man as Bread and Wine are such unto the Body i. e. that Christ crucified preserves us from Eternal death and is unto us the Fountain of Spiritual and Eternal life Believe and thou hast eaten Christ is present with but not in the Bread and Wine but to the faithful Receiver not in the Elements but to the Communicants not water but washing with it is Baptism not Bread and wine on the Table are a Sacrament but eating and drinking them which if they be acts of Faith the hand and mouth of the soul the Bread and Wine as really convey and unite whole Christ with the vital influences that proceed from him to the Soul as the hand doth them to the mouth or the mouth to the stomach Whatsoever we may expect of bodily strength or reparation from Bread and Wine we may expect from Christ for our Soul life maintained grace quickened deadness enlivened resolutions enabled hope erected faith strengthened lusts subdued which is consequent upon our union with Christ and interest in the Covenant renewed and ratified to his people by Christs death and sealed to them in the Sacrament In the Word we have a promise here a pawn or pledge of him Lift up your heads therefore O ye gates of my Soul and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors and the King of Glorie shall come in And be assured such additions of grace as thou art fitted for and Infinite Wisdom sees meet to deal out shall be conferred upon thee Fear not I charge thee do not faint let not thy weakness thy povertie thy inabilitie discourage thee all have not Talents alike a Faith richly embroidered with love and delight is not given to all and expected onely from those to whom it is given Be thy attire whole sincere clean and white free from spots of the flesh and Spirit though not so perfumed with heaven as thy Brethren thou wilt be welcome Thy God and Saviour will not ask How camest thou hither not having on a Wedding-garment he knows thy heart and sees thou hast it He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoking Flax till he send forth judgment unto victorys What manner of guests were those he commanded to be brought in to the Wedding Supper but such as were found in the streets and lanes the Hedges and high wayes the poor and the maimed the lame the halt and the blind hunger-starved forlorn undone lost wretches Oh blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee that they may dwell in thy Courts We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy House even of thy holy Temple At the Lords Table WHat shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto him now in the presence of all his people Come forth oh my graces stir up your selves stand ye lively and active before the Lord. Awake my Faith and see the Attonement of my sins in the broken body of my Saviour the price paying the ransom laid down the thing in doing Awake Repentance and hear the strong cries and see the doleful Agonies of him that bore our chastisements Awake my Memory and call to mind that Egypt wherein I was and the Blood of the Passover which removed the Destroying Angel from my Soul Now
sins oh that none of you might escape here that ye may all lye bleeding as so many Sacrifices at the Altar of my Lord oh let them now feel the weight and sharpness of thy Cross here let them be slain at thy foot that I may not carry away one of them alive How can my Heart refrain from tears of sorrow and joy to think of its unkindness and of his strange love what heart can be so hard as without pain to think we love him no more who put himself to such pains for us Oh how am I troubled that my heart should be so cold when his was so hot with love as to send forth its life-blood for my Redemption and yet when I consider that in this stream of blood my sinful Soul is washed and that by his stripes I am healed that instead of sin and death and Hell deserved Righteousness and life and Heaven is purchased how can I chuse but rejoyce in his love and hope he will accept of my poor acknowledgement who so pardons as might even melt the hardest heart and for ever silence and satisfie it by the love of God and sufficiency of the Sacrifice Oh how am I ravished therewith I am justified by Faith and at peace with God the flames of Hell shall never touch me Death is swallowed up in victory I am consigned to a blessed immortality But oh my Lord I take the boldness to complain unto thee and expostulate with thee how sayest thou that thou lovest me if thou discover thy self no more unto me if I have no more love unto thee no more life from thee if I be so barren and unfruitful towards thee so dull and cold in thy service so unwilling to execute thy commands so weak and unable against assaults if thou be with me who can be against me what can be too hard for me what cannot be done by me through thee O! since it is thy pleasure to be so familiar with me if thou lovest me so much fulfil in me all the good pleasure of thy will and the work of Faith with power Oh let the merit of Christ's death free me from the guilt upon me and his Spirit cleanse me from the stains within me Let holiness to the Lord be written upon my whole Soul and Body that they may be a delectable habitation for thee unite my heart unto thee transform me altogether in thee I put my self out of my own power I accept of and close with thee as my Maker and Preserver Lord and Sovereign Priest and Prophet King and Captain Head and Husband to be ordered disposed provided for by thee I give my hearty consent that thou shouldest dwell within me as the alone Prince of my soul the possession of it I for ever surrender up unto thee I cease to be my own I renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh I profess my acceptance of submission to to place my happiness in and to resign my self wholly unto thee to be provided for disposed of led saved by theē Oh how am I pleased with my choice that I have parted with my self and am become thine How am I beholden to thee that I may give my self unto thee that thou hast brought me into the Bond of the Covenant Oh come dear Redeemer to the price of thy own blood cease thine own and save me assist and strengthen me feed and preserve me never leave me nor forsake me The Cup. COme my beloved now I have drunk thy Cup of wrath pledge me in this Cup of Salvation for which I pierc'd my side I drew this wine on purpose for thee when I trod the wine-press of my Fathers wrath alone This Cup is the New Testament in my blood is a pledge of signifies and represents by representation is my bloud in which the New Testament between God and Man is founded and established confirmed and ratified and by which remission of sins and all other consequent blessings of the New Covenant are purchased It s glorious liberties and immunities I hereby sign and seal unto you a full release and discharge from all your debts from the house of bondage sin the grave and hell Here I deliver yon your Protection from all your Enemies will I save you from the Arrests of the Law from the powers of darkness from the victory of the world from the curse of the Cross none shall prove too hard for you all shall work good unto you I hereby confer upon and instate you in all its royal priviledges and prerogatives behold I give my self to you to be your God and instead of all relations I will be a Friend and Physician a Shepherd Sovereign and Husband unto you to espouse your interest to counsel and heal you to feed and comfort you to watch over and defend you Lo I make over my self to you in all my Essential perfections mine omnipotency shall be your guard my omnisciency your overseer my omnipresence your companion my mercy your store my wisdom your counsellor my justice your revenger and rewarder my holiness a fountain of grace unto you my sovereignty to be commanded by you my infiniteness and all-sufficiency the lot and extent of your inheritance my Faithfulness unchangeableness the rock of your rest and security my eternity the date of your happiness I will be yours in all my personal relations a Father unto you what would my Children have of your Fathers instruction and probation protection and provision care and ear bread and rod heart and house pity and compassion I here assure you my Son and Spirit I give you to cloath and teach you assist and comfort you intercede in and for you sanctifie and save you with my self I give you all things mine Angels for your guardians and attendants my Word and Ordinances Ministers and providences for your guide and good Whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the World or life or death or things present or things to come all are yours And that you may know I am in earnest lo I establish my Covenant with yon ordered in all things and sure written in the blood founded in the all-sufficient merits of your surety in whom I am well-pleased whose death made this Testament unchangeable for ever so that your name can never be blotted out nor your inheritance alienated nor your legacies diminished nothing can be altered I here solemnly deliver it to you as my Act and Deed sealed with the Oath and Blood of God who engages here his own Body for security Come ye blessed fear not the donation is free and full I have received a ransom and expect only you believe know and accept of your own blessedness Here are the conveyances see the seals take the writings behold the blood of the Covenant receive the instruments of your salvation This I give you as a pledge of my love and of the truth of all I have promised I hereby plight you my troth and set to my hand