to the Son of David blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest § 9. When the devont Christian is invited to draw near to the Holy Table he uses one or more of these Sentencs Lord I have looked for thee in Holiness that I might behold thy Power and Glory How dreadful is this Place this is no other but the House of God and the Gate of Heaven This is the Lords Mercy-Seat which the Cherubim of Glory shadow this is the Altar of Jesus round which the Angels clad in their bright Robes stand This is the Altar where Jesus is crucified let all the Angels of God and all the Sons of Men worship him I will come into thy House upon the multitude of thy Mercies and in thy fear will I hold up my hands and worship towards the Mercy-Seat of thy Holy Temple I will exalt the Lord my God and will worship at his Footstool for he is Holy I will fall down and adore for I know that God is here of a truth § 10. VVhen the good man comes up and kneels before the Altar he says Lord I most thankfully receive this gracious Invitation which thou hast afforded me to come to thy Holy Table and tho the number and weight of my Transgressions might justly deter me yet I am resolved to embrace the opportunity because thou hast bidden all who are weary and heavy laden to come unto thee Will Jesus whom the Heavens must contain till the consummation of all things be content to dwell with his poor servant Oh that I could entertain thee in my Soul with the same joy that the Holy Virgin did at thy incarnation with the same Exultations that the Infant Baptist did when he danc'd before he was Born at the approach of a Saviour with the Hosannah's of the Devout Jews before thy Passion and with the Authems of Angels at thy Ascension For who deserves my praises but my Saviour Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing My Soul therefore shall joyn consort with every Creature which is in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the Sea when they say Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power be unto him that sits on the Throne and unto the Lamb for evermore § 11. VVhile the Priest himself is receiving the good man prays for him The Lord hear thee the name of the God of Jacob defend thee send thee help from the Sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Zion Remember all thy offerings and accept thy Sacrifice Grant thee thy hearts desire and fulfil all thy mind § 12. After which if the time will permit he Exercises this or the like act of contrition but if he wants time he does it in his Closet at his return Lord I am the greatest of sinners but here is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World His Blood speaks better things than that of Abel and he is the propititation for our sins My sins dearest Jesu brought thee to all thy shame and all thy sufferings but that satisfaction was necessary for the Redemption of the World I am troubled above measure for thy sorrows and will revenge thy death on my vices which were the cause of it Melt me O God into a soft temper fit to receive thy impressions give me an intire detestation of my sins and an indignation that may engage me to forsake my transgressions and to love the paths of virtue § 13. To which he subjoins this or the like act of Faith Jesus is my God and my Saviour he is the Angel of the Covenant I will not leave him till he bless me This is Jesus whom the Jews slew and hanged on a Tree him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins If God hath given us his Son how shall he not with him give us all things for his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed Lord I believe that thou art present in the Sacrament but in a manner spiritual and ineffable to think that thou art here corporeally bids defiance to my senses and my reason and debases thy glorified humanity and to imagine that I receive nothing more than bare signs is to rob my self of the benefit of communicating with thee Let me feel the truth of that mystery which I admire and believe but cannot prove and let me experiment the glorious effects of this Sacrament tho I am unacquainted with the particular manner how they are derived to me Thou hast convinc'd me that the flesh profiteth nothing but thy Words are spirit and life as therefore thou hast made it so I humbly and thankfully receive it Let it be unto thy servant according to thy word and grant that the days may come shortly when Faith shall be swallowed up of Vision Amen § 14. If many others Communicate before him the good man employs that leasure in reflecting upon the Office of Consecration and because he could not without disturbance interpose his ejaculations while the Priest was saying the Prayer of Consecration he takes this occasion to say When the Priest carries the Patin As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness for the cure of the wounded Israelites so was our dearest Saviour lifted up on the Cross for the redemption of a world of sinners Lord evermore give me this bread When the Priest breaks the Bread he says So was the Body of Jesus mangled so was his flesh torn till there was no whole place in his body When the Priest pours out the Wine he says So when Jesus was in his Agony so when he was scourged crowned with Thorns and nailed to the accursed Tree did the Blood run down so Jesus loved us and wash'd us from our sins in his own blood When the Priest carries the Chalice he says It is the Blood of Jesus that makes atonement being shed for me and for many for the remission of sins I will cleave to the Cross of my bleeding Saviour and will drink his Blood Inable me O my God to overcome all my ghostly enemies by the blood of the Lamb. § 15. When the Priest takes the Elements in his hands to give them to the devout Christian he remembers that so God offers his Son to be the Author of Eternal Salvation to every believer so hath God fitted Jesus a body and indowed him with the spirit above measure that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life § 16. When the Priest delivers the Elements to the worthy Communicant he considers that there are two parts in the form of distribution a Prayer and an Advice the Prayer in these words The Body the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy Body and Soul unto everlasting Life to which with
destroy themselves first with their Fears before they actually fall into a Mischief that cannot be avoided and what man can pretend to such a state of ease and indolency When therefore the Son of God makes a Disciple he calls him to the practice of self-denyal to the contempt of the World and all its vanities to the mortifying of his Passions and the abjuration of Pleasures that is he bids him live no longer like a Beast but like a man and a Christian and in lieu of these impertinencies he promises him all that is great and good in a better life and this was the method he made use of when he comforted the first-born of his Family his Apostles upon his departure And what could be more eloquent rational or pâ—rswasive than such a discourse about patience from him who had his sufferings in inmediate prospect For the thoughts of such persons being fixt on Heaven they talk of the place as if they were there already their stile is more brisk and vigorous than ordinary and their words make a deeper impression such was our Saviours last Sermon and such the Epistles of the Apostles which they wrote in their bonds Jesus having discovered Judas forewarned Peter and bound the rest of his Disciples to mutual Love and Charity at length tells them that it was the greatest Argument of the heighth of passion and shortness of reasoning to be troubled at the adversities of this present life that he who is strong in Faith is above the assault of secular dangers and whoever is called to embrace the Gospel is out of the reach and beyond the Fears of temporal afflictions that when you imprison him you do not rob him of his Liberty and when you kill him you cannot hurt him for he that depends on the Crucified Jesus for Salvation is secure that if he suffer with his Master he shall reign with him Such a man is assured that there is so large a provision made for him in Heaven that it baffles all carnal objections and stifles the very sense or remembrance of pain for his Master is ascended to his Father's Right Hand not so much to glorifie his own Body as to intercede for us that we may be glorified there he is now our Advocate and from thence he shall come again at the last day to be our guide that where he is we may be forever with him nor can any thing hinder our Union with him to Eternity who have been united to him here in the Offices of Piety our natural corruptions cannot obstruct the Union our Saviour is the way nor can our ignorance do us injuries he is the Truth and the Attempts of death it self are vain and of no force he is the Life For as long as the Father and he are one and so they shall be to Eternity all the Power and Wisdom of the Godhead must dwell in him bodily and who can resist Omnipotence or outwit the only Wise God Especially when it is considered that his Goodness is commensurate to his Power and his Wisdom so that the meanest of his Servants when he strengthens them shall be able to do all things and the greatest of the Miracles that Christ himself did shall be less than what his Followers shall be able to do nor is it to be doubted how this can be Since the Prayers of a good man recommended in the Name and upon the account of the Merits of his Saviour answer all devout ends and purposes and for this end probably the afflictions of this life were made the Portion of Christianity that if our Duty did not our needs might bring us often on our Knees for God denies nothing where the love of the Supplicant is bright and ardent and makes it self illustrious in a life of Obedience for upon such a man the Holy Dove descends and becomes his Comforter his Companion and his Friend it instructs him when ignorant it relieves him if opprest it encourages and defends him when timerous it bestows all that is good and protects from all that is evil this Spirit is the Vicar unto the Bishop of Souls it was primarily designed to lead the Church into all Truth and to secure it from perishing under the persecutions of its Enemies and to supply the want of the bodily Presence of the Redeemer of Mankind this Spirit was to unriddle all the Mysteries of Religion and to reveal what was hid from the cognizance of Ages to make those on whom it should descend the darlings of God and to give them Heaven upon Earth in the Enjoyment of Holy Thoughts and a quiet Mind which none of the disturbances of this Life shall be able to ruffle or discompose When the Soul is fixt on this Foundation being put out of the Synagogue signifies nothing nor can Death drest in its most formidable shape create any terrors for our Master hath told us that as in the deepest of his sufferings the blest Angels ministred unto him so they shall to his obedient followers and that their resurrection shall succeed his for the greatest instances of mutual love are beneath the indearments that are berween Jesus and a good man the Branches are not so firmly joyned to the Vine as the devout Soul is to its Saviour it is a Member of his Body and as dear to him as his own Honour This Union neither distance of Place nor alteration of Circumstances can dissolve 't is a Union cemented by the Blood of God and is built on a Foundation that stands most sure it is built upon God's Knowledg who are his and upon his Servants departing from all iniquity but it is a Union that is better felt than described and no one knows the happiness of it but he who hath experimented it As long as this Friendship lasts the Christian is impowered to do every thing that may glorifie his Master and benefit himself and what himself cannot do by his own Abilities shall be supplied by the Interests of his Saviour and procured by his own intense Supplications but if any man wilfully dissolve this Concord like a Branch cut off from the stock he withers and dies and becomes fit for nothing but to be cast into Eternal Flames Now nothing can break this Union but Vice and Iniquity for that which makes the Holy Jesus the only Beloved of his Father is his Obedience to the Divine Laws and his Passionate love to the world that engaged him to dye for it and whoever loves God and his Neighbour shall be made Partaker of all his Favour and his Heart shall be filled with Joy and can there be a more cogent Argument than this to endear Religion to a well inclined mind To be made the Friends of God the Elect and Beloved of the Saviour of the World the Pupils of the Spirit of Truth and Peace to have one Comforter to redeem them and another to sanctifie them and to have the Honour of being God's Ambassadors and the Witnesses
before Christ's Passion is by his Resurrection put into a state of favour and a capacity to return and to be reconciled to his maker And God grant that his whole Church may be reconciled to their Saviour and to each other that they may duly keep the Feast and live in love and unity here till they all triumph together in Heaven Amen The Epistle Philip. 3.8 YEA doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by Faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead The Gospel Luke 24.13 BEhold two of them went the same day to a Village called Emmaus and while they communed together Jesus drew near and went with them but their eyes were holden that they should not know him and he said unto them What manner of communications are these which ye have one to another as ye walk and are sad They said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth whom the chief Priests and our Rulers have delivered to be condemned to death and have crucified Then said Jesus unto them Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory And beginning at Moses and at the Prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself And he was known to them in breaking of bread The MEDITATION AMong all our Blessed Saviour's unhappinesses the incapacities of his Disciples understandings was not the least by reason of which tho their Master was the Wisdom of the Father and endowed with the Holy-Ghost without measure which enabled him to speak not only vvith the greatest authority but vvith the greatest veracity and plainness yet they vvere alvvays unvvilling to give entire credit to his sayings Some of them they could not understand and others they vvould not believe So vvhen he discoursed of the great mystery of the Sacrament and averred that no Man could have life in him except he did eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood many of his follovvers apprehended that he vvould oblige them to turn Canibals and so vvent back and vvalked no more vvith him Among vvhom St. Mark himself say the Ancients vvas disgusted and left that holy Society and had not St. Peter opportunely reclaimed him the Church had lost that Evangelist Nor was St. Peter himself free from this crime for vvhen our blessed Saviour gave the Twelve an account of his sufferings and that the redemption of the World was to be accomplish'd by his Crucifixion he whose mind was possest with other notions of the Kingdom of the Messiah was scandalized at the declaration and rebuked his Lord not knovving that our Saviour's Cross vvas to be his Throne and by his Agonies only he was to merit Crovvns and earn Triumphs Nor could all that their infallible Guide could say to inform them better drive out this notion out of the heads of the rest of the Apostles no not vvhen they savv him crucified dead and buried and could not but remember that he promised to rise again the Third day The Women more officious than vvise had brought Spices to embalm him as if the Lamb of God had fallen like a common Sacrifice as if the Lord of Hosts had been captivated by the Grave his Povvers baffled and his Promises cancel'd And tho the empty Sepulchre the sight of the Grave-cloaths orderly laid up and the testimony of the Angel vvere undeniable proofs that Jesus was not there but was risen yet their admiration was stronger than their Faith and the Disciples of both sexes were surprised they hardly believed their eyes for as yet they knew not the Scriptures that he must rise from the dead and wondred at all that was come to pass In the head of those devout female proselites was Mary Magdalene who tho once an Angel of darkness had now the purity and zeal of one of the Seraphim she was all ardor and resolution she was the first who went to the Sepulchre on the day of the Resurrection she was earlier up than the beloved Disciple who lay in his Master's bosome and for that reason should have afforded his Master a place in his own heart in his memory and in his love and she had more courage than Peter tho a man of extraordinary fervor she dreaded not the guards nor the shadows of the night that had not yet given place to day but hastens her steps to the venerable Tomb and when she beheld the empty Sepulchre how deep is her concern at the loss of her Saviour She wept bitterly as if she would have softned the Rock and made the most insensible and obdurate parts of the Creation mourn with her the death of her best Friend And tho these were sad disappointments and the sight had affrighted all that followed her yet there she still continues she was the last who return'd from that awful Garden nor did she at length miss of her expectations for they who sow in tears shall reap in joy The Angels first confirm her hopes and immediately after the Lord of the Angels gave her a view of his sacred Person Remember O my Soul the first appearance of our Saviour after his Resurrection was to the most sinful Magdalene nor do thou despair but that thou maist also be admitted to a share in his favour but remember also that this honour was vouchsafed to the penitent Magdalene to Magdalene transported with the ardors of Divine Love that had destroyed all the heats of Lust If thou longest therefore to be blest with such priviledges rise early and begin betime to serve thy Maker weep over thy follies that have deprived thee of the company of thy Saviour and these methods will recall thy departed Redeemer and thy sins which are many shall be forgiven because thou hast loved much To Mary Magdalene among the softer Sex was the first appearance vouchsafed and among the men the next was to St. Peter the first a Woman of the loosest manners and most profligate conversation the second a Man of strong boastings and a weak faith who when he promised to dye with his Master denied him thus the worst of sinners had the preference in this discovery and why should I doubt but that there is mercy also for me and my Saviour hath the same compassion for my Soul as he had for Mary Magdalen's or St. Peter's Magdalene was our Saviour's first Apostle after his Resurrection she had a commission to instruct St. Peter himself and the beloved Virgin too and to tell them their