yet surely it will transform a Soul sick to death into a lively and healthful constitution though with the Woman in the Gospel she hath lain under her distemper a considerable time II. Among the Scythyans as Herodotus tells us there was a custom for the Princes of the Country to meet once a year at a certain Feast where a Cup was set upon the Table a Cup of Honour which none durst presume to drink of but such as had signaliz'd their Valour in Battel and kill'd more or less of their publick Enemies Though this Sacramental Cup is too High too Sacred and too Lofty a thing to be compared with Cups used at the Feast of Barbarians yet I may take occasion from hence to tell you that this Holy Cup is fit for none to drink of but such as have either shewn or are at least resolved to shew their Valour against their Spiritual Enemies Christian if thou hast fought with the Old Serpent encountred the Hellish Dragon wrestled with Powers and Principalities exprest thy Courage against Temptations defied Goliah the Lion and the Bear the World the Devil and the Flesh or art resolv'd to be a Champion for thy God and fight the Battels of the Lord Thou art that valiant Man that may drink of this Cup Thy God will give thee leave to drink of it with other Hero's with the greatest Worthies with Men of whom the World was not worthy with Men whose Faith hath advanced them above the Stars and who are to shine as the Sun in the Firmament in their Father's Kingdom Let no despairing Thoughts no suggestion of the Devil no slavish Fear no pretence of Unworthiness discourage thee from touching this Cup or drinking of it It 's mingled for thee for thee it is prepared The King expects thee at this Feast thou art called to this Banquet Thus shall it be done to the Man whom the King of Heaven intends to Honour What If thou hast not slain thy Thousands with Saul nor thy Ten thousands with David What if thou hast not brought thy Two hundred Foreskins of the Philistins to thy Lord and Master thou dost a greater act in conquering thy Thoughts thy Desires thy Passions thy Appetite thy vain Imaginations than if thou hadst laid Countries waste ruin'd Kingdoms or bound their Kings in Chains and their Nobles with Fetters of Iron Such Honour have all all his Saints III. Hear this thou fainting Soul that groanest under the burthen of thy Sins goest heavy laden with Sorrow and like Rachel wilt not be comforted Behold thy Lord and Master touched with the feeling of thy infirmities and afflicted in all thy afflictions who waits to be Gracious and loves to converse more with a weeping Publican than with a jovial Herod he reaches forth a Cup to thee a Cup of Joy a Cup of Gladness a Cup of Comfort It is this Sacramental Cup. Drink of it thou thirsty Soul Why shouldst thou fear This Cup is design'd for labouring Souls they that have born the heat and burthen of the day are to taste of it It is design'd to recreate design'd to refresh desing'd to revive design'd to support their Spirits Dost thou believe this Christian Dare to believe it Take thy Saviours word for it and triumph in the Promise The Mercy may be too big for thee to ask but not too big for him to grant Thou hast a Master to deal withal who gives like himself like a King like a Prince whose Stores are inexhaustible Let no Senacharib deceive thee regard not what such a Rabshakeh says Hearken not to the frightful Stories of thine enemies who rejoyce to see thee discourag'd are glad to see thee forbear drinking of this Cup and think it their interest to keep thee from that which may and will give thee everlasting health I have read of a precious Stone of considerable value that dropt no Man knew how into the Holy Cup while the Priest was administring the Sacrament There needs no precious Stone to drop into this Cup to make it of greater value That which is in it is of greater worth than Ten thousand Worlds It represents that which neither Pearls nor Rubies nor Diamonds can counter-balance The Papists boast much of the Gifts of their Popes how Sylvester gave three Golden Cups to be used in the celebration of the Eucharist How John the Second gave a Cup of Gold weighing Twenty pound How Gregory the Second and Leo the Third presented their respective Churches with Cups all beset with precious Stones What if thou canst bring no such Presents to God thou bringest a better when thou bringest a Spirit a Heart a Soul lamenting and mourning because thou hast departed from him contented thy self with a form of Godliness and under the profession of Religion hast denied him in thy actions A Heart toucht with the sense of the unreasonableness odiousness and loathsomness of all this and finding a relish in the things of God and of Salvation qualifies a Man more for comfortable drinking of this Cup than if with the Wise Man he had offer'd Gold and Myrrh and Frankincense to Christ Jesus Is not this the Cup whereby my Lord divineth saith Joseph's Steward Gen. 44. 5. Christian by drinking of this Sacramental Cup thou may'st divine thy future happiness guess at what will become of thee hereafter make conjectures of thy Glory and conclude that thou shalt feel the comfort of drinking the Cordials of a Blessed Eternity The PRAYER O Jesu Great Fountain of all Goodness who didst drink of the bitter Cup which my Sins had mingled I am sensible there was no sorrow like thy sorrow which was done unto thee and wherewith the Lord afflicted thee in the day of his fierce anger How was thy Spirit disturb'd How sore amaz'd was thy Soul How dismay'd thy Mind To such an exceeding heighth of Grief and Sorrow did the Sense of the incumbent load of my sins and the prospect of calamities hanging over my head together with the reflexion on my wretched condition skrew up thy Affections innumerable evils encompass'd thee thou sawest the wrath of God flaming out against my Sin and trembledst Thou stoodst before the mouth of Hell which I had deserv'd and wast astonish'd Thou with thine own Heart Blood didst quench the wrath of Heaven O how am I obliged to adore thy Love O everlasting Father What Charity was it not to spare thine own Son but to deliver him up for us all What pity and compassion was it O thou Eternal Son of God thus to pour forth thy Blood What Affection what tenderness to my Soul O thou Eternal Spirit hast thou express'd in inspiring my Blessed Redeemer with Charity more than Human and in supporting him to undergo all pressures with invincible patience If I forget thy Love sweet Jesu let my right hand forget her cunning What an encouragement is here to believe thy Word which I see so punctually accomplish'd The antient Prophets foretold that Christ should
and Lye and Cheat no more and yet forgets the Oath of God that is upon his Soul and dares fall to his old Sins again that Man's last Estate is worse than the first and he slights him by whom he must be saved despises him who alone can make him happy refuses that Blood which alone can cleanse him undervalues the only Champion that can secure him against the Rage of the roaring Lion loses and rejects the Prop which alone can support him against the wrath of an offended God and affronts that Friend which alone can help and comfort him in the day of Vengeance II. This Sacrament being a standing Ordinance and a notable means of Grace as much as Prayer and hearing the Word of God it must necessarily follow that Men who look for Grace and Salvation must make as great Conscience of this as of any other and if they account it a Sin to neglect Prayer and hearing the Word they must look upon it as sinful too to neglect this Ordinance If this be a means of Salvation as well as the rest he that hopes to be saved must seriously make use of this means else he can have but little hopes of arriving to the end without the means Surely this Sacrament is a means whereby you and I must come to love the Lord Jesus Christ a Duty of that consequence that he that love him not in sincerity lies under a severe threatning and is liable to a dreadful Curse 1 Cor. 16. 22. But how shall we ever love him to any purpose except we use the means whereby that Love must be raised and kindled in our Breast Doth any Man hope to thrive in the World that will not bestir himself become active in his profession and apply himself to Labour Does any Man hope ot arrive to Learning and Scholarship without Books or Reading Does any Person hope to keep himself warm in Winter that puts on no Cloaths Or was ever any so foolish as to hope to come to his Journies end if he sits still in a Tavern or Alehouse by the way If this Sacrament be a means of obtaining Happiness will that Happiness fall to our share without using the proper means If thou refusest to come to this Ordinance how can God be kind to thee how can he visit thee with the Favour he bears to his own People How can he wash thee with the Blood of the Lamb How can he make thee Blessed and a companion of Seraphim and give thee a right to the Treasury of Christ's merits when thou neglectest the means whereby these Mercies must be consigned and applied to thy Soul And therefore III. How wretched how sad must be the case of that Soul which neglects to shew forth the Lord's Death in this Ordinance when the Lord shall come to Judgment When the Son of God shall appear in all his Glory and the Sinner who neglected this Holy Sacrament shall be brought before him it will not be an ordinary fright the wretch will be in especially when the King of Glory shall accost and ask him How canst thou hope to share in my Glory that didst not think my Death worth remembring in the Congregation of my Saints How canst thou hope to participate of my Happiness that wouldst not weep at my bitter Passion How canst thou hope to be advanced to my Throne who wast ashamed to look upon me hanging on the Cross How canst thou hope to enter into thy Master's Joy that would'st not by lively representations of my suffering in the Sacrament I ordained be melted in Tears How canst thou hope for a seat in the Eternal Mansions where no defiled thing must enter that wouldst not cleanse thy self from filthiness Or how couldst thou hope to be cleansed that wouldst not make use of my Blood to wash thy self Here none can be happy that were not Holy upon Earth and how couldst thou expect to be Holy that didst neglect the means which was intended to enrich thy Soul with Holiness Such an Address of such a Majestick Person and to an offender too that knows and cannot but know that all this is true must necessarily strike the Malefactor dumb fill him with horror and make him cry out though too late O that my Head were Water c. Expostulations of displeased Princes with their Servants that have acted contrary to their Will in things of far less moment have cast them into Grief and Swoons and fatal diseases and we must needs conclude that in the case we speak of as the Person offended is greater than the most puissant Prince in the World and the neglect greater than if a Man had neglected to provide for the security of a Temporal Kingdom so the Expostulations will be more terrible and the Sinner's Heart to whom they shall be spoken in far greater consternation IV. This shews with what temper and disposition we ought to come to this Holy Table even with the same temper we would or desire to be in if within a few hours we were sure to be summoned to Judgment Were any of you to appear to Morrow Morning before the Bar of God and had you all imaginable assurance of it that by such a time you must certainly attend there would you lie or swear or dissemble or break out into a passion or pray carelesly or be backward to do good or be averse from Holy thoughts and discourses c. I trow not and as you would not appear before the Judge with an unmortified temper of Mind so neither can it be adviseable to appear before him at this Table with such a disposition As the appearing before his Judgment Seat would make you call your most serious Thoughts together and make you loath the charms the inticements and the alluring temptations and suggestions of the Flesh and of the World so your appearing at this Table requires the same inclinations for as in the day of Judgment the King will come forth and behold the persons cited into that Court to see whether they are qualified for Heaven and Happiness so in this Feast he comes to look upon the Guests and to see who comes with a worldly and carnal disposition and takes as much notice of the frame and temper of your Hearts as he will do in the last day Here thy great Master comes and takes a view of thy Thoughts Words Desires Affections and Actions whether they proceed from a principle of Love and Submission Happy the Soul that sits down at this Table with a sense of her duty and the greatness and goodness of the Master of the Feast for such a Soul anticipates her future bliss and feels in some measure the sweetness and comfort of the joyful Absolution which shall be pronounced upon her with greater solemnity in the last day even this Come ye blessed of my Father receive the Kingdom c. The PRAYER O Thou Eternal Wisdom who alone knowest what is best for me who hast established this
then save them they are most ready to take and to embrace him But that is not the Acceptance I mean For such an Acceptance implies a Contradiction as being contrary to the whole Design of that Reconciliation For by his Death he was to destroy the Works of the Devil and therefore to accept of him and to cleave to those Works he came to destroy is to set Christ at variance with himself He that accepts of this Gift must express that Acceptance not only by his Hand but his Heart too and conform also to the Design of that Gift For Is Christ divided Shall I accept of a part and not of the whole Shall I receive him as a Saviour and not as a Guide and Ruler too Shall I stretch forth my Hand to put his Sceptre of Grace and Mercy to my Lips and break the Sceptre when I have done This is impious and unreasonable 2. We take the holy Bread with our Hâ—nds to testifie our Approbation of that Gift and that we take it to our own Use and Benefit as he that takes Food in his Hand doth it to feed his own Body and to strengthen himself And indeed Christ is willing that the Soul that comes to this holy Table should say Christ is mine for me he suffered for me he died for my sake he left Heaven and confin'd himself to a Cradle to a Stable to a Manger For me he was nailed to the Cross for me that precious Sacrifice was offered and I share in all the Benefits of his Death as well as my Brother my Sister my Friend and my Neighbour The Estate he purchased belongs to me I have a Right to it as well as St. Paul and St. Peter as well as Zachaeus and Mary Magdalene And there is no Dispute of it where the Communicant brings with him Mary Magdalene's Tears St. Peter's Repentance St. Paul's Admiration of God's Love and Zachaeus's Charity he may be as confident that Christ gives himself to him as if he heard Christ saying to him with an audible Voice in the Prophet's Language Fear not I have redeemed thee thou art mine He may justly believe he hears Christ saying to him Here Christian take that which is thine own even my self that Pardon that Salvation that Peace that Joy that Spirit that Comfort which my Death hath purchased and my Cross hath gained I am thy Portion and all that I have is thine I am thy Shield and thy exceeding great Reward Be not afraid to apply these mighty Blessings to my Soul for as great as wonderful as rich as magnificent as they are and as poor as mean as wretched and as naked as thou art take them and wear them tye them as a Crown about thy Head Look upon the bright the everlasting Mansions of Bliss and Happiness look upon all that Saints and Angels do enjoy and please thy self with the Thoughts of it for all is thine 3. We are commanded to take the holy Bread with our Hands to let us know that having accepted of this Gift and appropriated it to our selves we are to hold it fast and not to let it go again Then we let Christ go when we grow cold in our Love to him and to his distressed Members or to our Brethren in general Love stays that Bride-groom of our Souls Love preserves his gracious Presence Love chains him to our Hearts It was an excellent Resolution of the Spiritual Spouse and that Spouse are we Cant. 3. 3 4. The Watch-men that go â—â—ut the City found me to whom I said Saw ye him whom my Soul loves It was but a little that I passed from them but I found him whom my Soul loves I held him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my Mother's House and into the Chamber of her that conceived me This must be the Resolution of every Soul that is tender of spiritual Comfort The Way to hold him fast is to kiss him with our Thoughts to embrace him with our Minds to cleave to him with our Affections to cling to him with our Will and to caress him with our Obedience If he would go away from us these are the Charms that hold him And the Soul that with David hath Courage to say and sincerely intends what it says Psal. 18. 1. I will love thee O Lord my Strength my Rock my Fortress my Deliverer my Buckler and the Horn of my Salvation and my high Tower may expect as gracious an Answer The same we read of Psal. 91. 14 15 16. Because he hath set his Love upon me therefore I will deliver him I will set him on high because he hath known my Name He shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in Trouble I will deliver him and honour him With long Life I satisfie him and shew him my Salvation The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. HERE we may take a View of the immense Bounty of our Master to his Church and People Our Saviour pathetically describes it Mar. 12. 1. 7. For according to the different Conditions of his Church he sent various Servants to check them to admonish them to warn them to represent to them the Joys and Torments of another World and though not a few of these Servants were persecuted stoned killed abused and some met with cruel Mockings with Bonds and Imprisonments yet that did not discourage him and having therefore yet one Son his Well-beloved he sent him also last unto them saying They will reverence my Son And this Son he bids us take and with him all Things that can make us truly happy And though it is true the covetous and sensual Man would have taken it more kindly if God had bid him take Chests of Gold and Talents of Silver rich Houses and richer Lands yet had those Gifts been very mean and unworthy of his Wisdom and Holiness His Gift like himself must be spiritual and great and in bidding us take his Son with all the Benefits of his Death he bids us take the most inestimable Mercy and that which must make us rich and great and glorious to Eternal Ages If he had bid us take the World and the Fulness thereof there had been no great Self-denial in that Offer But to offer the Son of his Love and to bid us take him as our own whereby we enjoy all his Wealth and Treasures the Self-denial is so great that the Sacred Writers know not how to express it and therefore use such Words as may serve to feed our Admiration So God loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son And the Word so implies so vast an Ocean of Love that the Understandings both of Angels and Men may lose themselves in the Contemplation or Survey of it II. Here I cannot but reflect on the Rudeness of some that take him indeed but it is as the Soldiers at his Passion took him by Force and Violence There are Thousands that will
Cup and drinks like a thirsty Man with a thirst after Righteousness drinks Salvation drinks everlasting Mercy drinks to the content and satisfaction of his Soul and out of his belly shall flow fountains of living waters i. e streams of Grace and Goodness shall flow from his Heart to the watering and enriching of those that are round about him John 7. 38. And this must needs make it a Cup of Consolation for what greater comfort can there be than to drink the rich draught of Pardon of Peace and Mercy and Joy in the Holy Ghost as every Soul is supposed to do that comes to this Ordinance with unfeigned Resolutions to have her conversation in Heaven 4. A Cup he took to put us in mind how necessary God's Goodness Favour and Providence is to us for this was expressed in the Law by making God the Portion of their Cup as we see Psal. 16. 5. The Lord is the Portion of my Inheritance and of my Cup a phrase much used among the Jews of the devouter sort when they would declare not only their interest in God's special Providence but the necessity of having a Right and Title to it A Cup is a necessary Utensil in a Family and there is scarce any person so poor and needy as to want a Cup so hereby they expressed both the absolute necessity of having a special interest in God's Love and the possibility the poorest body was in to arrive to this Priviledge A Man may be happy without Lands and Houses and happy without an Estate without Father and Mother without Children without a Prince's Favour but he cannot be happy without an interest in God's Gracious inclinations and Complacency Even an Idolatrous Laban Gen. 31. 30. was in some measure sensible of this Truth for when Rachel had stollen her Father's Images he seem'd to be much concern'd for them If thou wouldst needs be gone wherefore hast thou stollen my gods As if he had said I could have been content with thy taking away my Daughters my Grand-children my Cattle and my Sheep but to steal my gods than which nothing is more dear or more necessary to me this I cannot brook A Cup therefore Christ made use of in this Sacrament to tell us of what concernment it is to have God for our Friend and if he be our Portion we need no more if he be the portion of our Cup we have Wealth and Bliss enough and may defie all the Powers of Hell who in this case may assault but cannot prevail against us Indeed if Christ be ours and will vouchsafe to intercede for us we are more than Conquerors O Jesu Thou art our All our Crown our Glory if thou be for us we need not fear who is against us Let thy Wounds be ours and our wounded Spirits will be at rest O tell us that thine Agonies are ours and we will triumph over death and sing O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory 5. A Cup he took to bid us mind what he had so often told the Pharisees and to hint to us that whenever we see this Cup in the Sacrament we ought to ask our Hearts whether we make clean the inside of the Cup and Platter as the expression is Matth. 23. 27. i. e. Whether we purifie our inward Man our Souls and Spirits from those covetous disorderly unclean Desires Thoughts and Imaginations which are so apt to harbor there True Religion is no outside business but must be rooted in us and a Sense of the Love of God must be riveted into our Spirits that there God may become truly amiable to us and what we feel within may force as it were the outward Man into a suitable Fruitfulness Most Mens Religion like their Cloaths adorns only the ovtward Man and saying their Prayers going to Church and doing such little things as are no trouble to their Lusts or sinful Appetite are the principal Ingredients of their Divinity but this is not the Light which Christ's Religion gives for that strikes the Understanding works upon the Will and puts all that is within us into Fermentation This cleanses the Heart from filthiness the Thoughts from vanity the Mind from prejudice the Affections from love of the World from malice hatred and supercilious contempt of our Neighbors and the desires from revenge and greediness after the Shells and Husks of outward Comforts so that true Religion is a new Principle which produces a new Creature and newness of Life 2 Cor. 5 17. 6. And why may not we piously believe that his making use of a Cup was also to encourage our Charity and Hospitality expressed sometimes by giving a Cup of cold water to a Disciple in the name of a Disciple Matth. 10. 42. He that knows any thing of this Holy Sacrament knows it is a Feast of Charity a Feast at which we remember our Spiritual Poverty and lying at the Gate of Heaven fuller of Sores than the famous Beggar before the Palace of Dives and can the undeserved unexpected and inexpressible Charity of God to our Souls shine in our Faces and not warm our Hearts and Bowels into compassion and commiseration to the poor and needy such especially as are of the Houshold of Faith If we are so low in the world and Providence hath put us in so mean a condition that we can give no more than a Cup of cold water and do but run to the next Well or River and fill the Cup and bring it to a distress'd and fainting Christian a good Man and a Disciple of our Lord even that shall be interpreted favourably and God will find out a recompence for it a recompence which shall make the Giver sensible that it was for that Cup he gave that he receives that Mercy provided still that this Charity proceeds from a sense of the Love of God and tenderness to the necessities of the Humble Man This consideration one would think should be baulked by none that comes to the Lord's Table where the Lame and Blind and Maim'd are entertain'd for such abasing Thoughts of our selves we are to entertain here and if so How easie how natural is the Inference If so miserable a Creature as I am feasted here and God gives Bread of Life to my hungry Soul How can I express my Gratitude better than by casting my Bread upon the Water especially when I am promis'd to find it again after many days floating on the Rivers of Pleasure which are at the Right Hand of God for evermore VII Both the Evangelists and St. Paul taking notice that Christ took this Cup after he had done with the Cup in the celebration of the Passover we must not pass it by without making some Remarks upon it And 1. It was to teach us Order in our Duties and to avoid confusion in our Holy performances God is the God of Order and 't is fit his Servants should resemble him in this particular Greater Duties must ever be
extraordinary Esteem of the Mercy that God will set light by it because we do Oh! Let us entertain it with the profoundest Respect and the deepest Veneration and think our selves the happiest Creatures living that we have this Act of Divine Bounty and Charity revealed to us But then it is impossible we should think our selves so except we walk worthy of the glorious News and transcribe on our Lives the glorious Zeal and Fervour and Sincerity of the Apostles and Primitive Believers III. As this severe Threatning denounced against unworthy Receivers is the strongest Dissuasive possible from Eating and Drinking unworthily so it is no just Discouragement to Receive with sincere Desires and Resolutions to become conformable to Christ's Holiness God frights from sinning not from doing well from wronging our own Souls not from Endeavours to save them from Impenitence not from true Repentance All that is to be done Christian in this Sacrament in order to Receiving worthily is to lay and prostrate thy self at the Feet of Jesus and to cry Lord What wilt thou have me to do Speak Lord for thy Servant hears Such humble Souls escape the Danger and may be confident of a gracious Look from the King of Saints But then if we fall down before the Throne and the Lamb and make this Profession let it come from the Heart and let our Tongues speak what our Minds think and our Wills mean to stand to and let our Desires to be one with him be such as Simplicity dictates lest our Hearts and Tongues not going together we may be found Lyars and fall into Condemnation And Oh that every unworthy Receiver would consider what Damnation means Consider it thou dull and careless Man and then tell me whether Christ requires any thing unreasonable of thee to prevent it Thou that runnest from an House on fire and from a Land-flood or Deluge that threatens to overwhelm thee wilt not thou do all thou canst to escape Damnation that Deluge of God's Wrath and that Fire of his Anger which no Man can quench Should this Damnation be thy Portion at last we may easily imagine what thy Wishes will be the same that all inconsiderate Souls are very full of when they have ruin'd and undone themselves Oh that I had been wise before the Fact and come to the Lord's Table with a better Frame put on the Lord Jesus and made his Vertues and Graces my Study my Delight and my Pattern But these are the Wishes of Fools And I did not think it would come to this pass is a Saying which we look upon as a Character of a weak and a Childish Understanding Both he that receives unworthily and he that never received yet both have yet Opportunity to turn from their evil Ways Therefore Seek ye the Lord while be mâ—y be found Call ye upon him while he is near Let the Wicked forsake his Way and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have Mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Isa. 55. 6 7. The PRAYER O Lord Great and Incomprehensible Slow to Anger and great in Power and who wilt not at all acquit the Wicked Thy Way is in the Whirl-wind and in the Storm and the Clouds are the Dust of thy Feet Thou rebukest the Sea and makest it dry and driest up mighty Rivers The Mountains quake at thy Word and the Hills melt and the Earth is burnt at thy Presence yea the World and all they that dwell therein Who can stand thine Indignation And who can abide the Fierceness of thine Anger where thy Fury is poured out like Fire and the Rocks are thrown down by thine Arm Who would not fear thee O thou great Preserver of Men Yet thou Lord art good and a Strong Hold in the Day of Trouble and thou knowest them that trust in thee In my Approaches to thy holy Table let me so reflect upon thy Mercy as not to forget thy Justice Let me so look upon thy Friendship as to cast an Eye withal upon thy Severity to thine Enemies Thou offerest me thy Friendship in this Ordinance How great is thy Goodness Oh let me entertain the Offer with Admiration God will dwell with simple Man and therefore requires a Temple a Temple not made with hew'n Stones not of polish'd Marble not of painted Walls but of living and shining Gems and of such Golden Ornaments as Rust cannot touch and Dust cannot blacken a Temple purified with the Fire of Love trimmed with an holy Conversation and decked with variety of Vertues Make my Soul I beseech thee such a Temple and come and fix thy Tents here for ever Thou art the Judge to whom I am accountable for my Receiving Let me remember that as that didst rain down Manna from Heaven upon thy People so thou didst rain down Fire and Brimstone too upon Sodom and Gomorrah Let me so rejoyce in the Mercies thou rainest down upon me in this Sacrament as to fear thy Judgments in case I abuse those Mercies If of every idle Word Men shall give an Account in the Great Day what Account will they have to give of prophaning this sublime and mysterious Ordinance If the Dust of thy Apostles Feet shall bear witness in that Day against the Obstinate and Impenitent what a Witness will the Body of the Son of God be against those who would not be warm'd with the Sight and Contemplation of it into Vertue Let these things sink deep into my inward Parts and teach me so to triumph in thy Praise as to tremble at thy Presence Yet Oh let not my Goodness be the Effect of a slavish Fear of Damnation so much as of Love and Delight in thy holy Ways Let Kindness do more with me than Terrour and let my Heart melt more with the Sight of thy Condescension than with the Sight of thy Flaming Sword Teach me to serve thee with Pleasure and Affection and let the Glory of thy Name be the End of all my holy Exercises Let thy Love be ever fixed in my Heart and be thou my Rest my Tranquility my Peace my Meat my Drink my Food my Treasure my Possession and my Portion for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. XXII Of Preparation And First of Meditation of Christ's Passion The CONTENTS Preparation for this Holy Sacrament reduced to Five Heads Meditation of Christ's Passion with reflexions on our Selves Self-Examination â—udging our Selves Self-Resignation and Devotions suitable to the Occasion Christ himself meditated of his own Passion before he administred this Sacrament to his Disciples Meditation of Christ's Passion useful to bring things to our Minds we did not think of before to enflame the Soul with the Love of Jesus and to make us remember his Death with a quicker Sense A Paraphrase upon the XXII and XXIII Chapters of St. Luke's Gospel What God said to the Jews may be the more justly said to us Christians What could have been
satisfactions hath not this been counting the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing 21. But behold the hand of him that betrays me is with me on the Table AND didst thou never approach the Table of thy Lord with a treacherous Heart O my Soul Hast not thou pretended Friendship when thou hast been an Enemy while thou hast been loth to part with a darling bosom sin or to examine what secret sins thou wert guilty of that thou mightest not be forced to part with them Hast not thou shewn much love with thy Lips while thy Heart hath gone astray from thy Redeemer Thou hast it may be confessed thy self to be a sinner in general and so hast joyned thy self to the croud of God's People and come to the Supper of thy Lord But while thou hast been loth to descend to any particular sins hast not thou thereby discovered thy secret love to sin and thy feigned and counterfeit love to the Holy Jesus 22. And truly the Son of Man goes as it was determined but woe unto that Man by whom he is betrayed HOW dreadful a thing is it to be instrumental in a Sin And yet thou hast made nothing of it O my Soul How hast thou suffer'd thy self to be imployed by others in things which have been apparently unlawful How apt hast thou been to tell a Lye after another especially for a near Relation or a Superiour How apt hath thy Conscience been to dispense with Offences against a Gracious God to please those from whom thou hast expected some benefit and advantage Hath not the Word of God been Blasphemed by wicked Men through thy neglect of thy Saviours Commands How often hast thou scandalized and given offence to other Men by thy unchristian And how little hast thou minded the threatnings of the Holy Ghost in this case And while thou hast not only sinned thy self but holpen to draw others into sin hast not thou thereby made thy self lyable to the Righteous Judgment of God 23. And they began to enquire among themselves which of them it was that should do this thing INdeed Self-examination is the only way to come to a right knowledge of our selves Yet how careless O my Soul hast thou been of this Duty How easily mightest thou have found that thou wert guilty of such a sin and didst transgress such a Command but thou would'st not How much better is it to be acquainted with our own Hearts than to be strangers to our selves And what danger dost thou involve thy self in for want of this Holy search How dost thou prepare for Self-delusion And how impure must thy Heart grow what a Dunghil what a sink what a stye of filthiness where it is not purged by such explorations The Disease being known it may be cured but lying hid it kills and destroys when we think all is safe How easie a matter were it to enquire whether thou art that Hypocrite that unprofitable servant that loiterer that slothful Person that busie body which the Holy Ghost condemns Yet thou hast shunned this search and been afraid of it as of Poison Whereas it is the only Medicine from which thou may'st promise thy self an happy recovery 24. And there was also a strife among them which of them should be accounted greatest SEE how worldly Thoughts will croud in if we do not watch even when we are engaged in the most serious acts of Worship And hast not thou found such worldly sensual Thoughts enter into thy Mind O my Soul when thou hast been employed in the greatest Duties even at the Holy Sacrament it self And have not they come in with thy allowance and approbation and when they have surpriz'd thee hast not thou harboured them made much of them and been loth to expel them How reverend should thy Thoughts be upon such occasions How free from such Extravagancies How sequestred from a vain World How should they be taken up with the love of God! How should the Glory of God ingross their strength and power See by this which way thy Byass leans Behold by this how strongly thy Heart bends to things below O when will it fix upon the things which are above 25. And he said unto them the Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them and they that exercise Authority upon them are called Benefactors HOW unfit and improper is it for a Christian to conform to the Word As improper as for a Man of reason to imitate Children or Mad-men Yet how fond hast thou been O my Soul of the pomp and glories of this World How hast thou admired the Riches and the Grandeur of it How hast thou wished thy self in such a great Man's place Though the Apostles were somewhat ambitions before Christ's Ascension into Heaven yet after the effusion of the Holy Ghost they saw with other Eyes and despised these sublunary Honours and Dignities as much as they esteemed them before O my Soul when wilt thou follow this great example By the Rules of thy profession thou art to despise the World and though thou art in the World yet not to love the World Notwithstanding this Command how dost thou hancker after these Onions and Garlick those certain Marks of the House of Bondage How strong is thy Appetite to follow the fashions of the World And how apt art thou to make the humour of the age thy pattern 26. But ye shall not be so but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger and he that is chief as he that doth serve AY Self-denial is that which doth best become a Christian that 's the best Ornament he can put on and which makes him look most lovely in the Eyes of God Yet how inconsiderable hath this dress been in thine Eyes O my Soul How loth hast thou been to deny thine Eyes such a dangerous object thine Ears such a Syren's Voice thy Mouth such a delicate dish thy Feet such vain company thy Tongue such a smutty jest thy Hand such a lustful touch and thy Mind such a lascivious or covetous thought How hast thou thought thy self undone when thou hast not had what thy sensual appetite did crave and how raging have thy desires been after that which would ruin thee How loth hast thou been to deny thy self in superfluities and to bestow them on the poor How hard hast thou thought it to shun such a place where thou knewest thou shouldst be tempted and be perswaded unto Sin 27. For whether is greater he that sitteth at Meat or he that serveth Is not he that sits at Meat But I am among you as one that serveth HOW beautiful is Humility The Son of God himself is enamoured with it tho' his business was to Command not serve yet he chuses to serve rather than to exercise Authority How unlike thy Saviour hast thou been O my Soul How Proud How Self-conceited How apt to prefer thy self before others And how apt to think better of thy self than others How apt to
Midnight at other times working day and night for the support of themselves and Companions which we must suppose was not consisting with great prolixity in set Meditations The PRAYER O My God and Saviour I am very sensible that I have great Obligations to love thee upon the account of my Creation Preservation and daily Blessings I receive from thy liberal Hand But that which even forces me works upon me powerfully and as it were pushes me forward and compels me to love thee is the bitter Cup of thy Sufferings which for my sake thou didst drink off and the mighty work of Redemption which renders thee altogether lovely to my Soul That admirable and incomparable Testimony of thy Love is a stronger attractive makes a greater impulse and it a sweeter and a softer Cord to bind any Heart to thy Service To effect this Work thou hast taken more than ordinary pains When thou didst first create me it cost thee no more than a Word speaking but to reinstate me in that Bliss I had lost and forfeited thou wast at the greatest expence and charge imaginable Of the Sovereign Lord of the World thou becamest a Servant of Rich extremely Poor of the Eternal Word a Man and of the Son of God the Son of Man so that though I was made of nothing yet I was not Redeem'd by nothing Thou spentest but Six days to Create and frame the World but Three and thirty Years were spent to accomplish my Ransom and Restitution to God's Favour and O what trouble what misery was this thy Life fill'd withal Thou didst humble thy self to Flesh to Death to the Death of the Cross and to effect this Glorious Work wast content to be clad in Flesh to be punish'd with Death and to be disgraced by the Cross for this miserable Worm Thou didst do much and suffer much that I might love thee much and because the Facility of my Creation did not move me much thou therefore wast content to be at an excessive trouble in my Redemption thereby to charm my Soul the more and to plant in me greater Resentments of thy Charity To this end thy Side was opened with a Lance that all Men might look into thy Wounds and into thy very Heart and see how it bled for Love To this end thy Sacred Head did bend to the East thy Feet were extended to the West and thine Arms spread ' to the North and South to let People in all parts of the World see how much thou lovedst them and thereby to draw their Hearts and unite them to thy self for ever O let not mine be cold under this wonderful sight and while I see my God buffeted my God crown'd with Thorns my God struck on the Face and my God giving up the Ghost let all that is within me be touch'd and quickned and enliven'd and encouraged to cleave and to cling to thee for ever Amen Amen CHAP. XXIII Of Self-Examination the Second Act of Preparation for this Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS A wonderful thing that this Sacrament works no greater Effects One great Reason of it Want of Self-Examination The Necessity of Self-Examination proved by three Reasons How it must be managed The Rule of it the Word of God A Catalogue of Sins and Duties These to be considered with respect to our Temper and Inclination The great Objection about the Intricacy Difficulty and Tediousness of this Task answered and a Way laid down whereby it may be made facile and easie and delightful Some Rules to be observed in the Practice of this Self-Examination that it may become effectual The Errour of some Churches in the Primitive Times who gave this Sacrament to Children and Infants As soon as Persons are able to examine themselves they are bound to come to this Sacrament Another Man 's examining of us is not enough without Self-Examination The Prayer I. ONE of the most wonderful things in the Christian World is that such a Sacrament as that of the Eucharist should be instituted by the Great Saviour of Mankind A Sacrament wherein the most stupendous Blessings are offered to Men and that Men should receive it so often and no greater Effects should appear upon their Lives and Tempers after their Participation of it Which is as much as to say that Fire gives no Heat and the Sun no Light Health affords no Cure Abundance keeps Men poor and the most wholsome Meat produces no Nourishment That which makes the thing the more strange and astonishing is this That God makes nothing no not the least Drop of Rain nor the least Grain of Sand but for some excellent End and therefore must be supposed to have ordained this Sacrament for the most noble Ends imaginable And if the Effects he designs by this Ordinance be such as our Liturgy tells us For then we spiritually eat the Flesh of Christ and drink his Blood then we dwell in Christ and Christ in us we are one with Christ and Christ with us If these be the designed and intended Effects of this Ordinance as certainly they are it must be Matter of Astonishment to see so little of these Effects produced in the many Communicants that appear at this holy Table And what can we ascribe these Defects to but to Men's Indisposition In Natural Things Philosophers tell us the Causes of Things how excellent soever are determined in their Effects by the Disposition of their Subjects For which Reason we see that the Sun melts Wax and hardens Clay makes some things pure and white and others black and the same Meat being eaten by different Persons causes Health in one and Sickness in another And no doubt the same Rule will hold in Grace too and therefore that this Sacrament works not those admirable Effects intended by Christ in abundance of Persons must be for want of a suitable Preparation Vessels hold more or less Water according to their Capacity if the Vessel be little it will hold but little And according to the Disposition of our Souls so we receive much or less or nothing at all in this Sacrament And one of these excellent previous Dispositions is Self-Examination expresly enjoyn'd by the Apostle 1 Cor. 11. 28. But let a Man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. II. Though it be in a manner needless after I have laid down the Apostle's Command to prove the Necessity of this Self-Examination yet for a â—uller Satisfaction of the Reader I shall enquire into the Reasons of the Necessity which are these following 1. All great Actions require Deliberation This is a Maxim all Mankind agrees in 'T is a common Principle And we count that Man a Fool that attempts an Action of great Concernment without it And Christ himself hath taught us to do so Luk. 14. 28 29. For Which of you saith he intending to build a Tower sits not down first and counts the Cost whether he have sufficient to finish it lest happily after
Oblation of thy dear Son and blot out all my Transgressions Accept of that incomparable Sacrifice and forget the Injuries I have offered thee I should be afraid of being sent away empty from thy Throne my Sins are so many and so great but that I know thy Sons Merits are greater than my Sins If my Sins and his Goodness my Transgressions and the Merits of his bitter Passion were laid in a Ballance together these would weigh for heavier than mine Offences What Crime so great that such a Sorrow such Affliction such Obedience such Humility such invincible Patience and what is more than all this such infinite Love cannot expiate What Iniquity can there be in the World above which the Death of Christ doth not preponderate O Heavenly Father I have nothing of mine own to offer thee But I offer thee my Saviour my Redeemer thine only Son with all possible Devotion and Gratitude Accept of his unspeakable Grief and Anguish known only to him and to thy self for my Sins and that Grief I should have and do not feel Accept of his bloody Sweat and Tears for want of my Tears Accept of his most fervent Prayers for my dulness and deadness in Prayer Accept of all that ever he did and suffer'd for my great and multiplied Transgressions I accuse my self for my Carnality I condemn my self for my backwardness to serve thee I am willing to inflict Judgments upon my self for my innumerable Follies yet even these Services will look dull and weak and imperfect except thou art pleased to look upon them through the Merits of thy dear Son O blessed Jesu who can comprehend thy Charity O pour into my Heart true Contrition soften my harden'd Heart into true Compunction give to mine Eyes abundance of Tears that I may bewail the many Indignities I have offered to thee Deal not with me after my Sins Let thy bitter Passion step in betwixt thy Father's Anger and my miserable Soul And whatever mine Iniquities have deserv'd let thy Death atone for them and let thy Blood wash them away O thou who hast overcome the World and the Prince thereof overcome all my rebellious and inordinate Affections Let nothing separate betwixt thy Love and me Remove and conquer that Disagreebleness that is betwixt my Nature and thy Holiness and as thou wast obedient to thy Father even to the Death of the Cross so make my Soul obedient to thee in all thing O let me see and feel that there is nothing so vile so abject so unworthy as I am and in this sense let me admire thy Love that it may appear great and wonderful to me and dash all those Excuses and Delays I have pretended too long to cloak my unwillingness to please thee What can melt my heart if thy Love cannot melt it O melt it by that Fire and purge away all my Dross and all my Tin that being purified by thee I may enjoy the Comforts of that Purity for ever Amen Amen CHAP. XXV Of Self-Resignation the Fourth Preparatory Duty in order to a Worthy Receiving of this Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS What Self-Resignation is and wherein it consists What makes it necessary Upon what Account it comes to be a Duty preparatory for the Holy Sacrament God likens himself to a Potter and why Our Perfection proved to consist in this Self-Resignation 1. WHat this Self-Resignation is and wherein it consists is no hard matter to guess 'T is in short to resign our Will to God's Will not only in being ready to do what God will have us do but in being contented to suffer whatever he shall think fit to lay upon us 'T is St. Anselm's Observation That God alone who is the Creator of all things can will and do what he pleases having no Will superior to his own to which he ought to submit But when Man will do his own Will he robs Almighty God in some measure of his Crown for as the Crown is only the Privilege and Prerogative of a King so to do what he pleases is God's only Property And as a Subject that should fly at the Crown of his Prince and take it off his Head would commit Treason and do his Sovereign the greatest Injury so a Man that will have his own Will attributes that to himself which is a Privilege appertaining only to Divinity it self And indeed this Self-Resignation is nothing but an Effect of sincere and cordial Love Love being the Bond that ties and unites the Person loving to him that is loved as Hatred dissolves and unties that Bond. This Love consists chiefly in the Will and if it be right it must necessarily oblige him that loves God to will what he wills and take his Pleasure and Will for his Rule whereby he governs his own Desires and Affections II. That which makes this Self-Resignation to the Will of God very necessary are these important Points 1. Hereby the Glory of God is signally advanced It is the most excellent Sacrifice we can offer to Almighty God The Glory of God consists in having his Will fulfilled And since we are both created and redeemed to advance God's Glory we commit a very great Errour in having a different Will from God's Will for we deprive him of the Honour due to him and which we are obliged to advance not only by our Obedience but by our Troubles and Dangers too And if it be such an Advancement of God's Glory to do what he will have us do and to follow him where he leads it can be no less Glory to our selves to have the Honour to fulfil his Will in all things That God who is far above us so infinitely exalted above our frail Natures should make use of such poor miserable Creatures to glorifie him and employ in the compassing of his admirable Designs such vile Worms when he might make use of far better is no small Dignity and Advancement If a King were to give Battel to a fierce and numerous Enemy and should quit or lay by a bright and Two-edged Sword and take a rusty Dagger with no Point or Edge to fight the opposite Army as it would be a Mark of his greater Courage so the Victory he gains by that means would be more renowned and glorious We are in the Hand of God no otherwise than obtuse and blunt Daggers are and that by such contemptible means he will compass his Glory is not only the Way to promote his own Honour but ours too When the Disciples of Socrates had all made their Masters very noble Presents Aeschines who was very poor came to him and told him Sir I have nothing to give you that is worthy of you and therefore take the only thing I have to give that is my self Socrates was extreamly pleased with this Offer And Seneca adds that by this Present Aeschines exceeded all the rich Gifts not only of Alcibiades whose Gifts were equal to his generous Mind but all the Presents of the rest A Man can
wise indeed when I shall learn to submit my self to thy infinite Wisdom then shall I know thee the only true God and him whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ to whom with thee O Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen CHAP. XXVI Of Preparatory Devotions and Aspirations fit to be used in Private before we come to the Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS The conveniency of using Devotions suitable to this Holy Sacrament the Week before we Receive Prayers and Aspirations relating to the Afflictions of Christ to Christ's readiness to comfort Persons diseased and in distress to his Praying for his Disciples and those that should believe in his Name c. THough all the preceeding Prayers are nothing but preparatory Devotions and may be used as such yet for varieties sake which may be as delightful in spiritual as it is in temporal Things I shall add some other aspirations and breathings of the Soul after God in this Chapter as preparatives for the Worthy Receiving of the Holy Communion Extraordinary occasions as I have said often and short warnings when a Friend of Neighbour is indisposed and requires our presence and help and joyning with him in the devout use of this Ordinance may oblige us to alter our method but where no considerable impediment straitens us in Time it will be convenient the Week before we Receive besides our standing Devotions to address our selves to God in Supplications as both relate and are subservient to the great Work we intend for And such are the following Aspirations whereof one or two may be used together with our daily Devotion I. O wonderful Saviour What Afflictions hast thou suffered for me Heat and Cold Hunger and Thirst Labour and Miseries Give me an Heart to receive from thy hands chearfully all kind of Adversity Give me that excellent temper which was in thy Apostles whereby they rejoyced in Tribulation and counted it Honourable and Glorious that they had any thing to lose for thy sake I intend to look upon thy sufferings in the Blessed Sacrament O let the sight work upon me that I may be contented to suffer joyfully for thy sake II. Great Prince of Peace Who in thy Converse with Men tookest all opportunities to comfort the distressed and didst most mercifully cure their Diseases Give me a great sense of the Afflictions of my Neighbours that I may have as great a feeling of their miseries as if they were mine own and be ready to help them according to my ability I am going to behold in the Blessed Sacrament what Miracles thou hast wrought for me O let me not come away from thence without working a Miracle upon my Soul III. Great Counsellor of my Soul Who at thy leaving the World didst in Prayer recommend thy Disciples and those that through their means should believe in thy Name to thy Heavenly Father's Care Let me find the benefit of thy intercession Preserve me from this evil World and keep me by thy Truth Take care of my Soul that I may not be lost in the Wilderness of this World in the Holy Sacrament which I mean to be partaker of assure me of that care and that thou wilt not leave me nor forsake me IV. O thou who art Alpha and Omâ—ga the Beginning and the end Who didst suffer thy self to be laid hold of by the Sacrilegious hands of thy furious Enemies and when they bound thee didst not revenge their injuries but spake mildly to them Give me Grace to shew my self loving and mild to all mine Enemies to pardon them from my Heart and to look upon them as Ministers of thy Will and promoters of my Salvation To this end let the Holy Sacrament I intend to take strengthen my Soul that I may become conformable to thee in doing good to them that hate me V. O Thou who art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedeck who didst seck me when when I was a stranger to thee and calledst me when I knew thee not Now I know thee let nothing satisfie me but thy self Give me a flaming Heart a chearful Mind and an enlighten'd understanding O give me thy self for nothing less will content my weary Soul I will seek thee in the Holy Sacrament O let me find thee and say to me In the day of Salvation have I succour'd thee VI. O my compassionate Saviour whose Bowels yearn over the Penitent My Soul is miserable if it loves thee not or if it continues to love the World O let my Soul rest in thee and contemplate thee and shew forth thy Praises and be thou my Song in the House of my Pilgrimage O thou who art rich in Goodness Redeem this poor Captive give Meat to my hungry Soul even the Meat which came down from Heaven In the Holy Sacrament let me find it that I may live and not dye VII O thou who art the only life of my Soul I invite thee to my House I confess a shatter'd a broken and a ruinous House But be thou intreated to rebuild and beautifie it with thy Salvation Set up thy Kingdom in it and make my Flesh obedient to my Soul my Soul to Reason my Reason to Faith my Faith to thy Will Enlarge my Mind loose me from my bonds and let the effects of my coming to the Holy Sacrament be that I may become a Servant of Righteousness and may relish no Wisdom but what is from above VIII O my Redeemer kind unspeakable kind to poor Sinners I am going to remember the great Mystery of thy Death and Passion Establish my Mind with the sweetness of thy Presence Let my Soul feel that thou enterest into her and rejoyce before thee O Sacred Fire which always burnest O Love which always shinest shine in my Soul and Sanctifie that Vessel Empty it of Vanity fill it with thy Grace and keep it full till it be made worthy to Receive the fulness of Joy at thy right Hand for evermore IX O powerful Mediator Thy Love is sweeter than Honey more nourishing than Milk Rule my Soul direct my Understanding animate my Love attract my Heart and let it thirst after the Rivers of thy Pleasures Appease the tumults of my Flesh hush the noise of my Worldly Affections and let my participation of thy Love in the Blessed Sacrament give me confidence that where my Head and Master Reigns and Lives there shall I Reign and Live for ever X. Great lover of Mankind To love thee is a great thing Even so to love thee as to think of thee with delight to relish nothing like thee and to be conformable to thy Will O! Let this Love dwell in me Let this Love captivate my Soul By this Love let me be united to thee Let this good Angel visit me In the Holy Sacrament let this Love be setled in me that my angry turbulent covetous mistrustful and impatient Thoughts may cease and I may feel that calm which those that do entirely
mighty Hunger and Thirst after thy Love in my Soul Such an Hunger and Thirst that I may be unsatisfied with any thing but thy Love Let thy Love work upon me with that Efficacy that I may think my self afflicted and poor and miserable till I love thee fervently VI. Blessed Jesu Who would not love thee Who would not wish to be enamour'd with such Charity as thine is to the Sons and Daughters of Men If we love thee not it is because we do not know the Vehemency and Power of thy Love Had we a clear Sight of it our Souls would run after thee and nothing could stop them from clinging to so amiable an Object Lord give me that lively View of thy Love that nothing may charm me more than thy Love VII Great King of Saints pity me I would love thee but thou seest what Impediments come between thy Love and my blockish Heart Innumerable Temptations my perverse Will my Self-love my Passions and my other Imperfections Oh how these hinder me from loving thee O my Gracious Master Let me detest and abhor all these Enemies that would hinder me from loving thee Stretch forth thy mighty Arm and destroy these Foes that I may entirely love thee VIII O Jesu Thou art all Love all Goodness all Charity And Oh what Opposition do I find in my self to love thee O Love Divine Where is thy Strength thy Force and thy uncontrollable Power O my Lord Why dost not thou shew it Why dost not thou exert it for my Help Why do not thy Celestial Flames consume in me all that is contrary to thy Love Oh! When wilt thou establish the Life of Love even that Divine Life in my Soul IX O Omnipotent Love I leave my self to thy Management Enter enter into this frozen Heart and erect thy Kingdom and thy Empire there Undo what thou pleasest and build up what thou pleasest Let every Desire of my Soul become subject to thee Subdue every Imagination that would refuse to be at thy Command And make me willing to submit to any thing so I may but love thee X. Most lovely Saviour Shall any thing hinder me from loving thee Shall my Body I will subdue that Beast Shall my Sins I will drown them in thy Blood Shall the World or the Creatures here below No no I will renounce my Love to them I will despise them all They have too long excommunicated thee from my Soul I will make no more Account of my Praises of my Pleasures of my Vanities I will look upon them all as Dreams and Smoak and I will hate them as much as they have hated thee Great Centre of my Soul XI Great Sovereign of my Love Thou hast sent me into the World on purpose to love thee What a noble what an excellent what an holy End is this Think of the Honour think of the Favour think of the Dignity O my Soul that God hath laid upon thee That he that could have eternally enjoyed himself in his own Love should speak a Creature into Being and ordain that Creature to love him Oh how happy am I that God hath given me an Heart to love him O my Jesus Let me die a Thousand Deaths rather than lose thy Love XII O Love Divine Be thou the Life of my Life the Soul of my Soul the Spirit of my Spirit Let me think of thy Love and speak of thy Love and do Acts worthy of thy Love and let all my Conversation savour of the Love of Jesus Whatever I do let me do it for thy sake Let thy Love put me upon Acts of Charity and let every Vertue I exercise be the Product of thy Love XIII O Jesu Thou art my All All other things are nothing in comparison of thee And I would love nothing but in thee and for thee I would see thee in all things and love thee in every thing I do Thou art my greatest Friend my only Friend Thou art my Brother my Father my Husband and my Chief Thou art All in All to me And Oh that my All might be consecrated to thy Service XIV My dearest Saviour There is nothing in Heaven or in Earth so worthy to be loved as thou Oh how amiable art thou Yet the World doth not so much as think of thee They think of nothing but offending thee They hope to be saved by thee and yet do what they can to dishonour thee Let this very Consideration inflame my Love to thee Oh that I could love thee as the whole World ought to love thee XV. Great Son of God! I was bound to love thee as soon as I came to the Use of my Reason Yet how long hath it been before I thought of loving thee O my Lord how late do I begin to love thee How long have I hated thee How many Years together have I despised thy Love When I think of this I have reason to wish for a Sea of Tears nay for Tears of Blood to wash away my monstrous Ingratitude XVI O Beauty Eternal and Infinite If I were to live eternally here on Earth I were bound eternally to love thee How much more then during my short Stay here on Earth O my Lord consecrate my Life to thy Love Let every Day and Hour of my Life be employed in thy Love and make me ambitious of nothing more than to love thee to all Eternity XVII O thou Everlasting King At the Price of thy precious Blood thou hast bought every Moment of my Time that I might employ it in loving thee How much of that Time have I employed in loving the World and the Creatures How much of that Time have I lost in loving things I should not love 'T is time that I begin to employ my Hours about that for which they were designed And since they were given me to love thee Oh transform all my Desires into Aspirations and Breathings after thee XVIII O my Jesus Thou art so perfect and so lovely that if all Creatures in Heaven and in Earth should joyn their Forces together to love thee they could not love thee sufficiently and if I had a Thousand Hearts they would all be little enough to sacrifice to thy Love O then how am I oblig'd to employ that little Strength I have to love thee Oh that all Mankind might love thee Oh fill them all with a Sense of thy Love Draw them attract them unite their Hearts that they may love thy Name XIX O God of my Life Thou hast been always employ'd in loving me Thou didst create Heaven and Earth to testifie thy Love to me All that thou ever didst in this World for me was to shew how thou lovest me All the Spiritual and Temporal Blessings thou hast sent upon me tell me that thou lovest me But what greater Testimony of thy Love can there be than thy Dying for me As thy Love is perpetually exercised towards me so let mine be continually exercised towards thee And let me glory and
THE Crucified Jesus OR A full ACCOUNT OF THE Nature End Design and Benefits OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORDS SUPPER With Necessary DIRECTIONS PRAYERS Praises and Meditations To be used by Persons who come to the HOLY COMMUNION By ANTHONY HORNECK D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to Their Majesties The Third Edition Corrected and Amended In the SAVOY Printed for Samuel Lowndes over-against Exeter-Change in the Strand 1695. ΑΓÎΩΣΤΩ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΗ TO THE Unknown Benefactor SIR THE following Discourse being the substance of several Sermons Preach'd at your desire and incouragement before the Monthly Sacraments though I am ignorant who you are and what part of the City or Country you live in yet I thought it my Duty to let the Publick know that there is such a Man in the World who is desirous to do good and loves not to be known This Treatise you have a proper Title too not only as one whose Hearts desire is to see the Church of England flourish but as a Benefactor too and to have Dedicated it to any other Person had been injurious to your Character You were sensible how backward the generality are to come to the Holy Communion how much ground the Church and Christianity it self loses by this stupid negligence of it's pretended Votaries and how not a few absent themselves for want of understanding the true nature and design of this Blessed Sacrament and therefore justly thought that if by a previous Monthly Sermon Mens Hearts were warm'd into consideration of the Use and Necessity of this Ordinance the Mists which hitherto have clouded their Vnderstandings would be dispell'd and they become acquainted with their Duâ—y which was the cause of your exciting me to this Publick Service Your Judgment hath not fail'd you for since these Religious Exercises have been among us abundance of Persons who before look'd upon their coming to the Holy Table either as indifferent or unnecessary or unseasonable have through the Blessing of God bethought themselves considered the Obligations that the mighty Work of Redemption lays upon them and conscientiously applyed themselves to the frequent Use of this Universal Medicine And all I can tell you for your incouragement is this That as we owe the beginning and progress of these Monthly Sermons to your Zeal and Influence so you will have a share both in the good that 's done by them and in the Rewards of those who are thereby brought to a serious sense of the wonderful Love of God in Christ Jesus It was a publick good you design'd by your munificence and that which makes the Pious Work the greater is that you do not care your left hand should know what your right hand doth The Almighty hath enrich'd your Heart with the Noblest Charity even with that to the Souls of Men an Emplâ—yment which God himself disdains not to travel in and what are all the Angels of Heaven but Ministring Spirits sent forth to be helpful unto those that shall be Heirs of Salvation Nothing is more pleasing to God than to be instrumental in bringing many Sons unto Glory and though you are no publick Orator yet you help towards Mens Conversion and in employing others to rouze them from their Spiritual slumber your Self have a hand in their Reformation And by that means Preach though you be not in Orders yet without offence to the Law and at the same time observe the Canons of the Church and win Souls without being engaged in the Sacred Function Some Criticks think that S. Paul in his Address to the Athenians doth not find fault with but commends them for Erecting an Altar To the unknown God and if so I hope none will blame me for raising this Monument To an unknown Benefactor Good Works are the sweetest Incense that can be laid upon God's Altar and though some that have concealed their Names have been discover'd by the Charitable Deeds done by them yet yours are so order'd that though for some time you have thus generously employ'd part of your means to advance this publick Good yet still you are a stranger to me and in that happier than the Roman Senator who hiding himself in the time of Proscription his Perfumes betrayed him May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath already touch'd your Heart with a sense of his Glory enrich you with all Spiritual Blessings and make you to abound more and more in Faith in Love and in all Goodness May that Great Shepherd of Souls enlighten your Understanding with greater brightness raise your Soul above this transitory World teach you to despise the things that are seen and fill you with earnest longings after those which are not seen that after having serv'd your Generation here your Immortal part may be admitted to the Enjoyment and Embraces of the Holy Trinity the Festivals of Seraphim to Mount Sion to the City of the Living God to the innumerable Company of Angels to the general Assembly of the First-born which are written in Heaven to the Spirits of Men made perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament whose Blood speaks better things than that of Abel So wishes SIR Your Affectionate Friend And Servant ANTH. HORNECK THE PREFACE THE vast number of Books about the Sacrament of the Eucharist as it shews the richness of the Subject so it discovers the Zeal and Industry of good Men to uphold the power of Religion in these perilous times as they are call'd by the Apostle of the Gentiles And indeed if we consider the influence this Ordinance hath yet on Men who have not altogether sold themselves to do Evil and are not gone so far as to make a mock of Religion it is no small motive to busie our selves in recommending and pressing the frequent use of it I look upon it as a special Providence of God that in this Iron Age wherein Men have made a shift to baffle all the Rules of Discipline they have yet some Reverence for this Ordinance insomuch that if we can oblige them to make use of it we may entertain great hopes of their future sobriety and seriousness The generality shun it because they are loth to shake hands with their looser lives and they are sensible that the use of this Ordinance and a disorderly Conversation are things inconsistent and incompatible and therefore could we perswade them to come we might promise our selves a rich and plentiful Harvest there being nothing more likely than the fruitfulness of that Ground which is water'd with the Blood of Jesus What I publish here is in order to make good my promise in a lesser Piece call'd The Fire of the Altar and when a Man hath once either rashly or premeditately made himself a Debtor to the Publick I think it is Justice and good Manners if he be able to discharge the Obligation I do not hereby discourage the Reader from perusing other Mens Labours He 'll possibly think there is no danger but desire only to
of it and in so doing have higher thoughts and reflect upon all the instances of his Love to their Immortal Souls and teach their Successors to do so too This Jesus who by wicked hands was Crucified and whom God hath made both Lord and Christ was the Master and Author of this Feast and from him it justly derives its Name 2. Because the end of this Eating and Drinking is to Commemorate the Death of the Lord Jesus As the end of the Passover under the Law was to remember the great Deliverance from the Egyptian Bondage and that of the Feast of Tabernacles their being guided through the Wilderness by a Cloud and their Ancestors dwelin Booths and Tents As the Feast of Trumpets was instituted either by way of Anticipation that they might remember afterwards how the Walls of Jericho fell or to refresh their Minds with Isaac's Sacrifice an Emblem of the Messiah's Death and the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost was ordained as a Testimony of their Gratitude for a Plentiful Harvest and to put them in mind of the Liberty they gain'd when God gave them the Law and entred into a Covenant with them and that of Purim to bring into their Memories how they were rescued from the cruelty of Haman the Amalekite and that of the Dedication to suggest to them the Rebuilding of the Temple So the Lord Jesus enjoyn'd and recommended the keeping of this Feast to his Followers that they might remember how their Master loved them and made his Death a demonstration of Love how he died to make them happy and denied himself in all the Contents of Life to make theirs blessed and glorious for ever how he submitted to the Power of the Grave to purchase their comfortable Resurrection and fell a Sacrifice that they might have hopes of Pardon through his Blood a Remembrance so just that if this Charity deserves not frequent Commemoration no Mercy no Benefit no Favour no Providence can deserve it for this goes beyond all that the Word of God calls glorious and beneficial to Mankind 3. It s the Lord's Supper because the Lord Jesus is Meat and Drink in this Feast Meat indeed and Drink indeed as the expression is John 6. 11. for though that Chapter speaks not directly of this Supper yet the Phrases and modes of speech used there may very piously be applied to what is represented by the Elements in this Feast for the Benefits Advantages and Emoluments of Christs Death are Food so proper to a Religious Soul and a gracious Mind feeds so savourly upon these that nothing deserves the name of Spiritual Meat and Drink so much as these and indeed these nourish and feed the Soul make her strong and lively these are her Cordials and Restoratives and in the nature of David's Oyl Psal. 104. 15. which make her Face to shine 4. It 's the Lords Supper because the nourishment and strength it affords or yields is by the influence of the Lord Jesus He sends his Spirit into the Soul that comes to his Feast hungry and thirsty and longing after the Riches of Gods Love whereby the Soul is inflamed to love him who bought her at this dear rate and that love produces Peaceableness and Gentleness and Faith and Purity and Sincerity and Delight in good Works which are excellent signs of the Souls growing strong in the use of the Spiritual Food The Holy Spirit of Christ destroys the reigning Power of Sin in her and the government of the Flesh for the leaner this grows and the more the authority of it is diminished the better the Soul thrives and the more vigorous and active it becomes in all its faculties III. Though to call this Feast The Lord's Supper when it is in most Churches Celebrated in the Morning seems to be improper yet the reason why it still bears the name is Because the same substantial Actions are still observed in the Celebration of it that were used by Christ and his Disciples at his first institution in the night and not only the same Actions but the same end and design is kept on foot which we find in its first foundation and whenever it is celebrated it 's still in imitation of that Supper and that Supper is still remembred in it The reason why Christ in instituting of it made use of the night which gave it the name of a Supper was because it was to be succedaneous to the Passover which according to custom was eaten at night as the Deliverance which the Jews remembred then was performed by the Angel at night and as the Passover represented the Old Covenant or Testament and this Feast the New so it was fit that the later should be instituted immediately after the Celebration of the former that both being set together their different signification might more plainly appear and Men might see what Mercies they might expect from the bringing in of a better Covenant This being the occasion of Christ Celebrating this Feast at night and consequently the reason ceasing with the Typical Passover the Christian Churches in process of time took the liberty of Celebrating it at all seasons as they saw it either necessary or expedient And though what I have said about the Passover is the Principal reason why Christ made choice of the night for this Institution yet for ought we know it might be with an intent also to hint to us how by this Sacrament the night of Ignorance which sat heavy on the minds of most Men would be dispell'd that by night is sometimes understood the night of Ignorance in Scripture is evident from Matth. 4. 16. Es. 9. 1 2. Rom. 13. 12. and that by the devout and religious use of this Sacrament our Ignorance is in a great measure cured experience is a sufficient testimony Hereby certainly our minds are signally enlightned and we behold the Wisdom Love and Goodness of God discover the methods and ways of Salvation get clear Apprehensions of the Mysteries of our Faith and see how inconsistent the Works of Darkness are with this solemn remembrance of the Death of Christ hereby we come to feel the Power of God toward them that Believe and find out the Secret of the Union that is betwixt Christ and his true Followers and learn to know that what is said in the Word of God concerning the tender regard of Christ to his Church and Friends is no Fable Add to all this that Christ made choice of the night possibly to put us in mind of his sudden coming to Judgment which is frequently expressed in Scripture by his coming in the night Mark 13. 35 36. Luke 12. 38 39. 1 Thessal 5 2. Rev. 3. 3. nor is this an unsuitable Reflection in this Sacrament to contemplate his coming to judge the World for though that coming may strike terror into Men that put the evil day far from them and prepare not for their Lord 's coming yet to a Soul enlightned and Sanctified it cannot but
of the Ordinance is praising him that lives for ever and ever fall down at the same time rejoycing at the blessings and the Manna which falls down from Heaven on the Children of Men so that here we may cry out as the Patriarch did of Bethel How dreadful is this place The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. THIS Sacarament being a Feast prepared by the Greatest Prince for his Servants those Servants must needs be inexcusable that refuse to give their attendance here I do not deny but their may be just excuses and lawful causes of our absence such as Sickness Weakness Faintness and Distempers Pains Aches and some sudden Accidents and Disasters which will not suffer us to fix our thoughts on so reverend an ordinance but these hapning against our Wills and importing no wilful neglect God bears with us under such circumstances but to act as if we did not hear our Master call and to suffer the World to put a stop to our coming to be so enamoured with our Profits and sensual Satisfactions as not to think our selves concerned in the Duty to refuse approaching because we are loath to be at the pains of searching our Hears and trying our ways to neglect coming because we are loath to sequester our Thoughts from sublunary Objects and to part with our Sins to absent our selves because we relish the enjoyments of this life before this Celestial Food this is to slight what God esteems and to spurn at the greatest Mercy this is to thrust away Salvation as if it were worth nothing and to â—ndervalue the pains God takes to bring us to himself and what God must think of such Scorners I need not tell you for your selves may guess except you believe God to be a Stone or Stock how he must resent it and one would think it should cause some sad thoughts within you if you believe what he saith 1 Sam. 2. 30 They that love me I will Honour but they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed II. When the Church invites us to this Feast we must suppose that our Lord himself makes an Address to us as it is in Matth. 22. 4. Behold I have prepared my dinner my oxen and my fatlings are killed and all things are ready come ye to the Marriage This Holy Ordinance is the Marriage Feast which declares our being joyned to the Son of God the King immortal invisible blessed for evermore Hearken therefore O daughter and consider forget also thine own People and thy fathers house so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy Lord and worship thou him This Feast requires suitable Garments not Tyrian Purple not Persian Silks not that outward adorning with broider'd hair or gold or pearl or costly array but the ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit which in the sight of God is of great price A Garment of Sackcloath is a more glorious sight in the eyes of him who is the Master of This Feast then all the bravery of the tinckling Ornaments of the Daughters of Sion and a Contrite Heart invites his gracious aspect and this the Primitive believers were so sensible of that before their coming to this Feast they humbled their Souls with Fasting and as course and uncomely as this Garb appears to sensual Men yet He that is the lofty and Holy one who inhabits Eternity hath declared his liking and approbation of it For to that man will I look that is of an humble a and contrite Spirit and trembles at my word Es. 66. 2. Es. 57. 15. We read of a Garment of Praise too Es. 61. 3. a Garment which the Angels of Light are adorned and deckt withal a Garb so pleasing that the Eternal Father smiles on them and it smells sweeter than that of Esau God like old Isaac takes notice of it and blesses them St. Paul understood this and wore it constantly Hence it is that we find him so liberal in praising the Cross of Christ with this he seems always transported and he seldom talks of Christ without Raptures an object upon which he though he could never say enough Being rapt up into the Third Heaven he had heard the melodious voices of the four and twenty Elders and the new Song they sung to the Lamb that was slain Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the Seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation Rev. 5. 9. and he could not have a better Pattern And now that we speak of Garments that make us welcome Guests at this Table we must not forget the Garment or Ornament of good Works which St. Paul takes notice of 1 Tim. 2. 10. These are the Shining Robes our Souls must be ambitious of these adorn our Profession charm spectators attract followers and are apt to make People in love with goodness and what is more change us into the same Image with the Author and Finisher of our Faith whose province and imployment was going about and doing good as we are told Act 10. 38. and consequently this cannot but be a proper Ornament to appear in at this Banquet And of this nature is the white Garment we read of Eccles. 9. 8. or the Garment of Innocence and Purity whereby we hate the Garment spotted by the flesh and keep Consciences void of offence toward God and toward Man In these Garbs we may boldly shew our selves at the Table of our Lord and expect the same welcome that the Spouse received in the Canticles Cant. 4. 10 11. How fair is thy love my Sister my Spouseâ— how much better is thy love than Wine and the smell of all thine Ointments than all Spices Thy Lips O my Spouse drop as the Honey-comb Honey and Milk are under thy Tongue and the smell of thy Garments is like the smell of Lebanon The PRAYER O Holy and merciful Saviour merciful beyond example who treatest me as thy Child hast prepared a Table for me and made my Cup run over Be thou my Shepherd let me want no Grace no Mercy no Assistance that 's necessary for me in the prosecuting of mine Eternal Happiness Dress me with thy Robes adorn me with the Ensigns of thy Favour Let me rejoyce at the Supper thou hast prepared for me Teach me to entertain thy Call with gladness Let me see clearly what thou hast prepared for them that love thee Thou knowest my stubborn and lazy Heart rouze it from its slumber melt it by the fire of thy love breath upon these dry Bones and they shall live Let me not with Esau prefer a morsel of Bread eaten in secret before my Birth-right to Eternal Glory Let me consider thy Condescension in inviting such a Wretch to sup with thee Let not the evil examples I see before me be any temptation to me Uphold me by thy right hand Let me dread thine anger and count it a greater disgrace to be
despised by thee than to be made the filth and off-scouring of all things Give me a just esteem of thy favour let me prefer it before all the Contents of this present World Let me feel that thy loving kindness is better than life this life will sade away but thy Mercy endureth for ever Let Goodness and Mercy follow me all the days of my life and make me dwell in thy House for ever Amen CHAP. II. Of the Mystery of Christ's Instituting this Sacrament in that very Night in which he was betray'd The CONTENTS The Treachery of Judas His Character and how That is imitated by Nominal Christians at this day Christ betray'd to wicked Men and to Devils betray'd partly for filthy Lucre partly for his unchangeable integrity The same is still done by Hypocrites in Religion This Sacrament instituted that very Night when he was betrayed for three Reasons The different appearances of Sin when Surveyed slightly and when considered in its designs and Tendencies While we detest the Treason of Judas we are to take heed we do not become guilty of the same Crime The Prayer 1. THough in the first Chapter I have already hinted the reason why Christ made use of the Night to institute this Holy Sacrament yet the Evangelists laying an Emphasis or weight upon his instituting of it that night in which he was betray'd it 's fit we should search into the Mystery of it But before we can do this some Circumstances of that Treason must be considered which will give light to Christ's design in pitching upon that time and no other The Person that did venture on this height of Impiety was Judas Iscariot a a Man who by this Treason hath indeed left an Everlasting Name behind him but such an one as all Ages must detest and talk of with greater Indignation than the Heathens did of Herostratus who to make himself illustrious by doing mischief burnt the famous Temple of Diana By this Man the Ever-blessed JESUS was betrayed and if you will allow me to give a true Character of him some of us in this Glass may see their own treachery and deformity 1. He was betray'd by one who made profession of Religion but was a Hypocrite i.e. his Actions contradicted his Profession professing one thing he did another and seeming to be good he proved a Devil Hypocrisie at this day makes Men Traitors to Christ even their coming to the Temple of the Lord and adhering to their known Sins their frequenting the Ordinances of God and being unconcerned at his Promises and Threatnings their believing the Articles of Religion and acting contrary to the design of them their sinding fault with those sins in others which they have no aversion from in themselve their speaking honourably of God with their Lips and dispensing with affronts put upon him in their practices and what can we call this but Judas-like to betray the Son of Man with a Kiss to say Hail-Master and deliver him to be Crucified to cry Hosanna and by and by Away with him at once to embrace and to decide him to hug and to contemn him to how the knee to him and mock him and in imitation to the rude Soldiery to cloath him with Purple and to strike and buffet him 2. He was betray'd by one who by no argument of love or mercy could be wrought into a sincere reformation He had seen the Miracles of his Master himself by his Masters influence did wonders and he saw Divinity shine in him nor was Christ wanting in warning Teaching Instructing Entreating and admonishing of him yet nothing could prevail with him to purge out the Leven of Malice and wickedness and is not Christ betray'd this way by thousands at this day He that despises you saith he to his Servants and Instruments despises me and then if his calling to Men by his Ministers by signal providences by Mercies by Afflictions by their Consciences by their Infirmities and Sicknesses Weaknesses and approaching Death will not make them sensible of their Duty if in despite of his endeavours to keep them from being undone they scorne both his Yoak and his Love what greater treason can they be guilty of especially where they make his mercy a shelter for their sin are therefore evil because he is good and are tempted by his Patience to be refractory and obstinate II. He was betray'd both to wicked Men and Devils 1. To Wicked Men such as the Scribes and Elders of the Jews his sworn Enemies and this way he is still betray'd for though there be no Scribes no Pharises at this day yet there are Atheistical and sensual Men who seeing Christ's Religion made a Clock for ill Designs and bad Practices take occasion from thence to speak evil of it as David having professed much zeal to God and falling afterwards into very monstrous sins made the Enemies of the Lord Blaspheme and laugh at the advantages the Jews boasted of above the Doctrines and Principles of their Neighbour-Idolaters Indeed to see Men wicked and vain under a shew of Piety and while they profess to be followers of Jesus live directly contrary to the example and precepts of the Holy Jesus makes that pretended Devotion ridiculous and instead of converting Men of loose Principles drives them farther off and tempts them to think all Religion to be nothing but a Cheat And though this Inference is unjust and absurd yet still these dangerous Inferences will be laid at their door who either contradicted the Principles of their Religion by their actions or made it a Stalking horse to ill Designs and Purposes 2. He was betray'd to Devils too who seeing him in the hands of bloody and barbarous Men left and forsaken as it were by Heaven and that Divinity which dwelt there took the greater boldness to set upon him by temptations and as these foes watch opportunities and then molest most when Men are least able to controul their insolence so seeing the Saviour of the World thus seemingly forsaken we may suppose they assaulted him with greater fierceness partly because his design had been to destroy their Kingdom and partly because he had so often dispossessed them of their Habitations It is therefore the Opinion of the Learned Men that in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ fell into trembling fits the Devil appeared to him in a visible and most dismal shape which occasions an Angels descent from above to comfort him but whether it were so or no the Fiend seeing him betray'd and deliver'd into the hands of his own slaves without all peradventure triumph'd in his misery and insulted over him with greater scorn and in imitation of David's Enemies cry'd Aha So would he have it so doth the Hypocrite betray Christ to the Devil who hearing the painted Christian talk of Mortification and contempt of the World the two fundamental points of his Masters Religion and seeing him act point blank against them doth not only deride and despise Religion but casts
reproaches on Christ himself as if the motives he was come to give the World were impotent and unable to effect that mighty change the Gospel speaks of and which the Son of God used to Glory in while the World was so happy as to enjoy his Presence The Devils rejoyce to see Christ thus defeated in his grand designs of Reformation and though he is in Glory at this time yet the Hypocrites actions raise a Persecution against him and put the Devils upon new insolencies against his Honour and Majesty what say they are these thy Servants and Disciples are these the Men that are changed from Glory to Glory What do they more than the disciples of Hell And if the little pleasures of the World I hold out to them can preponderate and do more with them than the Arguments of thy death and the motives drawn from a Glorious endless life where is thy power or wherein hath thy Kingdom the advantage of my Empire III. He was betray'd partly for filthy Lucre partly for his unchangeable Integrity 1. For filthy Lucre. The love of Money the root of all evil was the cause of it The Thirty Peices of Silver invited the Traitor to this Enterprise So powerful is Gold and Silver that at this day it tempts Men to betray the Son of God for we see they care not what becomes of Religion so their Purses swell and are indifferent whether Gods Honour be maintained or no so their Corn and Wine and Oyl increaseth This makes Men venture on the foulest sins and draws them into actions which should not be so much as named among Christians This tempts them to oppress to cheat to flatter to dissemble to lie and to forswear themselves to comply with the sinful humours of Men and to debase their Souls to the dirtiest and most disingenuous Actions yet all this while such will be counted Christians and Protestants and of the true Religion against which the Gates of Hell shall not be able to prevail 2. For his unchangeable Integrity He would not allow Judas to profess himself his Disciple and cherish base and covetous desires the Lord Jesus that knew his heart we may suppose bid him either leave his profession or with his profession cleanse the inside of the Cup and Platter convinced him that the love of God and that of the World were incompatible and did mutually destroy each other This the illnatured Disciple could not brook and because his Master would not give him leave to enjoy Gods favour and his own sins together he betray'd him This is the case of Counterfeit Christians at this day because Christ will not permit them to blend his Religion with their delight in vanity will not allow them to serve God and Mammon they expose his Religion to that contempt and scorn we have mention'd as if they would be revenged upon God for being so unkind to them as not to permit an alliance to be made betwixt the Temple of God and Idols betwixt Christ and Belial betwixt Light and Darkness IV. Why Christ would Institute this Sacrament that very Night in which he was betray'd will appear from these following Reasons 1. To shew that he delighted not in the death of the Sinner therefore the same Night that he was betray'd he provided a remedy that Sinners might not die and whereby the Offenders might be restored to life and happiness if they did not wilfully reject it That Pardon and Deliverance and freedom from everlasting Death is offer'd tender'd convey'd and sealed in this Sacrament to every Sinner that is unfeignedly resolv'd to be Friends with God upon his own terms is confess'd by all the Christian World It was therefore Instituted that Night that Judas did betray him to shew that if even Judas and all such Traytors that should some way or other imitate him in his Actions either had come or should for the future come and throw away their Weapons their Enmity and their Arms quit their Hostility and humble themselves before their offended Father that they shall not miss of Mercy and Forgiveness than which there cannot be a greater sign that he delights not in their Ruin That Night when he was persecuted to provide a Refuge for his Persecutors That Night when his Enemies were like to practise Treason to think on a way how that Treason might be pardoned That Night when they were going to undo themselves to provide a Pool in which they might wash and be clean This surely spoke his desire that they might not die Wonderful Goodness He foresaw the Wounds they would give to their Souls and before they give themselves those wounds he prepares a Plaister to heal them He saw how fierce and violent the Poison was they were going to take and at the same time provides an Antidote He saw they were going to starve their Souls and at the same time orders Meat and Drink to be made ready to preserve them from expiring 2. He Instituted it that very Night to admonish us that when we come to receive these Holy Elements we should remember with grief and sorrow how often we have betray'd his Glory to his Enemies and by the heinousness of the sin be frighted from attempting the like again and what can be more reasonable at such times than to reflect Ah Wretch that I am How like a Bruit have I lived under the Name of a Christian I have called my Master Lord and have done mine own Will I have called him Father and when he hath bid me work in his Vineyard have run away I have profess'd love to the Lord Jesus and been asham'd of him and of his Gospel I have seem'd a devout Worshipper of him and been a stranger to self-denial And when my Profit Ease or Credit have been in danger how have I left him with the Disciples and fled How have I betray'd him by such cowardice What occasion of reproach have I given to his Enemies How have I harden'd others in their sins by such doings How have I made sensual Men despise that noble Religion the Son of God sealed with his dearest Blood And shall I betray him any longer Shall I still deliver him up to be mock'd Shall I dare to do such a barbarous thing again No No I 'll confess Thee before Men my Dearest Lord that thou mayst confess and own me in the last day before thy Father and his Holy Angels 3. He Instituted this Sacrament that Night to teach us that we must do good for evil Judas betrays him and that very Night he is contriving how Judas if he would have accepted of the offer might be saved from Everlasting ruin this was his method and course of living in the World to reward unkindnesses with tenderness and compassion to the Offenders The Jews cry Crucifie him and he prays for them Father forgive them for they know not what they do Malchus who came out against him to apprehend him and as 't is probable was
with the multitude to the House of God with the voice of Joy and Praise O let me consider it is the All-seeing God in whose Presence I stand and that the Holy Angels are sent to observe my Devotion Give me sober Thoughts holy Affections devout postures steddiness of Mind ardent Desires modest Looks a grave Behaviour especially when I am going to contemplate the precious Sacrifice offered by the Son of God for the Sins of the World let all that is within me turn into holy breathings represent that comfortable Object in lively Characters to my Understanding that I may think nothing unworthy of my Saviour banish from me all undecent Thoughts or if thou dost not think fit to free me from Temptations encourage me however to resist them vigorously that I may discover my Zeal for thy Glory by my abhorrency of all Imaginations that exalt themselves against the Obedience of Christ Jesus Amen CHAP. IV. Of Eating the Lord's Supper The Nature of it and how it is to be Eaten The CONTENTS A great difference betwixt coming to the Lord's Supper and Eating the Lord's Supper Several Reasons why Men come though they do not Eat as they ought to do What Eating the Lord's Supper is viz. To Eat it with a relish of the Benefits of Christ's Death with longings to be conformable to Christ in his Graces and to Eat it with unfeigned Resolutions to resist Temptations Much depends upon the manner of any Religious Performance Conversation with God with our selves and with the Holy Angels a great means to Eat as we ought to Eat The Prayer I. THat there are many who come to the Lord's Supper and yet Eat not the Lord's Supper as they ought to do is evident from Experience and will appear more fully in the sequel of this Discourse when we shall tell you what it is to Eat and Drink unworthily When some of the looser sort of the Corinthian Christians 1 Cor. 11. 20. came drunk to this Sacrament it 's certain they only eat the Bread of the Lord but not the Bread the Lord as the Fathers speak and if Simon Magus Acts 8. 13. came to this Feast as I am apt to believe he did for in those days they that were baptized were soon after admitted to the Lord's Supper as appears from Act. 2. 41 42. this must necessarily have been his case and who can doubt of this Truth that in the Age we live in sees so many come to this Royal Supper and go away unreformed untouch'd and unconcerned than which there cannot be a greater sign that they do not eat the Supper of the Lord though they approach and feed upon the External Elements And Men may very easily know it by such Marks as these 1. If they come without any sense of the designs Christ had in Instituting this Sacrament one of which certainly was to engage us to the generous contempt of the World in imitation of him who for the Glory set before him not only undervalued the Pomp and Grandeur of the World but endured the Cross and despised the shame as we are told Heb. 12. 2. And when we see Men and women approach the Table of the Lord with all the Gaudes and Gayeties their vain desires prompt them to like Ranters rather than Penitents more like soft Sybarites than frighted Disciples dressed to allure Mens eyes more than to invite the Crucified Jesus into their Souls like players rather than like Christians And when we see how the very next day after this Feast if they stay so long they quarrel fight contend and fall out about the trifles of the World run to Theatres and Play-houses and with as great greediness as ever pursue the Riches and Glories and Fashions of the World how can we imagine that such Persons came with the sense of the aforementioned design of Christ in instituting this Sacred Feast 2. If they come without any sense of the love of God of which there is so curious a Picture drawn in this Sacrament as is enough to make even the most hard hearted Heathen weep And what sense of this Love can we suppose to have been in Men when after their Receiving they do not so much as look into a Bible to see what Precepts and Commands of Christ they mean for the future to be more observant of Is it possible such Men had sense of the Love of God upon their Spirits that day they receiv'd the Holy Elements when the next day they offend him as boldly as ever and hug the same sins they entertained several years before and are now as little concerned to please God as they were some Months ago and consequently such Persons come to the Lord's Supper yet do not eat as they ought to do for none eat it truly but such as eat with this sense and where this sense is it will make the Soul cautious of offending God II. Yet such Guests are very common at this Table which would make a wise Man wonder why they will come at all when their coming signifies so little and as will appear afterward doth them more harm than good Yet the Reasons may easily be guess'd at For 1. Conviction brings them to it They are convinced that coming is a commanded Duty not a thing indifferent and that they may not seem dispisers and contemners of so great a Law they come though they put strange Fire in their Censers Conviction hath great power even upon unregenerate Men It made Felix tremble Acts 24 25. and Judas throw down the Thirty Pieces of Silver the reward of his Treason in the Temple Matth. 27. 4. and Simon embrace Christian Baptism Act. 8. 13. And where a Man is teazed and haunted by his Conscience he 'll do something to stop his mouth and though he doth it but slovenly yet he 'll bribe Conscience with this trifle as we do Children that cry for a Jewel with a Rattle and in this manner Conviction Works upon some Men and Women and that force puts several upon coming to the Lord's Table 2. Their Office and Employment obliges them to receive and that makes not a few appear at this Table The Law of the Land excluding Men from publick Offices and Charges that receive not the Communion we may very justly believe that abundance come to satisfie the Statute more than their Conscience and fear of losing or missing of the Office they are ambitious of hath a stronger influence upon them than the fear of losing God's Favour not but that a man may Eat the Lord's Supper to his great comfort and edification because an Act of Parliament commands it at his entrance upon an Office for a man who fears God may make use of any occasion to receive and consequently may make his present Office an opportunity of coming to the Sacrament But I speak my just fears that many receive on this account whom neither Love to God nor to their own Souls could have obliged to come had it
I might be advanc'd to bliss I see what a costly thing my Salvation is since to purchase it the Son of God did die Yet how light do I make of Heaven O God what moved thee to love me thus And shall I think any thing to dear to part with for thy sake Into what Labyrinths do I run my self while I am mine own Keeper Thou hast paid dear for thy right to rule and govern me and shall I after all be loath to be govern'd by so Gracious a Master Here I make an offering of my Heart if thou wilt but vouchsafe to accept of it it is a Present unworthy of thy Greatness and Majesty yet thou art pleased to require no other sacrifice Hence forward speak Lord and thy Servant will hear and when the Characters of thy Mercy wear out or decay in my unconstant Soul Lord write them there afresh write them with the Blood of Christ that they may be everlasting and may be an Eternal fence to me against the suggestions and persuasions of thine Enemies 3. Conversing with the Holy Angels after we have eaten requires imitation of them in their Praises and Obedience Bless the Lord ye his Angels that excel in strength that do his commandments hearken to the voice of his word saith the Psalmist Psal. 103. 20. Praise and Obedience are inseparable Virtues the one without the other makes dull Musick in the Ears of God Let no Man think that because Angels are invisible Spirits and afar off there is no conversing with them He that doth their work is their Companion their Brother and their Familiar with such they love to be such persons they love to visit and he that doth so may be as confident they are on his right hand as if he saw them for God hath said so Psal. 34. 7. and therefore it must be true whether our carnal eyes behold them or no. Praising is not only to offer up a Psalm or Hymn after we have eaten but living in a sense of the love of God and he that doth so cannot but be obedient and faithful to him that hath so signally manifested his mercy in his Misery The PRAYER O Thon who art the Bread of Life who canst feed Souls and nourish Spirits into Immortal Life who hast food the World knows not of and by secret influences canst enrich and enlighten those that wait at the Pool for the stirring of the Waters O bring my mind in frame O teach me to eat in this Sacrament of thy Love to the satisfying my Soul Make the food of sin odious and bitter to me I have fed too long on that stolen Bread Open mine Eyes that I may see how miserable I am if I do not relish what thou hast set before me Thou hast given me a Soul and thou would'st have it thrive In this Sacrament is that which shall strengthen my Heart I want only a mighty hunger and thirst O thou who hast given me an Appetite after the meat which perishes give me a Holy greediness after that which endures to everlasting life O let the Benefits of thy death prove life to my Spirit Raise it above this dull and Corruptible Flesh that it may triumph over its base desires Bring thou back my Captivity and let my Chains fall off Let the Liberty of thy Children which consists in a chearful going on from virtue to virtue be my delight and ornament so shall the King take pleasure in my Beauty and my Soul shall rejoyce in Thee for ever Amen CHAP V. Of the various abuses of this Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS The most Sacred things in all ages have been abused Instances drawn from the brazen Serpent Gideon's Ephod and the Love-Feasts of the Primitive Christians Abuses of Holy things rise from several causes The Lords Supper hath undergone the same fate The Holier any thing is that is abused the greater is the Crime A great abuse of this Holy Sacrament is to fancy that like a spell it will Charm sin out of our Souls without strong endeavours The abuses committed in this Sacrament no just Temptation to neglect the use of it The Prayer I. THere is nothing so sacred or holy but hath been and may still be abused by sensual Men. Moses Numb 21. 8. by God's special Appointment erects a fiery Serpent or a Serpent of Polished Brass shining bright as Fire a symbol of God's Presence and Power to heal the tormented Israelites who had been stung by fiery Serpents insomuch that if any of the persons thus stung look'd upon the Figure he actually recovered So remarkable a History depending upon this brazen Serpent it was laid up for a Monument yet in process of time this became an object of Idolatry which moved Hezekiah to break it in pieces and call it Nehushtan 2 Kings 18. 4. The very same happen'd to Gideon's Ephod Judg. 8. 27. a thing innocently enough contrived and in all probability piously intended as a standing testimony to future Ages what a signal Victory God had given his People over the barbarous Midianites yet after his Death when with his Life his Power and Authority over the bruitish People were gone they went a whoring after it i. e. fell to worship it an accident which proved the ruine of Gideon's Family and of thousands besides in Israel What could be more innocent than the Love-Feasts in the Primitive Church Mention is made of them Jud. vers 12. They were Feasts made in the Oratories or places where the Primitive Christians used to assemble for the Celebration of Divine Worship and at the charge of such as were well to pass or richer than the rest to these the poorer sort were invited and sat down at the Table with the rich ate with them and carried the Leavings or Fragments home and this being done with great expressions of Love and managed with singular Meekness Charity and Humility with brotherly Familiarity and with holy Discourses without Excess or Intemperance and all sanctified by Prayers and Psalms and reading the Holy Scriptures the Apostles both permitted and encouraged these pious Collations and after them their Hearts being thus impregnated with Charity they applied themselves to the Use and Celebration of the Eucharist That which gave occasion to these Love-Feasts was either Christ's eating the Passover with his Disciples immediately before the Communion or the custom of the Jews who used to eat and drink together in some Chamber or Building adjoyning to the Temple when they offered their Sacrifices or which is more probable from the antient custom of the Grecians who having brought rich Guifts they intended for their Gods to the Temple converted them into Feasts of Charity to which the Poor as well as the Rich sat down and all ate together no respect of Persons being observed at that time which Practice not a few Christians being lately crept out of the darkness of Heathenism it 's like retained changing only the Object of their Worship and doing that to
Sacrament which is to consecrate our selves to God in Christ Jesus and that is not to be done without a very serious Use of this Ordinance in which we acknowledge with the deepest Humility that our Souls and Bodies and all the Gifts and Graces we have are the Effects of his Bounty and declare our unfeigned Purposes to speak and act and think as he would have us and dedicate our selves to his Service professing that we will use the Blessings he hath given us to his Glory and the Good of his People will resign our selves to his Providence and be content with the Lot and Portion he shall think fit to assign us and be thankful for Afflictions too as well as for Prosperity they being both his Gifts and Blessings and say and confess under the various Dispensations we shall meet withal Lord not as I will but as thou wilt And who can forget himself so much as to think that all this may be done without a serious Behaviour IV. The Church of Rome at this Day makes strange Work with Consecration of the Elements in the Supper of the Lord. And though they are told by one of their own Popes Gregory the Great that the Apostles consecrated only with saying the Lord's Prayer yet they boldly according to their Custom place Consecration in the Priests muttering these Words Hoc est Corpus meum hic est Sanguis meus This is my Body This is my Blood over the Bread and Wine Which Words partly by their own secret Virtue and partly by virtue of the Priest's Office immediately upon their being secretly pronounced change the Bread and Wine into the substantial Body and Blood of Christ whereof we shall have Occasion to speak more largely in the Sequel And this is their Consecration contrary to the Sense of the Primitive Church which was of Opinion that Consecration was performed by Prayer and Praises And though some think that Christ used a peculiar Form of Consecration which is either lost or the Church did not think necessary to preserve yet that Fancy is altogether needless since we are told by the inspired Writers that Christ gave Thanks In which he either observ'd the usual Form used in the Passover Blessed be God who hath created the Fruit of the Earth and Blessed be God who hath created the Fruit of the Vine Or Blessed be thou O Lord our God King of the World who bringest forth Bread out of the Earth and Blessed be thou O Lord our God King of the World who createst tbe Fruit of the Vine Or some other though it is more probable that he did not vary from the common Practice of the Jews in this Particular And what is this but Consecrating the Elements and Sanctifying of them For every Creature of God is good and not to be refused for it is sanctified by the Word of God and by Prayer saith the Apostle 1 Tim. 4. 4 5. The Greek Church at this Day lays the Stress of Consecration upon the Prayer of the Holy Ghost as they call it whereby the Holy Spirit of God is invited to come down and make a Change in the Bread and Wine In our Church we joyn Prayer and Praises and the Words of Institution which is the safest Way and such as no rational Person can find fault with though the Words of Institution are sufficient in this Case which we discover in our Practice when the first Consecrated Bread and Wine are spent and the Number of the Communicants require a new Consecration V. Though the Gospel tells us only in general that Christ gave Thanks yet we cannot but suppose that they were particular Things he praised the Divine Bounty for and it is very rational to conclude that he gave Thanks 1. For the Providence of God which watches over Mankind and brings forth Fruit out of the Earth to satisfie the Desire and natural Appetite of Man God the Creator of all Things provides Food and Sustenance for all his Creatures He causes the Grass to grow for the Cattel He sends the Springs into the Valleys which run among the Hills they give Drink to every Beast of the Field the Wild Asses quench their Thirst the Lions receive their Prey from him He it is that hath appointed Toads and Snakes to be proper Meat for the Stork and Flies for the Nourishment of Spiders for some Birds of the Air he hath design'd Variety of Seeds and Worms of the Earth for others He provides Leaves for Caterpillars and those Insects for the Use of other Animals and the young Ravens that make a noise and upon that Account are said to cry to him are fed and maintain'd by his Power He prevents the Crocodile from doing excessive Mischief by making the Ichneumon his Enemy and the lesser Fishes prove a Prey to the greater by his Order In all these Things the Divine Providence displays it self and because the rest of the Creatures are not endow'd with Reason to celebrate God for his Bounty he hath placed Man in the Earth and enrich'd him with an Angelical Soul to be the Trumpet of his Glory and to take notice of God's feeding his Creatures of all sorts and sizes and particularly the Children of Men and when he sees Bread before him the Staff of Humane Life to admire the Wisdom Power and Goodness of the Almighty And upon this Account it was that Christ as Man and Mediator gave Thanks and when he took Bread blessed the Author of it who had made it agreeable to Man's Nature and gave it Strength to nourish him sent the Former and the Later Rain to nourish the Seed in the Ground and gave his Sun-shine to warm and ripen the Corn into Perfection 2. It was not God's Providence alone that he gave Thanks for but for the more indearing Expressions of God's Love to Mankind too And this we need not wonder at when we read how at other Times he magnified his Father's Goodness to sincere Believers particularly Matth. 11. 25. I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that thou hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent and hast revealed them unto Babes No Man ever saw the immense Charity and Goodness of God to the lapsed Progeny of Adam in those lively Characters that he did We can only speak of it with stammering Tongues and give some faint Descriptions of it but He felt it The Sense of that Love over-spread his Soul and he saw the Heighth and Depth and Breadth and Length of it He beheld the Miracles of this Love in all the amazing Circumstances and what it was for God to give a Son to redeem a Servant to expose a Lamb to buy a Wolf and to let an innocent Sheep be led to the Slaughter to ransom Swine He saw how that Compassion extended it self and what it was for the Word to be made Flesh and to run about to seek the lost Sheep and when he had found it to rejoyce over it and
call his Friends the Angels together saying Rejoyce with me for I have found him that was lost He saw what it was for God to humble himself and take upon him the Nature of Man a Thing infinitely below him and to advance it above all Heavens above Angels Powers Ceraphim and Cherubim and place it at the Right Hand of God He saw what it was for Infinite Majesty to fall in love with Misery and for him that was adored by all the Host of Heaven to make himself of no Reputation on purpose to magnifie his Mercy in the greatest Misery He saw the happy Strife and Contention that was betwixt God's Justice and Mercy He saw how these Twins struggled in the Womb of Eternity and Mercy got the better and triumph'd over the Almighty's Rods and Axes He saw the Beginning Progress Order and Beauty of that Love He could measure the vast Distance betwixt Heaven and Earth betwixt God and Man betwixt the Judge and the Malefactor betwixt Infinite Purity and extream Wretchedness betwixt Righteousness and Sin betwixt perfect Innocence and perfect Misery And what a Paradox it must be to the holy Angels to see that Light which lights every Man that comes into the World submit to the Darkness of the Grave that some of Adam's Posterity might be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light This he saw and as a Man who was to shew his Church an Example he gave Thanks VI. Christ's Actions as they were intended for our Instruction so we cannot think that his Giving of Thanks was only to express his own Devotion as Mediator but that it was designed to teach us 1. Never to sit down at our common or ordinary Meals without praising God for the Blessings his bountiful Hand hath vouchsafed unto us This it seems is so necessary that the Holy Ghost reckons those Men among the Workers of Iniquity that sit down to Meat and praise not the Creator for the Provision he hath made for them Psal. 14. 4. Have the Workers of Iniquity no Knowledge who eat Bread and call not upon the Lord We render the Words As they eat Bread our Translators thinking the Expression to be a Similitude to express the Greediness of Persecutors who make a Prey of God's Servants but the Particle As being left out in the Original the Words denote another Sin of those Men that do eat Bread and call not upon the Lord at their Eating 'T is true the Duty seems to be observed by most People and there are few so profane as not to say Grace at their Meals but it is for the most part done so slovenly and so carelesly without any Sense of the Greatness of the Duty and of the Goodness of God that it is made a mere Formality which is as bad as the total Omission of it The Giving of Thanks before and after Meals must be performed with a Sense of our Unworthiness and God's Charity This is to be thought and taken notice of as much as the Meat that is set before us and Admiration of God's Compassion in feeding us will add to the Relish of the Victuals set upon the Table and that is to eat to the Glory of God as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 10. 32. 2. It was also to teach us Gratitude to our Benefactors here on Earth Though Men are but the Instruments whereby the Almighty's Blessings are conveyed to us yet there is a Gratitude due to them and such Gratitude as is expressed in kind Offices and Readiness to assist and help them when they stand in need of our Services But then this Gratitude must not be stretched to assisting of them in their Sins or complying with them in their Viciousness and Debaucheries or flattering them in their sickly Passions Man must not be pleased to the Dishonour of God And where Dust and Ashes is loved more than he he protests we are not worthy of him But to pray for them to honour them to study and embrace all lawful Opportunities to express our Respect and Esteem of them to requite their Kindnesses with equal Civilities or spiritual Advice and Counsel and Consolation is to act like Persons prompted by Christ's Example to be thankful 3. It was more particularly to direct us in our Praises and Thanksgivings when we come to the Table of our dearest Lord Here certainly if any where our Hearts ought to be fixed and ready to sing and give Praise 1. For putting us in a Way of being pardon'd and happy for ever We were all concern'd in Adam's Fall had all forfeited our Right to God's Favour and the Happiness we might have expected at his Hands God might have lock'd up the Gate of Mercy and made the Access to it impossible Having desperately turned our Backs upon him he might have let the Rebels sink deeper and deeper till they had come into the bottomless Gulf of Eternal Misery and no doubt all the Host of Heaven would have applauded his Justice And for him who was cloathed with Majesty and Honour unexpectedly and of his own accord to turn the Stream and to promise a Saviour and instead of making a Way to his Anger shew Men a Way to his Bosom and in the midst of all this Confusion and Perplexity to proclaim the acceptable Year to the poor Prisoners How can this be thought of in the holy Sacrament without Praise and Admiration 2 For revealing this wonderful Love to us A Favour Thousands of Heathens and Infidels enjoy not at this Day nay are wholly ignorant of A Love which is a Mystery that puzzles the Understandings of the wisest Men. How God intends to deal with Heathens and Mahometant is hard to determine only in general we are told that those who have sinned without Law shall be judged without Law Rom. 2. 12. Nor can we assign a just and satisfactory Reason why he makes not these Nations Partakers of the glad Tidings of the Gospel much less why he continues these Revelations to the Christian World though corrupt and debauched to a Prodigy But this we know That if any Thing in the World deserves our Praises this that we have such a Treasure communicated to us deserves it and more especially in this Sacrament where this Mystery of Reconciliation is a most proper Object of our Meditation 3. For passing by the Apostate Spirits and offering the Mercy of Reconciliation to the Children of Men. The evil Angels sinned as well as we yet the Son of God took not upon him the Nature of Angels â—ut took the Seed of Abraham 'T is true there was more to be said for Adam's Fall than that of Lucifer That Son of the Morning was all Spirit and Understanding and Man had a Body of Earth about him which though not troublesom in Paradise yet was the apter to receive Impressions of Sin from external Objects The rebellious Angels were the first that made a Breach betwixt God and the Creature and Man was seduced by them
yet still these Spirits as bright as they were were Creatures and as Creatures mutable and as mutable subject to falling and falling might expect Mercy and Compassion from an All-merciful Master yet in the great Work of Redemption no Regard is had to them but to Man only and he alone with his Race and Posterity is put in a Possibility of being saved and pardon'd a Mercy fit to be remembred in this Sacrament but not to be remembred without Thanksgiving and Praises 4. For the Opportunity we have of remembring Christ's Death in the holy Sacrament That we have Liberty to meet in the House of God to behold his Power and Glory to speak of his Love and Compassion and to come to his Table and to come of often and so freely without Disturbance or Molestation without Fear of Danger from the Tabernacles of Edom or from the Ishmaelites from Moab or the Hagarens Though these are Things which seem to be no great matter to an Eye that looks on Things superficially yet to a Person that knows how in the Greek Church the holy Sacrament is consecrated but once a Year how in Heathenish Countries where Ministers of the Word are scarce this Ordinance is used but seldom and how great an Hindrance to Goodness the celebrating it but rarely is how apt the Inward Man in such Cases is to faint and languish and grow sick for want of it will think himself obliged to open his Heart and Mouth in Praises at this holy Table and adore the Divine Bounty which hath given him Will and Strength and Opportunity to come to this comfortable Ordinance 5. For feeling our Hearts affected with the Mystery of Reconciliation or finding in our selves those happy Qualifications which make us worthy Receivers at this Table To feel in our Hearts a lively Faith a Faith which with Moses sees him that is invisible a Faith that overcomes the World a Faith that purifies the Heart a Faith that with Abraham moves us to sacrifice and offer that to God which is most dear to us a Faith that makes us patient under Reproaches and Injuries a Faith that is fruitful in good Works To find in our selves an Hope that makes not ashamed an Hope that makes us wait for the Kingdom of God as the Husbandman waits for the Fruit of the Earth an Hope that upholds our Hearts in Afflictions an Hope that makes us look upon that within the Vail into the Sanctuary of Heaven and counts the Troubles of this present Life not worthy to be compared with the Glory which ere long shall be revealed in us To find in our selves an holy Charity which believes the best of our Neighbours and thinks no Evil except there be very great Cause for it a Charity which suppresses Revenge and Malice and not only suppresses it for the present but labours to destroy it too a Charity which moves us to Kindness and Compassion not only verbal but actual a Charity which makes us tender-hearted forgiving one another and forbearing one another To find all this in some measure must needs fill our Hearts with strong Desires and Endeavours to be thankful VII This Praise and Thanksgiving cannot but be essential to this holy Sacrament not a mere Ornamental Thing without which the blessed Effects may be perceived and felt For 1. Is it possible to behold God's bleeding Love and not cry Praise the Lord O Jerusalem Praise thy God O Zion Is it possible to see the surprizing Humiliation of the Son of God and not to say Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name Is it possible to see God offer himself for his Enemies and not to sâ—ng Lord what is Man that thou so regardest him and the Sons and Daughters of Men that thou hast such Respect to them Is it possible to see Innocence nailed to the fatal Cross not for any Sins of its own but for our Transgressions and not to break forth into Admiration with St. John Behold what manner of Love the Father hath shewn to us that we should be called the Sons of God The Heart must be of Stone that can survey these Wonders and be silent or dumb to joyful Praises 2. What Comfort or Consolation can be supposed to flow into the Soul without it Praise is the Gate of Mercy The Soul that praises the Divine Love much will have a greater Sense of his Love and feel the Power of it and feel how it melts the Heart supples the Spirit softens the Inward Man and makes it fit for the Impress of the Image of the Son of God As the Jews say of the Spirit of Prophesse That it rests on valiant and chearful Men so it may be said of the Divine Love Where the Soul is much and often engaged in Praises of it there it loves to dwell there it is ready to build Tabernacles and take up its Residence The Preceeding Considerations reduced to Practice I. EVen the meanest Capacities from hence learn the Way to arrive to holy Thoughts viz. by making the most ordinary Blessings Occasions of Praise and Thanksgiving Nothing is more common than Bread yet for this the Son of Man gave Thanks and in doing so bid us imitate his Practice when the like familiar Mercies come before us or present themselves to our View About the Time of the Council at Constance two Cardinals as they were travelling upon the Road not far from the City saw a poor Shepherd weeping and thinking that some sad Accident might have befallen him either his Dog lost or some of his Sheep stolen had the Curiosity to ask him the Reason of his Tears who answer'd I am looking here upon a Toad and cannot but weep to think what an ungrateful Beast I have been to my God to whom I never before in all my Life gave Thanks that he â—e did not make me so homely and so odious a Creature The Truth is you and I can hardly walk the Street but we meet with Men either ragged or lame or maim'd or blind or dumb or some other way deform'd and extreamly miserable Can we look on such Objects and not think with our selves what a Favour and Mercy it was in our great and gracious God not to plunge us into that wretched State but to give us Necessaries and Conveniencies a right Shape and Soundness of Limbs c. These 't is true are but very ordinary Blessings yet if we consider how many Thousands want them and that God who can do all Things and whose Hand is to be seen in all Things might as easily have reduced us to such a miserable Condition as he hath done others and that it is nothing but his Infinite Goodness and Wisdom that hath made this Distinction this cannot but quicken our Understandings And if so none of us can complain that we have no Faculty of furnishing our Minds with holy Thoughts To this purpose certainly was our Reason given us that we might
serious Reflections on his Death and Agonies and the Bitterness of his Passion It being spoken to our Souls not to our Bodies to take and eat this Body the Soul hath no other Way to feed upon it but by a pathetick Consideration of the Particulars of that Death and the End and Design of God in it and the Comforts and the Benefits that thereby redound to Mankind and such a Consideration as affects our Souls touches them to the quick and puts them on serious Enquiries into our wretched State and makes them break forth into Flames of Love so that though Christ's Body was crucified above Sixteen Hundred Years agone yet a pious Soul can eat it at this Day swallow the Charity which appears in it with her Thoughts consider who it is that is so wonderfully concerned for her Safety look upon him whom her Sins have pierced and take a View of that Man of Sorrows who was bruised for her Iniquities and wounded for her Transgressions and admire the Miracles that are to be seen in all this 2. To eat Christ's Body is to apply the Benefits of his Death and Passion to our Souls and to rejoyce in them as our greatest Treasure As he that eats with his Bodily Organs applies the Food he takes with his Hands to his Mouth and Body and converts it into Blood and Substance so the pious Soul is pleased with this Spiritual Meat is refreshed by it and applies the Benefits of that crucified Body to her self and with the Thoughts of Peace and Pardon and Salvation which are the Blessings that drop from that Tree arms her self against the Assaults of the Devil and the Terrours of Death and believing without wavering that those Mercies were purchased for her in particular and that she hath a Right and Title to them stands up in the evil Day and in the midst of Temptations boldly cries with the Apostle Who is he that condemns It is Christ that died Rom. 8. 34. 3. To make this crucified Body a Persuasive and Motive to Holiness and Obedience To conclude from thence that if he gave himself for us to redeem us from all Iniquity then we must not frustrate his Expectation nor cling to that Iniquity which he came to free us from And if he died to purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous for good Works then we must not defile our selves after that nor wallow in the Mire any more with the Swine but cleanse our Minds from carnal covetous and lustful Thoughts our Wills from Perversenes and Stubbornness our Affections from Fondness of this present World and our Hands from Uncleanness His zealous Love to us must make us zealous for his Glory to him we must consecrate our selves and to be holy as he is holy must be the Business of our Lives and so to love him as to keep his Commandments must henceforward be looked upon as our bounden Duty He truly eats this crucified Body upon whom this Crucifixion hath that Power as to crucifie in him his known Lusts and Passions and to engage him to purifie himself from all Filthiness both of Soul and Body The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. IN all Writings both Ancient and Modern about this holy Sacrament there are various Rhetorical Expressions used which we must not understand literally but as Flowers strowed upon the Herse of our Blessed Redeemer and as Ornaments of Speech to represent the Greatness of the Mystery There is nothing more common among the Fathers than to call the Bread and Wine in the Lord's Supper the Body and Blood of Christ and the Cup the Vessel in which Christ's Blood is contained And many times Christ is said to stand at the Altar and all the holy Angels waiting at the Table that Christ offers his Body to be bruised by the People's Teeth and dyes them red with his Blood that the Elements are changed and become the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus and that after Prayer and Thanksgiving they are no more what they were before and a Thousand such Expressions besides From which the Church of Rome presently infers that they believed a Transubstantiation or a Conversion of the Elements into the Substance of Christ's Body and Blood than which nothing can be more absurd For if a Man compare these Saying of the Ancients with other Passages in their Writings it plainly appears that they meant no more than that the Elements are representative of all this and that the Expressions they use are nothing but Rhetorical Flourishes to raise the People's Affections and to render their Devotions brisk lively servent affectionate and vigorous We do the same at this Day when we tell you that you come to feast with Christ that in this Sacrament he is crucified before you Eyes that you may see his Blood run down that you hear him groan under the Burthen of your Sins that you see here his Body hanging on the Cross that you are to stand under the Tree and catch the precious Gore as Balsam for your Souls All which is true in a spiritual Sense and we do it to make you more attentive and set this Passion out in such lively Characters that your Souls may be touch'd and enliven'd and as Things represented in brighter Colours strike the Senses more so we speak of these Things as if they were visible and perceptible to the outward Eyes that your Souls may more chearfully feed on the Kernel that lies in those Shells and with greater Life embrace the glorious Benefits which come to you by that precious Sacrifice II. By the same Way that Man was lost by the same Way he must recover He was undone by eating He must be made whole again by eating By eating he died By eating he must come to Life again That Day thou eatest of this Tree thou shalt surely die saith God And the same saith God of this holy Sacrament That Day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely live The Fruit in Paradise became a Savour of Death unto Death unto him The holy Bread in this Sacrament becomes a Savour of Life unto Life unto him That Eating brought him into Slavery This gives him a Title to the glorious Liberty of God's Children In eating that Fruit he thought to be like God and made himself worse than the Beasts that perish By eating of this Bread he is enabled to become like unto the Son of God by being changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory That Eating made him sick This is Health to his Navel and Maerrow to his Bones Prov. 3. 8. That brought the Plague This delivers from it That filled him with Wounds and Bruises and putrifying Sores This makes his Flesh come again like unto the Flesh of a little Child In a Word By eating God's Favour was forfeited By eating it is regained Let Israel rejoyce in him that made him let the Children of Zion be joyful in their King for the Lord takes pleasure in his People he will
beautifie the Meek with Salvation Let the Saints be joyful in Glory let them sing aloud upon their Beds let them praise the Name of the Lord for his Name alone is excellent his Glory is above the Earth and Heaven III. See here how rich a Meal God the Father prepares for our Souls even the crucified Body of his Son Shall we look upon that Celestial Food with dull and careless Thoughts Can we behold this costly Bread and forbear crying out Lord for ever give us that Bread Christian if thou meanest to be saved by the crucified Body of thy Lord thou must needs eat of it Not only thy Mouth must eat the Sacramental Bread and chew it but thy Soul must ascend and employ her self in eating of the crucified Body represented by that Bread Thy Soul thy Mind thy Will thy Affections must have the greatest Share in eating at this Table Thy Body hath little to do here that is only the Chariot that brings thy Soul to this Banquet Thy Soul not being engaged and busie here in Thinking Admiration Resolution Love and Joy the Cringes and Bowings of thy Body will be insignificant The End of our common Eating is Assimilation and in our ordinary Meals we therefore eat Food agreeable to our Bodies that it may be united to our Substance mingle with our Blood and become one with our Bodies So here our Souls must feed on the crucified Body of the Lord Jesus that we may become one with him All Creatures may be said to be one with Christ as he is God as he is their Creator in which respect he fills Heaven and Earth with his Presence and is not far from every one of us and in him we live and breath and have our Being Nay in a more particular manner every Professor of Christianity may be said to be one with him as he professes the same Religion which Christ taught his Disciples But this is not the Union aimed at in this Sacrament nor can the Union which respects our Profession only give any great Comfort to a Christian. The Union designed by this Sacrament is effected by the Spirit of Christ Jesus and the Soul that unfeignedly see◠here on the crucified Body of her Master gets the same Spirit that dwelt in her crucified Lord which produces the same Graces in her that shined in that great Shepherd of Souls and the same Mind the same Temper the same Disposition in substance at least though not in the same Degree is effected and produced in her by this Spirit as we see Rem 8. 11. Phil. 2. 5. And this is that Union every true Communicant is to aim at and from hence flows a Communion with Christ in all his Privileges and Glories whereby the Soul is raised up together with Christ and made to sit together with him in Heavenly Places though not by way of actual Enjoyment as yet but by getting a Right and Title to those Privileges as the Apostle informs us Ephes. 2. 6. By feeding on this crucified Body the Soul is nourished and gathers Strength against her spiritual Enemies becomes bold in Temptations resolute in Dangers couragious in spiritual Enterprizes The Soul that comes to feed on this crucified Body and comes not with this Intent comes in vain comes only to stare upon the Cross but not to be refreshed by it The Soul that after the Sacrament yields wilfully to the same Temptations it did before is ensnared by the same sinful Pleasure that ruin'd it before is led Captive by the same Lusts that intangled her before certainly feeds not on the crucified Body of the Lord Jesus because the Contemplation of that Crucifixion works no suitable Effects which if it did the Soul would unfeignedly destroy the Body of Sin according to the Apostle's Rule Rom. 6. 6. and offer up her Body a living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God as it is said Rom. 12. 1. Make the Body obedient to Reason and Sense to Faith and the Flesh to the Spirit and it would keep under the Body and bring it into Subjection as St. Paul did 1 Cor. 9. 27. i. e. it would deny the Body those Satisfactions which are manifest Hindrances to the Things of the Spirit it would force it to Temperance to Hardships to Industry and Laboriousness in God's Service it would strive and take care that the Body might become a Temple of the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6. 19. 〈◊〉 what the Soul doth in this Ordinance would leave such a Sense upon us as would not only enable but constrain us to glorifie God both in Body and Soul as the Scripture requires 1 Cor. 6. 20. These are the blessed Effects of eating the crucified Body of the Lord Jesus And the Soul that feeds on that Body will find these happy Consequences it will not go away empty from this Meal and though for the present it doth not see all these Effects yet there is that Impression made on her by this Eating that these Effects will afterward discover themselves in her Life and Conversation The PRAYER O My God! What Care dost thou take of my immortal Soul that it may not starve Thou hast made large Provision for my Body in the Earth in the Air and in the Water The Earth brings forth Herbs and Roots and Cattel to feed it The Air affords Fowl and Feather'd Creatures to nourish it The Water provides Fish for it But none of all these can satisfie my Soul that must have a spiritual Diet and rather than it shall want thou hast given thine own Son to be her Food O mysterious Love Can I after tbis have low and mean Thoughts of thy Goodness O sweetest Jesu if my Soul feeds not on thee if must die and be separated from thy glorious Presence for ever If it feeds on thee it is made for ever Oh! be thou my most beloved and most delightful Food Thy crucified Body alone can keep my Soul from fainting Thy Death must yield me Life Thy Sufferings must give me Joy Thy Agonies must afford me Comfort Thy Torments must work mine Ease Thy Nails and Thorns must be my Bed of Roses Nothing else can give my Soul Rest. When the Snares of Death and Hell encompass me I will lay hold on these Horns of the Altar here I shall be safe safer than in the Arms of Angels Thou that diedst for me livest for ever to intercede for me and having such an Advocate I may come boldly to the Throne of Grace O let me not survey this glorious Provision made for my Soul with carnal Eyes O let me ponder seriously not with flying and transient but with steady and fixed Thoughts how thou hast favoured how thou hast loved how thou hast dignified this miserable Soul of mine that I may rejoyce in thee for ever and ever Amen CHAP. XII Of remembring Christ in this Sacrament or doing what we do here in remembrance of him The CONTENTS The Death of Christ Jesus the principal thing to be
Messiah suffer without rending their Cloaths and what is more tearing themselves for the crime they had been guilty of The Graves burst their Bands as if they were concern'd to see Men harden'd against all impressions of Compassion The Angels we may without danger of Heresie believe stopt in the midst of their Hallelujahs and if ever there was sadness in Heaven we may suppose it was at this time The upper and the nether World seem'd to go into Mourning because their Lord and Master gave up the Ghost Thus much we are told by the inspired Writer Matth. 27. 51 52. And this makes the Death of Christ Jesus surprizing beyond comparison and surely such a Death ought to be remembred 4. It is a Death whereby the Person suffering merited Eternal Life not only for himself but all his Followers too A mighty Blessing but such as was a just reward of so deep an Humiliation It was for this Death that the Everlasting Father exalted Christ's Humane Nature above Powers Angels Principalities and Spiritual Creatures and in doing so declar'd what those whose Nature he had assumed if they did follow him in the Regeneration might come to after Death viz. Eternal Life and Glory And what greater Blessing can be thought of to enjoy all Blessings at once and to all Eternity To see God and to be ravish'd with his Sight for ever to enjoy Riches Honour Glory Power Dominion Pleasure Recreation Houses Lands in a most eminent manner or to enjoy that which is beyond all these in inexpressible degrees and without interruption without ceasing without disturbance without envy without fear without danger of losing it What can be greater What can be more satisfactory What can be more comfortable This the Son of God hath purchased by his Death That Death is the Messenger of all these Glories In that Death all these Treasures are amass'd and heap'd and piled up together and then it must be worth remembring nay it is impossible not to remember it where all this is believ'd II. How this Death is to be remembred at the Table of the Lord will deserve our next consideration And most certainly a slight transient Remembrance such as we pay to our friends and acquaintance which are absent at our common Meals or at other times as we have occasion to discourse of them is not sufficient here for that 's not at all agreeable to the Greatness and Profitableness of this wondeful Death It must be such a remembrance as 1. Refreshes our Memories with that marvellous Love that shines in this Death This Love must be called to mind even the Love of God the Love that mov'd him to the Kindnesses we see and taste and feel and have experience of The Love that mov'd him to give us a Saviour the Love that mov'd him to take pity of us when we lay in our Blood when we lay in Darkness and in the shadow of Death Love Love Love must here be the Motto the Watch-word and the dear Expression And as the Martyr in Eusebius being ask'd divers Questions about his Name Kindred Relations Family Country Parents c. still answer'd That he was a Christian so if here we should be ask'd what we think what we speak what we mind what we come for what we design what our business is or what we delight in Love must be the Answer to all these Questions Love must be the burden of our Song even the Love of the Holy Trinity a Love in which our Life our Happiness and all our Hopes are wrapt up a Love which nothing above and nothing below can give us any tolerable Image of There is nothing among all the Angels in Heaven nothing in the Sun or Moon or Stars nothing among Men or Beasts or Roots or Herbs or Stons or Minerals that can be said to be truly like it all comparisons are feeble all resemblances faint no Language can reach it no Rhetorick express it no Oratory describe it no Pencil draw it it surpases our Reason transcends the brightest Understanding puzzels the very Angels in Heaven and perplexes the Spirits of Light and Glory It is all Sea all Ocean all Light it hath no Bounds no Shores no Limits and the greatest that ever was said of it or can be said of it is St. John's Expression 1 Joh. 4. 16. God is Love Love it self all Love all Charity all Goodness and nothing but such perfection could have loved such poor pitiful Worms as we are God looks upon our giving a cup of cold Water to a Righteous Man as an Act of Love O then what an Act of Love must it be in him to give us himself to give us the dearest thing he had even his own Son Jesus wept over Lazarus Joh. 11. 35 36. and the Jews said See how he loved him But these Tears were but drops of Water Here the Lord Jesus is seen to weep drops of Blood for us O then see how he loved us We were blinder than Bartimaeus lamer than Mephibosheth fuller of Sores than Lazarus poorer than Job no Comliness no Beauty no Form no Excellency appear'd in us Adam's Fall had disfigurred us defaced us ruin'd us in this lamentable condition God loved us and gave his Son to die for us and shall not this Love be remembred in his Death 2. This remembrance requires calling to mind our Sins which were the cause of that Death It 's true the Love of God was the impulsive cause but our Sins were the instrumental cause these brought him to the Cross and whoever remembers his Death must necessarily remember that whereby this Death was effected and procured this was our Sin and the Infection that attended it But then if I remember my Sins in the remembrance of his Death how can I remember them without detestation How can I remember them without abhorrency How can I remember them without arming my Soul with resolution and arguments to fight against them Can I look on my neglects and not charge them with this Death Can I remember my Love to the World and not accuse it of having had a hand in buffeting and reproaching of him Can I think of my Pride and Wrath and not bid them look on the Wounds they made in that Holy Flesh Can I reflect on my wantonness and lustful Thoughts Desires Words and Gestures and Actions and not be angry with them for having struck Nails into his Hands and Feet And what is said of these particular Sins must be applied to the rest that we are either guilty of or most inclined to they must be so remembred as to be represented to our Minds in their odious shapes as having been accessory to his Death and if this be done we cannot but proclaim War against them and maintain that War all our days 3. With this there must needs be remembred the mighty Redemption procured and accomplished by this Death even our Redemption from Slavery a Slavery so much the worse because we were not
the Alphabet that we might not look upon Letters in a Book without thinking Lord be thou the First and the Last in all my Actions Let me begin with thee and end with thee Be thou my Book let me read the Characters of thy Love and rejoyce in thee for ever For this Cause he is styled a Shepherd that whenever we cast our Eye upon a Man of that Employment we may beg of Christ to feed us with his Spirit And a Lamb that whenever we see one we may intreat him to cloath us with his Innocence And a Sower that whenever we see the Husband-man throwing Seed into the Ground we may beseech him to manure the Ground of our Hearts that we may be neither barren nor unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he that thus remembers him in Season and out of Season will without dispute be the better able to remember him in this Sacrament And to such a Soul David's Saying may justly be applied The Righteous shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance surely he shall not be moved for ever Psal. 112. 6. The PRAYER O Blessed Redeemer who didst remember me when I had forgetten thee and thoughtest of me when I did not regard thee When I lay buried in the common Mass of Corruption thou didst not disdain to think on this forlorn Creature Thou didst pity me thou sawest my Misery and it grieved thee at thy Heart Thy Bowels yearn'd over me and thou didst spread thy Mantle over me O happy Remembrance I had been lost if thou hadst not looked upon me I had been undone if thou hadst not cast thine Eye upon me yet how loth have I been to think of thee What an Aversion have I had from remembring thee How have I shifted off all serious Reflections on thy Love I have more delighted in Trifles than in thee How sweet have the Thoughts of my Corn and Wine and Oil been to me and how tedious how irksome all Contemplation of tbee When thou hast sometimes put me in mind of thy Sufferings how have I suffered Worldly Thoughts to drive thee out of my Mind How justly mightest thou turn thy Eyes away and hide thy Face from me O Sweet O Glorious Object Appear in thy Beauty appear in thy Glory to my Mind that I may be throughly convinced that nothing deserves my Thoughts so much as thy self I am resolved to remember thee with greater Delight and Constancy Help thou me Should not I remember thee who hast in a manner forgotten thy self to remember me I can remember a Temporal Deliverance and shall not the Deliverance of my Soul procured by thy Death be remembred by me I can remember a Disaster which hath some Years agone befallen me and shall not I remember the infinite Misery from which thou camest to rescue me I will think of thee in the Night-Watches I will think of thee when I lie down when I awake when I rise again In the great Ordinance of thy Supper I will in a most solemn manner think of thee Teach me to remember thee here with Joy with Pleasure with Comfort to my Soul Here let my Thoughts of thee be sweet Whenever I think on thy Cross let me remember how by thy Charity I was freed from the Curse of God Thou becamest a Curse for me Ought not this Mercy to be remembred for ever Write it in my Mind engrave it upon my Heart let this Remembrance be easie to me Chase away all Unwillingness all Backwardness to this Duty from my Soul Oh let it become natural and make this Remembrance profitable to me that my Inward Man may be renewed by it Day by Day and abound in Love and the longer I live the more conformable I may be to thee sweet Jesu to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen CHAP. XIII Of the other Element or Part of this holy Sacrament viz. the Wine and the Cup Christ made use of in the Institution of the Eucharist The CONTENTS Red Wine in all probability made use of by Christ in the Institution of this Sacrament As also Wine mixed with Water Too great a Stress laid upon this Mixture by the Roman and Eastern Churches The Cup Christ used in this Sacrament pretended by the Romanists to be in their Possession The Cups made use of by the Ancient Churches what Matter or Substance they were of examined On the Sacramental Cup anciently was engraven the Figure of a Shepherd and a Lamb. The Cup in process of Time changed into Silver Pipes Christ gave the Cup to the Disciples as well as the Bread for weighty Reasons to shew that the Bread and the Cup are of the same Worth and that those who receive the one should receive the other also The Abuse of the Church of Rome in denying the Cup to the Laity laid open Their Reasons and Arguments answered Why Christ made use of Wine in this Sacrament discovered in five Particulars The Reasons why he made use of a Cup and no other Vessel An Enquiry made why Christ took the Cup after he had done with the Cup in the Passover The Cup in this Sacrament contrary in its Effects to Circe's Cup among the Heathens None fit to drink of this Cup but Men of Valour and Courage This Cup very comfortable to all distressed Spirits The Prayer I. THough it be not very material to know what Wine it was Christ made use of in the Institution of this Sacrament what Colour it was of or whether it was pure and unmix'd yet we have Reason to believe that it was Red Wine and Wine mix'd with Water Red because this was the usual Wine among the Jews and therefore called The Blood of the Grape Gen. 49. 11. And when the Royal Prophet would express God's Vengeance upon the Wicked and Incorrigible by Wine he saith The Wine is red Psal. 75. 8. And this sort of Wine did best represent the Blood of Christ which was to be spilt for the Sins of the World and to make a considerable Figure in this Sacrament And to this purpose is that famous Prophecy Esay 63. 1 2 3. Who is this that comes from Edom with died Garments from Bozra Wherefore art thou red in thy Apparel and thy Garments like him that treads in the Wine-Fat Which Words as by the Consent of Interpreters they relate to Christ's Death and bearing the Burthen of God's Anger for our Transgressions so they at once express the Blood of Christ and the Colour of the Wine that was most in use among the Jews and consequently 't is very likely that Christ made use of Red Wine in this Ordinance And as it was Red so it is probable it was Wine mixed with Water this also being customary in that Country as we see Prov. 9. 2. in which our Blessed Master lived during his Abode in the World The Evangelists indeed mention no such Thing but in general only tell
persons and that to all Eternity All this is represented to us in this Sacrament a Saviour groaning and weeping and sighing under the burthen of our Sins and thereby giving notice that if we grow not weary of Sin we shall weep and groan and sigh for ever and shall not the dreadful Spectacle fill my Soul with abhorrency and detestation of what I see so signally punished Shall not I run away from it and say to it Get thee hence thou evil and unclean Spirit touch me not what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols And if this Holy Sacrament be so great a preservative against Sin surely we cannot too often make use of it especially since we see how easily Sin doth beset us how often we are tempted to it and how we are daily encompassed with suggestions and provocations to it 2. This frequent Communicating cannot but be a mighty engagement to a pious emulation of the Virtuous and Gracious Life of the Ever-Blessed Jesus There is none but knows how frequent going into company that is of such a Temper and seeing their Manners and way of Acting is apt to produce assimulation of Disposition in the persons that frequent it That Society a Man frequently resorts to gives a tincture to his Nature and Inclination and consequently the frequent seeing and conversing with the Holy and Gracious Jesus in this Sacrament is very likely to have the same effect For in this Ordinance we do not only come to see him Bleeding and Dying for his Enemies but to look upon his eminent Virtues too his wonderful Meekness his deep Humility his unparalell'd Patience his chearful Submission to the Will of God his admirable Self-resignation his unshaken Contentedness his generous contempt of the World and his steady living in the thoughts of future Bliss and Glory Can I see these Virtues shine in his noble Soul and remember that they are set before me to raise my desires of being like him and believe that God expects and requires of me to transcribe them on my Temper Can I see how lovely how amiable and how beautiful these Graces are how in the midst of all his troubles they proclaim him to be the Son of God and in despight of all the contempt and scorn of Men and Devils speak him to be a favourite of Heaven Can I see how in the midst of all the Affronts and Derisions and Indignities he endured these Graces still made him amiable glorious in a Storm bright in that dismal Night-dress Illustrious in Misery Magnificent in Poverty Can I see how these Diamonds glister in the black Jet in which they are placed and notwithstanding the dull matter that doth encompass them are Diamonds still of an infinite value prized by God esteemed by Angels magnified by all good Men agreeable to Reason conformable to Gods Nature Can I see all this and continue stubborn and obstinate and an enemy to these Virtues Is not this enough to make me enamour'd with them to oblige me to long for them and to cause a disquiet in my Soul till it be possess'd of these inestimable Treasures And if this Sacrament be such an engagement to this pious Emulation and endeavour after the same gracious Qualifications is it not fit is it not expedient is it not reasonable is it not necessary that I should communicate frequently and Eat often and Drink often at this Table except I am afraid of being too lively too good or too serious 3. This Sacrament is a mighty promoter of fervent Charity and since the frequent exercise of this Charity is necessary frequent Comunicating must be so too this being the cause or incentive to the other That in an eminent manner it promotes and encourages Charity and Love to our Fellow Christians Concord and Unity Peace and Amity readiness of Mind to do good and bowels of Kindness to our Brethren none can doubt that 's sensible what Charity is represented in this Ordinance Here I see how the Great Commander of Heaven and Earth offers Reconciliation to a desperate Offender and whereas the Offender should be the first that should seek and implore God's Pardon God prevents him and with his Royal hands unask'd bestows upon him a Patent of Grace and Mercy Here I see how the Supream Judge who hath absolute power over our Life and Death is willing to be friends with a wretch that owes him Ten thousand Talents and willing frankly to forgive him all to discharge him of all his Debts and to supersede all Actions against him Here I see how the Everlasting Father is ready to receive the Prodigal into his House again to admit him to his Table who had spent all his Substance in riotous living ready to kill the fatted Calfe for him to put a Ring on his Finger and to betroth him to himself in Righteousness Here I see how he before whom all Nations are as Grashoppers offers to embrace the Worm that hath resisted him spoken ill of him prostituted his Glory expos'd Religion and studied and contrived ways to dishonour him Here I see the Son of God ready with the Balsom of his Blood to anoint the Wretch that made the Wounds and dying for the Men the multitude of whose Offences hath seemed to vye with the number of God's Mercies Here I see how infinite Light offers to twist its Rays with loathsome Darkness and how the greatest Prince proceeds to those excesses of Humility as to give the greatest Sinners room and entertainment in his Banqueting-House to call them Brethren and Friends and sheep of his Flock than which there are scarce more endearing Titles All this I behold here and shall not such a wonderful Scene of Charity blow those little sparks of Affection I find within into greater flames Can I see here what God hath done for me who have acted more treacherously against him than my greatest Enemy ever did against me and shall not this raise Compassion in me to my Fellow-servants and move me to lay down all Wrath and Enmity to them whose Injuries are but Fleabites in comparison of those I have offered to the Best of Beings And if this Sacrament be so strong an engagement to this Charity it stands to reason that frequent Communicating must be necessary too the rather because we are so often in danger of breaking the bond of Peace and dissolving the cement which must hold and knit Christians together So that 4. This frequent Cammunicating cannot but be acceptable to God and this he declared in the example of the Primitive Believers whose frequent receiving did so incline the Favour of God toward them that the Evangelist takes notice Acts 2. 47. The Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved In this the Divine Bounty expressed its liking of their frequent repairing to the Table of the Lord This was not only a reward of their frequent Communion but God made that frequency a motive to others to embrace the true Religion Nothing
a Month is a just distance to take notice what progress we make in Goodness and what effects the last Communion hath upon our Spirits and though I can alledge no express Command for it out of the Word of God yet there is a Command which imports as much even this Obey them that have the Rule over you in the Lord and submit your selves for they watch for your Souls as they that must give an account that they do it with Joy and not with Grief Heb. 13. 17. But these Arguments are needless to a Soul that hath a lively Sense of the Love of God Love will run without a driver and there needs no pulling or haling him to the Communion who hath seen and tasted how sweet and how gracious the Lord is That inward Sense will make him come frequently whether his Superiours command him or no. He that doth nothing in Religion but what his Governoâ—s force him to doth not yet understand what that means The Love of God is shed abroad in our Hearts He that hath this Sense finds a Law within stronger than the Law of all Superiors and which hath greater power with him than all external motives He that loves Christ fervently will love to be with him frequently and since the Communion Table is the place where Christ hath promised to him he 'll be as often there as he can except Sickness or some such inevitable impediments hinder him the rather because here Men hear the joyful sound of Pardon and walk in the light of Godâ—s Countenance Psal. 89. 15. IV. But because I foresee it will be objected here That frequent Communicating will abate our esteem and veneration of this Sacrament as all things when grown common and familiar are apt to breed contempt and carelesness It 's fit I should answer and remove that pretended stumbling-block And therefore 1. It cannot be frequent Communicating consider'd in it self that abates our Zeal and Fervor to this Ordinance for let the Communion be never so frequent the Arguments and Motives are still the same their Grandeur Strength Force and Power is still the same still these are able to kindle holy Fire on the Altars of our Souls to raise admiration of God's Mercies aud to enliven our Spirits into Conscientiousness and severity of life and if this be the natural tendency of these Motivies at one time it is so to another and consequently the abatement of our esteem and veneration is not the necessary effect of frequent Communicating and in this the Primitive Believers are a signal instance who though they Communicated some every day some every Lord's day yet did not that frequency lessen their Veneration of these mysteries It rather increas'd and cherish'd it and we have reason to ascribe their contempt of Sublunary Contents their Courage in Adversity their Valour in Persecution their ardent desires after another Life their invincible Patience under reproaches their Constancy in the severest Tryals their wonderful Joy in Troubles and their prodigious Self-denials to this frequent Communicating This as it was a means to set their Master always before their Eyes so it left an aw upon their Spirits not to dishonour him by their lives This was a perpetual curb to their Lusts and having his Image constantly before them made them walk as Children of their Father which is in Heaven so that if frequent Communicating be not the necessary cause of an abatement in our veneration of this Sacrament it must be some other accidental thing which may be remedied that must occasion it And therefore 2. Some decay in the Receiver some indisposition in the inward Man must be charged with this dis-esteem of the ordinance and it is not the frequent Communicating that is the cause but want of care and watchfulneâ—s in the Communicant Indeed where People approach this Holy Table frequently and bring no Hearts with them no desires after a better Life do not think it worth while to spend serious thoughts on the Death they are going to remember come to it without any design of being like Christ premise only a few Prayers out of Custom touch the Ark with unwashen hands dive not into their hearts nor do prepare themselves for this Banquet thrust themselves in as the Guest in the Gospel without suitable Ornaments do not plow up the fallow Ground or do not make it soft and Mellow with Meditation and Praises and consider not what they come for or to what end and purpose they give their attendance at the Altar there we need not wonder if frequent Communicating abates their esteem and veneration of this Sacrament but this is their Sin and frequent Communion is not to be blamed it 's their love to the World that will not suffer them to bring that attention watchfulness and devotion with them as is requisite to the comfortable use of this Ordinance a Sin which must be deplored and like the cursed thing in the Camp of Israel removed before they come to see the goings of God in the Sanctuary The Covetous Man abates not in his esteem of his Wealth and Treasure though he look upon it every day and the reason is because his Affections are set upon it and were our Affections set upon him from whose fulness we all received Grace for Grace our frequent Communicating would be so far from lessening our esteem of this Sacrament that it would render it more lovely and more amiable to our Souls Two Men of the same Trade live together the one grows rich the other continues poor the one thrives the other decays because the one is industrious the other lazy one minds his business the other lies in Ale-houses and Taverns This is the Case here if some fall into a disesteem of the greatness of this Ordinance by frequent Communicating it is because they take no pains with their Souls before they Communicate whereas others who are laborious and careful though they recieve never so often they go on from strength to strength till every one of them appears before God in Sion V. But since frequent Communication requires frequent Preparation and frequent Preparation is a thing that Persons who have much business in the World cannot attend how can it be supposed necessary for such to Communicate frequently Though Preparation be a Subject that I intend to spend a distinct Chapter upon yet something may be said of it here by the by and by way of anticipation to shew the weakness of this excuse and the vanity of this exception And therefore 1. Business is either lawful or unlawful If it be unlawful no conscentious Man must either involve himself in it or continue to mind it for whoever applys his Thoughts Desires or Affections to any business of that nature puts himself in a state of Damnation and hangs over Hell fire by a very weak and feeble Thread even this Transitory Life which if it chance to break his Soul is lost in a word unlawful business makes a
Man unfit not only for frequent Communicating but for Salvation too and then his business is unlawful if either out of greediness he takes too much of worldly business upon him more than he can well go through with and which must necessarily hinder him from minding his everlasting concerns or if his business in the World necessitates or necessarily engages him in Sin as when a Mans business engages him to Lying or Cheating or Stealing or Extortion or grinding the Faces of the Poor or unreasonable Usury or encouraging Men in their sins whether Drunkenness or Uncleanness or to Flattering or Dissembling c. Where any such Sins are so bound up with the Worldly business that the one cannot be performed without the other there the business is unlawful sinful odious to God and must be quitted banished abandoned though he beggers himself by it though he were to starve upon quiting of it for this is inconsistent with any hopes of Salvation and a Man had better die ten Thousand times than lose the comforts of Eternal life and to be sure it must be quitted too that a Man may be capable of comming to the Holy Communion for without it he is no more fit to be seen at this Table than a Swine in a Royal Chamber If the business be lawful it can be no impediment to seeking first God's Kingdom and his Righteousness for lawful business is Commanded and one Command doth not clash with the other and if it be no impediment to a serious course of life except a Man will needs make it so it can be no just impediment to Prayer and Meditation and acts of Love and contemplating the mystery of the Cross and consequently no impediment to frequent Communicating 2. Preparation to the Holy Sacrament is either Habitual or Actual Habitual Preparation Divines call that when a Man 's constant care is to please God and to approve himself faithful to God and to be conscientious in all his ways when he makes it his business and the bent of his Soul is to arrive to higher degrees of Sanctification and he is fully and invincibly resolved not to harbor any thing that he shall know or suspect to be offensive to God This habitual Preparation is as necessary as conversion it self and I doubt not but a Man thus prepared may at any time upon a very short warning recieve the Holy Sacrament to his Spiritual comfort as is manifest from the example of the Primitive Christians who at first before they were very numerous recieved the Eucharist every day and therefore could not well come with any other Preparation but what was habitual Actual Preparation consists as we shall shew hereafter in retirement suitable Prayers and Thanksgiving in Self-examination and Contemplation of the Death of Christ and the Motives Reasons and Benefits of it Resolutions c. This actual Preparation is either more prolix or more compendious The prolix or longer actual preparation is necessary till Men become Masters of that gracious habit I have already spoken of but if this be once become the constant guest of the Soul if this once become an Inhabitant a shorter actual preparation is sufficient and therefore where a man is habitually prepared by a Consciencious course he may follow his lawful concerns and business in the World and yet that need not hinder him from those shorter actual Preparations requisite in frequent Communicating In a Word let a Man but once in good earnest proclaim War to all his known Corruptions and Imaginations that exalt themselves against the constitutions and Injunctions of Christ Jesus and he need not doubt but that a very short actual preparation though it were only some few fervent Ejaculations will make him a worthy partaker of the comforts of Divine Love tendered to him in this Sacrament and consequently lawful business can be no just impediment to such frequent preparation But if this I shall have occasion to say more hereafter The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. IT 's no wonder to see that strictness Christ hath Commanded his Followers to observe in their lives decay and dwindle away to nothing but Shew and Formality in the Age we live in since frequent Communicating is so much out of date among us Blessed be God all are not of this mind and many pious Souls we have which conscienciously appear at the Lord's Table as often as they are called to it but still what a vast number of miserable Souls there are abroad who are such perfect strangers to this frequent Communicating that some even die and leave this World without ever thinking of it and others delay their coming to it till Death fills them with horror upon the account of their neglect and others come as seldom as they can What shall I say to such Persons What Arguments shall I use with them How shall I aggravate their Offence Are you Christians or are you Heathens That a Turk a Pagan a Jew doth not shew himself at this Holy Table is no wonder for he is unacquainted with the Religion of a Crucified Saviour But that you who profess your selves his Disciples should be loath to come and see what hath been done for you upon the Cross what Wonders what Miracles of Love God hath wrought for you on the Tree to which the Son of God was nailed what can we think what can we imagine but that you are Infidels under the name and shew of Believers How justly may I Expostulate with you what are you afraid of that you either come not at all to this Well of Salvation or come but seldom What frights you What stops your Journey Are you afraid of parting with that which is death himself to your redeemer your Sins and Naughtiness Are you afraid of purifying your Selves even as he is pure Are you afraid of living up to his Example Are you afraid of losing your foolish Delights and Satisfactions Do you pretend to be friends of Christ and are you loath to accept of him for your Friend Doth he promise to come and meet you in this Ordinance and are you loath or ashamed to be seen in his Company Had you rather keep your Trash and Dung and Filth than come hither and be made clean Tell me not that you are willing to receive him if you will not receive him in his own way In this Sacrament he offers himself to you if here you will not embrace him if here you will not express your esteem of him what hopes have you that he will ever be your portion What can the Ever-Blessed Jesus think of you What can he judge of you What opinion can he entertain of you but that you are his Enemies Enemies to his Supper Enemies to his Love Enemies to your own Souls Must you be dragg'd to your own Happiness Must you be forc'd to drink of this Water of Life While you keep off and stand out are not you the Persons that would not have this Man
Ordinance in thy Church and ordained it as a means whereby thy loving Members may come in the unity of the Faith unto a perfect Man It shall be established for ever as the Moon and as a faithful witness in Heaven Give me O give me perseverance in the use of it O Jesu Thou art the promised Seed the promised Messiah the promised desire of all Nations Thou art the fruitful Vine and by the precious Liquor that drops from thee innumerable Souls are cherished and refreshed Thy Sacred Name is as Ointment poured out I smell the rich composition My Soul doth gather strength and life from that perfume I am the wounded Man that 's fallen among Thieves O let thy Blood heal me of my Plagues Thou hast been lifted up to the Cross that the Enemy of Mankind might be troden down O let me participate of the Virtue of that exaltation that I may trample upon his Temptations Thou hast been lifted up to draw me after Thee and to withdraw my Heart from worldly Desires and Affections O lift me up from the Earth that I may relish the comfort of thy Exaltation Thou wast lifted up that thou mightest be beheld by all O let me look upon Thee whom I have pierced by my Sins that I may mourn for them bitterly Thy Holy Arms were stretched out that thou mightest embrace all that come unto Thee I come Lord Take me into thy Arms and love me O let thy Cross be my security against all my Enemies Let thy Wounds be my refuge in the hour of Temptation Let that innocent Blood that dropt from thy Hands and Feet and Side wash away the spots and stains of my abominable Actions Henceforward my Hands and my Heart shall be lifted up in Prayer and Praise and Love and Devotion O direct me and give me grace to obey thy Directions and leave me not till I am past all danger O see me safe through the wilderness of this World that I may for ever Admire and Adore Thee in thy Everlasting Kingdom Amen CHAP. XVII Of Eating and Drinking unworthyly in this Ordinance and the Guilt the unworthy Receiver incurs thereby The CONTENTS Both good and bad Men frighted witb the thoughts of Eating and Drinking unworthily but the good without just cause Wherein unworthy Eating and Drinking doth not consist shewn in Thirteen particulars with the reasons of the assertion and wherein it doth consist The danger of unworthy Eating and Drinking proved to lie in making our selves guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. How Men involve themselves in that guilt discovered A great difference betwixt Receiving unworthily and being not worthy to Receive The great imprudence and Weakness of those that are loath to depart with their Sins and therefore are unwilling to come for fear they should make themselves guilty of the Death of Christ and of Damnation The impudence and boldness of others who come to this Sacrament receive unworthily and are not concerned at their danger The Joys and Comforts which arise from Receiving worthyly The Prayer I. THough from the Premises the Reader may easily guess what is it to Eat and Drink unworthyly and though in Ch. 4. some general notions concerning it have been laid down yet since it is a point which frights not only bad Men but even some of those who are otherwise piously inclin'd from coming to the Lord's Table it will be necessary to give a distinct explication it that neither the bad may think they gain any thing by abstaining nor the good be discouraged from coming As bad Men have no sense of Spiritual things which makes them live merrily in neglect of commanded Duties so not a few of those whose hearts are tender are apt to discompose their minds with needless scruples whereby they too often deprive themselves of the comforts they might reap from God's Ordinances and besides expose themselves to strong Temptations of the Devil who takes pleasure to see good Men in confusion hoping that one time or other they may fall into his net and when they know not how to extricate themselves out of their Labyrinths will shake of the Yoak of all Religion and become his Votaries run into the the other extream and turn either careless or Prophane To prevent these and other dangers it will be convenient to discourse of this Eating and Drinking unworthily first Negatively what it is not and secondly what it is and wherein the sin consists And therefore II. To Eat and Drink unworthily is not 1. To Eat and Drink at this Table with a weak Faith By a weak Faith I mean such a belief of the truth and necessity of the things commanded in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as makes the Soul ready and willing to do the things required of her but is attended with great fears and doubts with wavering and inconstancy and this weakness proceeds not so much from want of will to submit to Christ as from want of understanding either the extent of the Grace of God or the nature of the Gospel of peace or the design of God in his Providences or the Latitude of true Christian Liberty which defect must needs cause great mistrusts of our safety danger of being scandaliz'd with little things and unsteddiness in Holy Duties as we see Rom. 14. 1 2. c. yet this weakness of Faith doth not make a Man an unworthy receiver 1. Because Christ is willing to receive such into favour and he express'd this willingness in his kind behaviour to the Man we read of Mark 9. 22. Who believed indeed but waveringly and soon after cryed out and said with Tears in his Eyes Lord I believe help thou my unbelief The Disciples of our Lord upon their first adhering to him were at the best but weak in Faith and therefore Christ calls to them so often O ye of little Faith yet he doth not therefore reject them He cherishes the very Seeds of Faith and when it is no bigger than a grain of Muster-Seed he makes much of it Though the Branches of it be but tender yet he doth not Root up the Tree or Command the Husbandman to cut it down lest it should cumber the Ground or throw it into the Fire To which purpose there is an Excellent Character given of him Esa. 40. 11. He shall feed his Flock like a Shepherd and gather the Lambs with his Arms and carry them in his Bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young There are Lambs in his Flock as well as Sheep and as these two require various management so both may be confident of his tenderness All Stars do not shine alike yet even those that give not so great a brightness shall be preserved as well as the greater Luminaries Love is an acceptable present to him and though in some like fire under green Wood it burns but dimly yet he 'll quench it no more than he will the more blazing Flames But then when I say he will
for all the World clamour'd against them they were hated by Heathens hated by the Jews reviled by Strangers reproached by their Country-men and there was greater hopes to reconcile Fire and Water Light and Darkness than of reconciling some People in the World to them Yet did not this Hatred and Surliness of others make them unworthy Communicants If my Neighbour will throw himself down from a Precipice why should that hinder me from walking in a plain Path And if others will be wicked why should that be an Impediment of my being good 'T is true Christ Matth. 5. 23 24. tells us If thou bring thy Gift to the Altar and there remember that thy Brother hath ought against thee leave there thy Gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift Which Words seem to import that if another Man be not in Charity with us our Devotion cannot be accepted till he be reconciled to us But these Words of Christ must be explained by Vers. 22. which brings in the Discourse Vers. 23. for there our Saviour tells us I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his Brother without a Cause shall be in danger of the Judgment i. e. He that conceives Anger against his Neighbour and hopes to escape the Guilt of Sin must have a very just Cause for it viz. There must be a just Cause given him by his Neighbour and then it follows If thy Brother have ought against thee i. e. have ought against thee justly which thou hast given just Occasion for first be reconciled to thy Brother and then offer thy Gift So that it is not another Man 's bare having ought against us that makes us unworthy Receivers but if he have ought against us that we have been the just Cause of if we have kindled his Anger by something that we have injuriously said or done against him there till we seek to be reconciled unto him our Gifts and what we offer to God must needs be odious to him because they are offer'd with an Heart that is not right with him But where we have either done nothing that he can take just Exception against or have done our Duty and what became our Place and Station without any Intent of doing him harm or if in case of an Offence given we have by proper Means and Addresses sought to be at Peace with him and notwithstanding all this he will still have ought against us there his Hatred and the whole Guilt of it will fall upon his own Pate nor can his Insolence or Ill-Nature darken the Light of God's Love and Favour to us who sees we have done what became Christians and honest Men and though it will not satisfie the angry Man yet his Choler cannot deprive us of the kind Looks of our Father which sees in secret nor make us unworthy Receivers 10. A Man's having as he supposes received no Benefit by this holy Sacrament and coming to it again doth not necessarily make him an unworthy Receiver For 1. A Man may really be the better for having been at this Sacrament and yet for the present may not be sensible of it because he may measure his not being better by the want of some particular Qualifications he is desirous of and over-look those Advantages he hath in good truth received by the holy Communion Many a pious Christian is the better for this Sacrament though he is loth to believe it for his coming to this Table either strengthens him in his Hatred of Sin and in his Love to Religion or advances him in Humility Patience Readiness to forgive Injuries and in Charity and yet because he feels not just after it those lively Desires those earnest Breathings after God that Fervour of Spirit that Ardency in Prayer he expected he may think he receives no Benefit because he doth not get what at present he most desires and feels not those Excellencies and Accomplishments which are most upon his Mind yet all this while there may be an actual Growth of Goodness in him his other Graces may be established his Cautiousness of offending a merciful Redeemer increased his Obedience and Self-denial advanced his Faith of another Life augmented his Resolutions to shun the very Appearances of Evil fortified all which upon a strict Search and View of his Inward Man he may find And therefore I may justly conclude that if he receives the Benefit God thinks sit for him though he receives not the Benefit he desires that that Supposition of his of receiving none at all cannot make him an unworthy Receiver 2. 'T is possible we may receive no Benefit at all by frequenting this Ordinance and we may know we do not if we are the same in our Lives we were before If the Cross of Christ doth not draw us after him if it leaves us without Desires to be like him or doth not check the Sins we have been fond of if it does not make us stand in awe of God any more than we did before if it work no Love to God no Charity to other Men's Souls and Bodies in our Hearts if after it we rush into Sin as easily as before if it prove no Bridle to our sinful Appetite no Curb to our covetous Desires if it restrains us not in our Affections to the World if it gives us no Courage to resist no Boldness to withstand those Lusts which were dear to us but still this is clearly our own Fault and for want of considering the Arguments and Motives the Cross of Christ affords us to die to Sin for want of thinking on the Design of Christ's Death and for want of taking pains with our selves for want of reflecting on the Force of Divine Love and for want of earnest Prayers and Addresses for the powerful Assistance of God's Spirit If it be thus with us we have reason to be afraid God will not rejoyce over us when he comes to view our Souls in this Ordinance However All this need not be an Obstacle to our Reformation If we have done ill 't is our Interest to awake out of Sleep and to redeem the Time If we have received no Benefit before upon our Amendment we may If we have done the Work of the Lord negligently upon our Reformation God may may turn our Captivity as the Streams in the South It is with this Sacrament as it is with a rich Mine which yields no Profit to the Owner till he works it The Benefit Men receive here is the Effect of Labour They must be disposed and qualified for this Gift and that which qualifies them is to quit that Slothfulnes they were guilty of 11. Communicating with Persons that receive unworthily doth not necessarily make a Person an unworthy Receiver For 1. Every Man shall bear his own Burthen Gal. 6. 5. If another be wicked how can his Wickedness unsettle my Faith or disorder my Devotion except I consent to his Impiety
the Lord Jesus will answer and though he may knock often yet at last the Gates will be opened to him The Everlasting Door the Gate of Grace and Mercy shall be unlocked to him and he shall get more Grace greater Strength larger Influences his Incomes shall be greater his Revenues more plentiful He will open the Windows of Heaven to him and refresh his Ground with kindly Showers They shall drop on the Pastures of the Wilderness and the little Hills shall rejoyce on every side Such a Receiver is like to abide in Christ and his Word like to abide in him He may be sure of his Love sure of his Friendship sure of his favourable Looks For him Christ laid down his Life indeed and he may be confident that he is one of his little Flock for he hears his Voice and is willing to be guided by him For him the Saviour of the World hath prepared a sure Refuge a Munition of Rocks where he shall dwell securely free from the stormy Wind and Tempest Such a Receiver believes in him and he shall not die Nay Though he were dead yet shall he live Because Christ lives he shall live too And though his Life be hid with Chrst in God yet when Christ who is his Life shall appear then shall he also appear with him in Glory His Faith shall at last be turned into Fruition his Hope into Vision his Expectations into Enjoyment He shall see Christ at last in his Majesty He shall see him in his Wedding-Robes He shall sit down with him at last at the Supper of the Lamb and lean on his Bosom and the Angels will say Behold the Disciple whom Jesus loved He shall walk with him in shining Garments and the King's Daughter which was all glorious within here shall be all glorious without too Her Glory shall be the Joy of Saints and the Envy of all wicked Men. Such a Person rejoyced in his ligâ—t here and he shall be decked with Eternal Light He that is the Light of both Worlds shall be his Everlasting Companion and Darkness shall not annoy him In a Word Christ will lift up the Light of his Countenance upon him and he shall be safe The PRAYER O Great and admirable Saviour who hast said I will give unto him that is a thirst the Fountain of the water of Life freely my Soul thirsteth for thee my Flesh longeth for thee in a a dry and thirsty Land where no water is to see thy Power and thy Glory I am unworthy to receive so Glorious a Guest into my Soul I am unworthy to wash the Feet of the Servants of my Lord Unworthy of the least Crum that falls from thy Table The Angels purer than the Sun think themselves unworthy to Praise and Glorifie thee How unworthy then must I think my self to receive thee the sweetest and the brightest Being into my House yet thou offerest to come and make thy abode with me What Bounty is this Whence is it that the Sovereign King of Heaven and Earth will come and dwell in me who am a sink of Misery a stye of uncleanness a den of filthiness How unworthy am I of this astonishing Saviour I freely confess that I have deserved to be plunged into the depth of Hell rather than to receive thee the Glory of Heaven and Earth into a Heart so defiled so polluted so corrupted with Sin and Misery Yet since thou dost freely offer me this unspeakable Mercy Come Lord and make thy Residence in my Soul I desire to receive thee with all Love and Purity and Devotion To this end destroy in me all that is contrary to thee and enrich my Soul with all suitable dispositions to receive thee I hate my Sins I renounce them I desire to think of them with horror because they were the cause of thy Torments and of that death thou sufferedst on the Cross I would hate them as the Angels and the Saints of Heaven do I am sensible thou art worthy of all Honour and Glory and from my Heart wish that I never had offended and dishonoured thee O that I had something of that Sorrow I see in thy Soul when thou madest thy Soul an offering for Sin Thy Soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death It was my Sin that caused that Sorrow O let me participate of that Sorrow O Jesu my Light my Righteousness my Sanctification my Redemption Open mine Eyes that I may see the vast Mercy offered me in this Blessed Sacrament Give me that Repentance that Faith that Love which may make me a worthy Receiver of thy Benefits I humble my self before thee I throw my self down at thy feet I give my self to thee I dedicate my Thoughts my Words my Actions my Understanding my Will my Affections to thy Service Set up thy Kingdom in my Soul Destroy my inordinate self-Self-Love my Anger my Pride and all my disorderly Inclinations Let thy Humility thy Charity thy Patience and all thy Graces reign in me Where thou art there is Heaven If thou art in me I shall not fear what Man or Devils can do against me for thou wilt hide me in the secret of thy Presence from the Pride of Man thou wilt keep me secretly in a Pavilion from the strife of Tongues Blessed be the Lord who hath shewed us his marvellous Kindness I will sing of the Mercies of the Lord for ever with my Mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all Generations Amen Amen CHAP. XVIII Of the sad Effects and Consequences of Unworthy Eating and Drinking in this Holy Sacrament and First of Temporal Judgments The CONTENTS The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is rendred Damnation explained and its various significations discussed Of Temporal Judgments in general which are or may be procured by Eating and Drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table Several Instances of Persons who have felt signal Judgments for prophaning Holy Things This applied to the Holy Sacrament How Men Eat and Drink Temporal Judgment to themselves explained There being many unworthy Receivers at this day who meet with no Signal Judgment in this Life what we are to think of it and how we are to reconcile this Impunity to the Truth of the Apostle's threatning A Question resolved whether such Judgments if they befall an unworthy Receiver do expiate his Sins God proved to be a consuming fire and in what sense Though it be dangerous to Eat and Drink unworthily yet this ought to be no discouragement from coming to the Lord's Table The Prayer I. THE Apostle 1 Cor. 11. 29. in general tells us He that Eats and Drinks unworthily Eats and Drinks Damnation to himself A fearful word The Writer of the Life of Ida de Nivella tells us that whenever she pass'd by the Altar where the Eucharist used to be celebrated a trembling seiz'd upon all her Joynts a kind of Ague fit came upon her and a Sacred horror invaded her Soul imitating the Earth in that particular which trembled at
of the Old Testament did all eat the same spiritual Meat and did all drink the same spiritual Drink for they drank of the Spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ 1 Cor. 10. 3 4. we must conclude that since under the New Testament Expiation of Sin is not allowed of without Repentance the Fathers under the Law could have no other Apprehensions of Expiation And though they mention the Removal of the Temporal Judgment as an External Sign of the Expiation of their Sin yet the Internal Mark of it and the principal was their Repentance and while they name the one they do not exclude the other The Jews at this Day lay the Stress of Pardon upon the Removal of the Judgment whether they repent of the Sin that caused it or not â—ay they go so far as to make their Death an Expiation for all their Sins By which Rule no Jew can be damned And this comes in a great measure from their mis-understanding of that Passage Isa. 22. 14. And it was revealed in mine Ears by the Lord of Hosts Surely this Iniquity shall not be purged from you till you die saith the Lord of Hosts Which Words import no more than this That God with the Death of those wicked Men will put an end to the Scandal they have given to others by their Iniquities and that by their Death God will purge the City or the Land from such Abominations but not that their Death shall be an Atonement for their Sins And therefore 2. Nothing doth properly expiate Sin but the Blood of Christ and as without shedding of Blood there is no Remission so by the shedding of Christ's Blood Men are put in a Possibility of being pardon'd But Repentance is the Preparative for the Application of that Blood Till a Man repents he hath no Title to that Blood or the Benefits of it And though God may remove the Temporal Judgment yet if it works no Repentance the Sin shall be produced against the Offender in the last Day All Temporal Judgments though they speak God's Displeasure at Sin yet they are intended withal for the Offender's Reformation And to this purpose Elihu speaks excellently well Job 33. 19 20 27. He is chasten'd also with Pain upon his Bed and the Multitude of his Bones with strong Pain so that his Life abhors Bread and his Soul dainty Meat his Flesh is consumed away that it cannot be seen and his Bones that were not seen stick out He looks upon Men and if any say I have â—inned and perverted that which was right and it profited me not he will deliver his Soul from going to the Pit and his Life shall see the Light And therefore if this Judgment which falls upon an unworthy Receiver instead of softening and melting his Heart doth but harden him there the Judgment is so far from expiating his Offence that it hastens and aggravates his Everlasting Condemnation and this very Sin will be remembred in Hell and double his Shrieks and Agonies And this is rational to believe for when God by that Temporal Judgment cannot reclaim him the last Remedy that God makes use of to bring him to a better Mind is lost his Folly is incorrigible and as that Judgment was a Talent he should have improved into Repentance so dis-regarding it and making no other use of it than Pharaoh of his Plagues and becoming more setled upon his Lees he justifies God's Proceedings against him in the last Day which though they seem â—evere to the Sufferer who is loth to feel the pain yet they are reasonable and he whom Temporal Judgments could not reclaim must know at last to his Cost there is no jesting with the Anger of an Infinite Majesty The Preceding Considerations reduced to farther Practice I. THE Apostle is in the right when he tells us Heb. 12. 29. Our God is a Consuming Fire Indeed to the Tractable and Docile who consider his Providences and take notice of his Loving-kindness who see the Vanity and Uncertainty of the World and build their Nest among the Stars of Heaven who are sensible of the Danger of walking after the Flesh and deliberately chuse to walk after the Spirit who run away from Sodom get themselves out of Babylon will not be infected by the Sins of the World and earnestly desire to be strengthen'd in the Inward Man with all Might To such he is all Kindness all Love all Mercy all Light all Compassion all Charity as we see in the Parable of the Prodigal where the Father's Acts towards the penitent Sinner are so full of Sweetness so full of Affection and Tenderness that nothing can be imagined more kind or loving or favourable But Men who undervalue the Methods of Salvation will be happy their own Way make light of that which they ought to prize above their Lives are unconcern'd about the Sins that cost the Eternal Son of God his Life will needs dream of God's Mercy while they obstruct it by their Ingratitude and hope to enter into Heaven notwithstanding their Neglect of purifying their Hearts and Lives nay can come to this Sacrament and will not be divorced from those Sins which here they profess an unfeigned Sorrow for Such Persons shall know and feel that God is Jealous and that the Lord revenges that the Lord revenges and is furious that the Lord will take Vengeance of his Adversaries and reserves Wrath for his Enemies Nah. 1. 2. He is indeed slow to Anger and doth not wllfully afflict the Children of Men but Boldness in Impenitence wakens his Vengeance and where his Patience tempts them to greater Wantonness there is no dallying with their Errours These things hast thou done saith God and I kept silence and thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thy self but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine Eyes Psal. 50. 21. II. Because it is so dangerous to eat and drink unworthily yet that ought not to discourage any Person from eating and drinking in this Sacrament Worthy Eating and Drinking here is not dangerous at all so far from being dangerous that it is a Duty and beneficial and a Key to the choicest Mercies And if it were dangerous why should it fright any Soul from coming 'T is dangerous to go to Sea Yet doth the Seaâ—man therefore forbear his Voyage 'T is dangerous to climb a Tree Yet doth the Husband-man therefore let his better Fruit drop down without getting up to gather it 'T is dangerous to fight against a numerous Enemy But is the Soldier therefore dis-hearten'd from venturing into the Battel Danger helps us to look to our Steps and if there be Difficulty in an Attempt it whets our Courage and makes us fall on with the greater Force and Earnestness So that if worthy Eating and Drinking were dangerous it were an Invitation to an ingenuous Temper to apply himself to it But in this there is no Danger What Danger can there be in
done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it A vast difference betwixt reading of Christ's Passion and meditating of it Some Rules and Cautions about this exercise of Meditation The Prayer I HAving in the foregoing Chapters explained the Doctrine Nature Use End and Design of this 〈…〉 It will be necessary to direct the 〈…〉 Preparations for this Blessed Ordinance 〈…〉 may be said to comprehend 1. Meditation of Christ's Passion with Reflections 〈◊〉 â—n our Selves 2. Self-Examination 3. Judging our Selves 4. Self-Resignation 5. Devotion suitable to the occasion I begin with Meditation of Christ's Passion call'd by Damian The Believer's Refuge in the hour of Temptation his Shade in the heat and sweat of Afflictions the everlasting Fewel of Divine Love and the best Sauce or Remedy in all Troubles and Vexatiâ—ns And Christ himself seems to have shewn us an example of seasoning our Hearts with this previous Meditation for before he instituted this Sacrament before he distributed the Bread and Wine to the Disciples in the Eucharist he contemplates his own Sufferings in the Paschal Lamb he ate of He saw on the Table a Lamb dead flead and roasted at the Fire This suggested to him how himself was in a few hours after to be kill'd and scourg'd and feel the heat and fire of mighty Torments He saw his Friends eat the Paschal Lamb in haste and he could not but reflect what haste his Enemies would make to apprehend him In the unleaven'd Bread and the bitter Herbs that were set before him he saw the Gall and Vinegar he was to taste and if the Disciples at that time did eat the Passover with staves in their hands that could not but put him in mind of the Cross to which he was to be nailed II. What it is that makes Meditation of Christ's Passion necessary as an act of Preparation for this Holy Sacrament we shall easily know if we consider 1. Meditation brings things to our Minds we did not think of before Though we know before that Christ was unjustly accused by the Jews beaten buffeted crown'd with Thorns inhumanly murther'd yet Meditation discovers things to us we took no great notice of before it helps us to enlarge upon the passages of his Passion and these cannot but be very instructive to our Minds This puts us in mind of the dignity of the Person that suffer'd all this how it was not a mere Man not a mortal King not an Angel not one of the Higher Orders of Ministring Spirits but the Son of God that laid down his Life a Life more precious than the Lives of all created Beings put together This puts us in mind of the indignity of the Persons for whom he suffer'd what vile Creatures they were Creatures of whom he could expect no advantage and fear no danger and such as were his Enemies This puts us in mind of the vast multitude of his troubles and miseries how his Body did not only suffer but his Soul too how he suffer'd in his Habit and Dress by having it pull'd off from him and divided among the ruder Soldiers how he suffer'd in his Honour and Reputation by being call'd a Glutton a Wine-bibber a Blasphemer Stirâ—ing up of the People and possess'd with a Devil how he suffer'd in his Wisdom by being call'd Impostor and treated like a Fool and Madman how he suffer'd in his Power by being accus'd as a Magician as one that dealt with a Familiar and was in league with the Prince of Devils how all sorts of Persons did contribute to his Suffering a Disciple whom he had nourish'd and brought up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord Kings and Governors Judges Harlots Soldiers High Priests Scribes Pharisees Ecclesiasticks Seculars Jews and Gentiles Men and Women This puts us in mind how every Member of his Body was put to grievous pain how his Head was crown'd with Thorns his Hair pluck'd off by the rude usage he endur'd his Cheeks beaten his Face sullied his Back crush'd his Neck and Arms tied with Cords his Shoulders bruis'd by the Cross his Hands and Feet pierc'd with Nails his Side open'd with a Lance and his whole Body made black and blue with stripes How all Senses suffer'd his Eyes seeing the Mockeries of the multitude his Ears hearing the Blasphemies of his Enemies his Smell forced to endure the stench of dead Bodies on Mount Calvary his Taste tormented with Thirst and what is worse with Gall and his feeling with variety of blows This puts us in mind how his Soul endurd more far more yet than his Senses the Sins of Mankind lying like an heavy load upon her This represents how that was afflicted with a Sense of God's Anger against sin and with the Damnation of thousands that would not prevent their ruine and how as the sins of Mankind were without number so his Grief and Sorrow was without measure This puts us in mind how his Pain and Torments became more pungent and afflictive by reason of the delicacy of his Complexion how his imagination being most lively had therefore a quicker sense of Misery how his Torments were without any alloy differing in this case from the Torments of the Martyrs of old who had great comfort administred to them in their Sufferings Comforts so powerful that they walk'd on glowing Coals as on a Bed of Roses and in the midst of Flames had a cooling Dew sprinkled upon them This suggests how he drunk the bitter Cup without mixture without a drop of Honey to sweeten it and how this makes him the Martyr of all Martyrs and the King of all afflicted Saints and upon that account may be said to have endured more than all Men put together ever suffer'd in this World This puts us in mind with what affection he suffer'd how he chose to suffer for the Joy and Comfort he should thereby procure to all sincere Believers how Love to Mens Souls engaged him to these Sufferings and whereas a few drops of his Blood might have serv'd turn to redeem Mankind he would notwithstanding all this to testifie his infinite Love shed every drop of Blood in his Body for their sakes This puts us in mind with what fervency and earnestness he went to meet his Cross and in order thereunto bid the Traitor make haste and do quickly what he design'd to do and with what alacrity he embrac'd his Torments and therefore sung a Hymn with his Disciples before he was apprehended by the Murtherers to shew the joy he took in laying down his Life for his Sheep Meditation doth the Painters work which embellishes the courser Draught gives it Features Lineaments curious Strokes and all its proper Dresses whereby the Mind is signally edified and affected with the Picture 2. Meditation of Christ's Passion enflames the Soul with the Love of Jesus At Patras a City of Achaia there lived a Heathen Priest Coresus by name who intending to Marry set his Affections upon one Callirrhoe a
hast thou had of thine own Worth And how hast thou undervalued the Man or Woman that have had to no other Crime but Poverty Thou hast thought thy Inferiors scarce worth talking to How unlike thy Redeemer is this Pride and Haughtiness Were Grace an Inhabitant of thy Heart what low Thoughts wouldst thou have of thy self How readily wouldst thou converse even with the meanest Saint How wouldst thou learn to esteem Men more for their Holiness than for their Riches And how lovely would a Creature that hath the Image of God upon him look in thine Eyes Far more lovely than the greatest Monarch or Lady that have nothing to recommend them but their outward Splendor 15. And he said unto them With Desire I have desired to eat this Passover before I suffer HOW doth God long for our Happiness How fervent are his Desires to do us good Yet how little have these Longings prevailed with thee O my Soul Notwithstanding all these Desires of God to make thee happy how hast thou longed after the muddy Waters of Sensual Pleasures Nay longed to be for ever miserable when in despight of his Intreaties not to neglect so great Salvation thou hast longed for the stolen Waters of sinful Delights coveted Death and been enamoured with Destruction How hath God intreated thee to close with him upon his own Terms and how hast thou grieved him with thy Refusal How hath the Almighty beseeched thee by his Ambassadors to be reconciled to him and yet thou hast stood out and baffled the Stratagems of Mercy 16. For I say unto you I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God CHrist rejoyces that the Shadows are at an end and that the Substance or Antitype is approaching for as the Passover was a Sign of the Jews Deliverance from Egyptian Bondage so that Deliverance was a Shadow or Emblem of our Deliverance from Sin here and our Exemption from all Misery and Trouble in Heaven which was now to be effected by the Death of Christ. But O my Soul how hast thou hunted after Shadows and left the Substance unregarded What are the Glories of this World but mere Shews Yet how fond art thou of them and how strangely hast thou been enamoured with them These Shadows intimate that there are more substantial Glories in the Everlasting Mansions yet these thou passest by and the other thou art delighted with See how thou dotest on those painted Coronets those Butter-flies those Airy Nothings while with the Cock in the Fable thou tramplest on the Pearl even on the Pearl of Price to purchase which the Spiritual Merchant in the Gospel sold all he had 17. And he took the Cup and gave Thanks and said Take this and divide it among your selves HOW thankful is our Great Mediator for every Mercy he received from his Everlasting Father Yet how ungrateful hast thou been O my Soul to thy mighty Benefactor What Mercies hast thou received at his Hands and what strange Returns hast thou made for them Thy God hath been kind to thee and thou hast been base and unworthy How hast thou fed on his Blessings and ascribed them to thy Wisdom and Industry How hast thou lived upon his Charity and spurned at his Laws Foolish Creature Dost thou thus reward the Lord thy God Thou shouldest not eat a bit but send some Thanksgiving-Ejaculations to Heaven yet thou contentest thy self with a careless Grace and never thinkest more afterward of God How little dost thou mind the Providences that are sent upon thee And while thou considerest not the Operations of God's Hands how canst thou be thankful 18. For I say unto you I will not drink of the Fruit of the Vine until the Kingdom of God shall come INdeed Heaven hath the best and choicest Wine even the Wine of Angels This Wine is the ravishing Love of God This transports the Understanding and wraps up the Intellect in Extasies of Joy and Comfort A brutish Man knows not this neither doth a Fool understand it And hath not this been thy Case O my Soul How weary hast thou been of thinking of this Banquet How soon have thy Spirits tired with meditating of that Love How ready hast thou been to think of the World and the last Night's Revel and how backward to reflect on this richer Entertainment What a Weariness hath it been to thee to survey these Glories to walk about that Jerusalem and to behold the Towers and Bulwarks of it 19. And he took Bread and gave Thanks and brake it and gave unto them saying This is my Body which is given for you This do in remembrance of me HEre begins the happy Institution of the holy Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood and the great Command to remember the Death of Jesus and together with that an Item of the greatest Love that can be shewn to poor Mortals Yet how backward O my Soul hast thou been sometimes to come to this holy Sacrament Thou should'st have longed for an Opportunity to remember this Death with the People of God What is this Bread but an Emblem of the Communion of Saints and a Representation of thy Communion with the Great Head the Lord Jesus Yet how little Delight hast thou taken in this Ordinance How often hast thou come out of Formality only How little have thine Affections been moved with that stupendous Love Either Sin or Malice to thy Neighbour or some Worldly Trouble hath made thee stay away The Thoughts of this Love should have thrown down all thy Strong Holds of Iniquity and left thee in a calm holy spiritual Temper But how hast thou preferred thy little Concerns in the World before this Feast And what Hazards hast thou run of being doomed to a Spiritual Famine as those Guests against whom the Master of the Feast protested that they should never taste of his Supper 20. Likewise also the Cup after Supper saying this Cup is the New Testament of my Blood which is shed for you AT how dear a rate was the remission of our sins purchased The Blood of the Son of God was the Price Greater Love hath no Man shewn than that he lay down his life for his Friends but here is one that laid it down for his Enemies that they may be pardoned How hast thou looked upon this pardon O my Soul sometimes without standing amazed at the height and breadth and depth and length of the love of God! How cold hast thou been in thy desires after this precious Blood Thou should'st have stood under the Cross waiting for the drops that trickled down But the familiarity of the joyful news of it alas hath too often wrought in thee a dis-esteem of it Nay how light hast thou made of this remission and by making so light of it thou hast profan'd it too when thou hast sinned because God is willing to pardon sinners and hast made that pardoning Blood an encouragement to indulge thy self in thy carnal
with all manner of Felicities But seeing that even this would not prevail there is but one thing more said he that can be tryed And seeing there is in Man not only a Fear and Desire but a Principle of Love too than which nothing is stronger to draw and incline his Will to Action Accordingly he came himself and appeared in Flesh and carried himself so lovingly toward the Sinner and proceeded to so great an excess of Charity as to lay down his Life to save him And therefore he that after this continues hard and impenitent saith the Father will not turn to him nor offer his Heart and Love to him deserves most justly to hear this unwelcome voice O man what could I have done more for thee to gain thy Love and affection than I have done Indeed what can we desire he should do more for us What can we desire more after his spilling his Blood and enduring for us more than any Man ever did There is no greater Testimony of Love If he had had a better thing than his Blood he would have bestowed it upon us But Love cannot go beyond this and therefore when Christ just at the moment of his Death cry'd It is finished We are not only to understand by that saying That the Shadows of the Old Testament the Desires of the Patriarchs the Figures and Prophecies which went before of him were at an end and accomplish'd or that the malice of the Jews the sury of the Devil the captivity of Sin and the reconciliation of the World were finish'd and consummate but the meaning withal is that all the Arts and Methods and Stratagems of Love had now received their accomplishment and that beyond this there was nothing could be supposed capable to allure or entice Men to express their Love and Affection to their God and that beyond this he knew of nothing else that could draw or gain their Affection than to be made Man and to die for them And if God be come to the utmost bounds of condescension in this attempt and prevails not judge O Sinner judge whether thou art not most deservedly cast into Eternal Darkness II. There is a great difference betwixt bare reading of Christ's Passion and meditating of it The former makes little or no impression the later touches and affects The former is no more than looking on the Wine but the other is drinking of it He that reads may have his Thoughts all that while in the Indies upon his Business or the affairs of his Calling and when he comes from reading may be able to give but a very small account of his pains except it be some general Notions and an imperfect draught and that 's no better than taking up water in a Sieve which runs out as fast as it is put in But Meditation fixes the Thoughts and takes notice of the weight and importance of the History This examines the end and designs of the various passages This takes a view of every circumstance and finds there are greater Mysteries in the particulars than at first sight appear'd This finds out new Mines and makes that shining Gold which was but Oar before I have heard of some ill Men that have been able to rehearse the whole New Testament word for word but he that meditates but upon one Verse of the Book shall receive greater advantages by it than the other by repetition of the whole Bible But all Persons have not Heads and Understandings fitted for Meditation and therefore those that have not must either make some short Remarks or Reflections upon what they read according to the Directions and Method before laid down or make use of the Conceptions and Meditations of other Men which may possibly affect them as much as Thoughts of their own However by applying the Meditations they read and reading them attentively they make them their own and though they sharpen their Shears and Coulters at other Men's Shops yet that 's no hindrance to their Spiritual profit and Edification nay some are of that temper that they like other Mens contemplations better than their own partly out of a natural mistrust of their own Abilities partly out of respect to the Names and Persons of Learned and pious Men. But what-ever Meditations are made use of in this Case seriousness must give them Life and an intent to quicken our Souls and inward Man must be the impulsive Cause and from hence the Thoughtful Christian may expect very Blessed Effects and Consequences Yet III. When I urge this Meditating on Christ's Death and Passion by way of Preparation and draw out this Meditation to so great prolixity for fear of being misunderstood I must add these following Rules and Cautions 1. It is chiefly intended for such as have time and leisure from whom God justly expects more than of those who are forced to employ their time early and late in hard labour for a livelyhood not but that the way to Bliss is one and both Rich and Poor must observe the same substantial Duties upon which the future Reward is promised and both are obliged to be Just and Sober and Temperate and Meek and Humble and Kind and Tender-hearted and lovers of God and devout but as the Rich have more time and leisure so God expects they should exceed the other in Goodness and employ that time which the other are forced to bestow in the sweat of their Face upon Contemplations of Nobler Objects whereby they may become shining and burning Lights and by their Example supply the use of Books to the poorer sort who in their Actions may compendiously view their own Duty and be incouraged to follow their good example with Humility and Godly Fear 2. This prolix Meditation may lawfully be forborn upon urgent occasions when a person either is to receive the Holy Communion on his sick Bed or is on a suddain call'd out to communicate with a Person who is sick In these Cases shorter Reflections and Ejaculations coming from an Heart set and fix'd upon the Love and Will of God are acceptable because upon such occasions Christ's Rule holds I will have Mercy more than Sacrifice 3. Nor is it necessary to tye our selves to the length of it As to this we may use Liberty and Discretion must guide every Christian who know best what he is able to bear and what not Sometimes only a few Verses of the afore mentioned Chapters may be pitch'd upon for our Minds to expatiate upon sometimes a greater and larger Field may be set before us and whereas from the variety of managing our Directions being sometimes short sometimes prolix this scruple is apt to arise that this is a sign of weariness and inconstancy and unsteddiness in God's Service that scruple must be removed by consideration of Christ's and the Apostles example the former praying sometime all night and sometime using only some few Ejaculations to his Heavenly Father the other sometimes exercising themselves in Devotion till
overcome the Evil with Good Rom. 12. 21. 54. To bear with the infirmities of the Weak Rom. 15. 1. 55. To avoid familiarity with Sectaries and such as disturb the Peace of the Church Rom. 16. 17 18. 56. To practise the Rules of that Charity which are set down 1 Gor. 13. 4 5 6 7. 57. To bring forth those Fruits of the Spirit which we find specified Gal. 5. 22 23. 58. To learn to be wise unto Salvation 1 Cor. 3. 18. 59. If a Man be overtaken in a fault to restore him in the Spirit of Meekness Gal. 6. 1. 60. To redeem the Time we have lost by our greater diligence in God's Service Eph. 5. 6. 61. To resist Temptations to Sin with all our might Eph. 6. 13 14 15. 62. To study Modesty and Decency in all our Actions 1 Thess. 4. 3 4 5. 63. To esteem the faithful Teachers of the Word very highly for their Works sake 1 Thess. 5. 12 13. 64. To comfort the feeble-minded to support the weak to be patient towards all Men 1 Thess. 5. 14. 65. To rejoyce in the Lord always Phil. 4. 4. 66. To use and shew Moderation to all Men Phil. 4. 5. 67. To give Thanks in every thing and to give God the Glory whether we Eat or Drink or whatever we do 1 Cor. 10. 31. 1 Thess. 5. 18. 68. To abstain from appearances of Evil 1. Thess. 5. 22. 69. To prove and try things by the Word of God and to hold fast that which is good 1 Thess. 5. 21. 70. To be conteut with Food and Rayment if God doth not think fit to give us more 1 Tim. 6. 6 7 8. 71. To be steady and constant in our Duties without fainting Rev. 2. 20. 72. To study great sincerity and simplicity in our Actions 2 Cor. 1. 12. 73. To be rich in good Works where God â—aâ—h blessed us with Riches in this World 1 Tim. 6. 17 18. 74. To use great Temperance in Eating and Drinking 1 Cor. 9. 25. 75. To use great modesty in our Apparel 1 Tim. 2. 9. 76. To visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Afflictions Jam. 1. 27. 77. To bridle our Tongues Jam. 1. 26. 78. To be easie intreated to that which is good Jam. 3. 17. 79. To say of things we intend to do If the Lord will and we shall live Jam. 4. 15. 80. To call for the Elders or Ministers of the Church when we are sick and to let them pray over us Jam. 5. 14. 81. If we are chearful to sing Psalms Jam. 5. 13. 82 If we have done any thing prejudicial to our Neighbours to confess our faults to them Jam. 5. 16. 83. To endeavour to convert others to the love of God Luke 32. 32. 84. To have our Conversation in Heaven and to look more at the things which are not seen than at those which are seen Phil. 3. 20. 2 Cor. 4. 18. 85. To be sober and vigilant over our Actions 1 Pet. 5. 8. 86. To grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3. 18. 87. To use Hospitality and to be kind and obliging to Strangers Heb. 13. 2. 88. To lay down even our Lives for our Brethren if it be for the good of the Church 1 Joh. 3. 16. 89. To use the World as if we used it not 1 Cor. 7. 31. 90. To give diligence to make our Calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 7. 10. 91. To imitate the good Examples we see before us Heb. 13. 7. Phil. 3. 17. 92. To be courteous and affable in our Discourses and Behaviour 1 Pet. 3. 8. 93. To repent of the Sins we have fallen into and to forsake them 2 Cor. 12. 21. These are the Duties we find Commanded in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and by looking over these two Catalogues we may soon perceive what we have been doing against God our Neighbor and our selves and wherein we have been defective But then 3. This Self-Examination will not be compleat except we consider these Sins and Duties with respect to our present temper and inclination and therefore 1. As to the Sins which upon a survey of the Catalogue we find our selves guilty of or prone to our hearts must be ask'd whether we have an aversion from them whether we are resolved to shew our dislike and hatred to them for the future whether we do think it worth our pains to exercise our selves in the mortification of them whether our real purpose is whenever we are tempted to any of them to oppose the Temptation and to keep our selves unspotted from the insection whether the bent of our Soul is wittingly and wilfully to allow our selves in the Commission of them no more whether we do in good earnest intend to enquire and take advice and to use the proper remedies to be rid of them whether we are resolv'd to shun the apparent occasions of them and whether in case we do through incogitancy run into any of these errors to get up again presently and endeavour to bring our selves to an habit of cautiousness of offending God and whether we will pray much and work hard to shake these Vipers from our bosoms 2. As to the Duties which upon a view of the aforesaid list we find we have neglected enquiry must be made whether we see and taste the sweetness of them whether we do heartily believe that the perfection of our nature consists in them whether we do earnestly resolve whatever comes of it to be possessors of them whether they ingross the desires of our hearts whether we have any ardent longings after these Spiritual accomplishments whether we prefer an holy fruitsulness in these Virtues before Temporal felicities whether we have a sense of the great necessity beauty and excellency of them whether we do not content our selves with bare wishes after them but are fully purposed to take the way whereby we may obtain them whether we are resolved to improve the single and accidental Acts into a lasting habit and disposition and whether we will be earnest with God for the assistance of his holy Spirit that they may take root in us and solicit the Grace of God to prosper our endeavours whether we think them worth having and will act like persons that do think so whether if we have done them imperfectly the purpose of our Souls is to perform them with greater sincerity whether if foiled at any time in the pursuit of them we mean to take fresh courage and to fall on again till we arrive to a facility in the practice and if gentler means will not prevail whether we will use the severer and more rigorous ways of mortification and offer even violence to our desires rather than go without them If our hearts can and dare answer in the affirmative and say Yea to these Queries we are safe and may believe God hath mighty blessings in store for us and will bestow them upon us in the use of this Holy
Sacrament In such a method this Self-Examination must proceed and then it 's like to produce the effects we desire and God expects at our hands IV. But still you will say That is a very operose and laborious Business and full of intricacies and difficulties and scarce possible to be done every time a Person receives the Holy Communion especially if accidentally a Christian is to Communicate with a sick or dying Neighbour nor can Ministers themselves be supposed capable of doing all this when they are on a sudden call'd upon to administer the Holy Sacrament to persons that send for them But to give a satisfactory Answer to this point it will be necessary to lay down the reply in these following Positions 1. The Trouble is imagined to be greater than really it is If People are unwilling it is an easie matter to pretend Difficulties and Impossibilities All that I have mentioned may be done in an Hour's time or less For it is to be supposed that every Person is not guilty of all the Sins nor guilty of the Neglect of all the Duties in the preceeding Lists And how easily may a Person spy those Sins and Neglects he is prone to and then by the Rule of Queries mentioned before see how his Heart stands affected But suppose it were a Task of some difficulty Is Heaven worth nothing And is the Labour for the Body of that Consequence that the Soul deserves to be neglected What if God would not part with an Interest in his Love upon cheaper Terms Will ye refuse it and chuse to be miserable Sure you would not think so if you had been but one Moment in Hell However as I said the Task is not so laborious as is imagined by Persons who have an Aversion from Goodness 2. It is confessed that the Command about Self-Examination is general and concerns both the Good and Bad both Worthy and Unworthy Receivers both those who are void of Grace and those that are filled with the Spirit But though the Command is general and obliges the Serious as well as the Profane the Compleat as well as the Half-Christian equally yet in the manner of the Performance of it there cannot but be a very great difference because the Persons concerned do differ much in their Tempers Progress in Goodness and in their Wants and Necessities and consequently to the one it must be more laborious than to the other and the one hath reason to spend more Time in this Self-Examination than the other as he who hath suffered his House to become very full of Filth and Dirt must be at greater Cost and Pains to cleanse it than he that every Day takes care to keep it swept And therefore 3. A Man who hath led an ill Life and thinks of coming to the Table of his Lord and Master or if he have communicated formerly and after that is fallen into any grosser Sin and gone on in it when-ever he approaches had need set all the particular Sins God hath forbid in his Gospel and all the particular Duties commanded in that Book before him and ransack all the Actions of his Life he can remember to see how far he hath been from the Kingdom of God and how his Heart is now resolved and disposed As to his particular Sins and Neglects whether he intends to take up and to set his Face against them and whether it be his unfeigned Desire Purpose and deliberate Resolution to submit his Neck to the sweet and easie Yoke of Christ of whom he expects Pardon and Salvation both in this Sacrament and in the last Day And as tedious as this Self-Examination may appear to such a Person yet he may thank himself that his long Continuance and Boldness in a sinful Life hath made the Task so laborious to him And indeed till such a Man's Love to Sin and a sinful Life doth signally abate and the Byass of his Soul be changed and turned it will be necessary for him for some time at least as often as he receives the holy Sacrament to iterate and repeat this larger Self-Examination to see what Advance he makes in Holiness and whether there be not some Sins lurking in his Breast he took no notice of before But then 4. If he find that after Receiving several times his Faith and Love to the Lord Jesus Christ doth signally grow and his Relish of a sinful Life dies and a nobler Taste of the Goodness of God insinuates into his Breast as his Sins grow fewer so his Self-Examination before the holy Sacrament need not be so laborious as before it was Finding he hath gotten a setled Hatred and Abhorrency of several Sins he formerly delighted in instead of examining himself about them he hath reason to break forth into Praises and Admiration of the Goodness of God who hath delivered him from the Power of Darkness and led him to his Marvellous Light In a Word The holier the more melting towards God and Goodness the more spiritual the more obedient to the Commands of the Gospel a Man or Woman grows the less Self-Examination will serve turn for as he grows in Grace so his Errours and Infirmities abate and those which remain against his Will may be easily known and he may easily take a View of them nor will it cost him so much Time to take them into Consideration as the greater Heap of them formerly did and let him separate those Sins he hath left and got the Mastery and Conquest of from those Infirmities which yet against his Desire or Approbation cleave to him and the Remainder will soon be examined and he may soon satisfie himself whether he be resolved to labour more and more to exterminate them from his Soul and upon that Account come to the holy Sacrament to get greater Strength and Courage against them by contemplating the Love of God and the Cross the Agonies and the Tremblings the Lord Jesus endured for them The Sins a Man hath actually left need not be examined over again every time he Receives but those only he is yet very prone to slip into and would fain be rid of to become more conformable to the Lord Jesus So that 5. He that makes it the Business of his Life to please God in all Places and in all the Conditions and Concerns of his Life and is arrived to a Cordial and Practical Love of Goodness may very Conscientiously after a very small Examination of his Life and Actions especially if he be straitned in Time come to the holy Communion for the Sins he would fain be rid of he may soon run over and see whether he goes to this holy Ordinance with a Design to become more spiritual and take a final Leave of his Sins at the awful Sight of the Cross of Christ. And for this Reason not only a serious Minister of the Gospel who endeavours to lead a very Exemplary Life and to practise what he preaches but even a Conscientious Lay-man who
been guilty of before that Age were committed out of Ignorance so the Examination is more easily performed and as their Age and Religion advances so they will know more Their early Self-Examination makes way for early Gravity and helps to ripen their Understandings and is the only Way to prevent their falling into the Vices of the Age and if any thing next to the Grace of God can be a Charm against Infection from a debauch'd and irreligious World this is most likely to be it I mean this Self-Examination joyned with the holy Sacrament for which it is intended as a proper Preparative III. It is not enough that another Person hath examined us or doth examine us but we our selves must take pains in it Ministers and Parents and Friends by examining of us may be able to give us very good Directions and excellent Instructions how we are to order our Conversation but to all this must be added our own Labour and Diligence to see whether we observe those Directions whether they are acceptable to us how we relish them and whether we intend to act accordingly Up then Christian and try thy Ways Be not afraid of Labour Labour and Food saith Philo have the same Vertue for as upon Food a Man's whole Life depends so upon Labour also depends all that a Man can call good Therefore as they that will prolong Life do not neglect their Food so he that desires any real or solid Good must not be afraid of Labour As Meat is very troublesome and burthensome to a weak Stomach that hath but little Natural Heat so to him that hath but little Love to Christ this Labour of Self-Examination will be burthensome But Christian as thou hast the greatest reason to love the Lord Jesus so if thou lovest him to any purpose both this and other Labours will appear very easie for Love will make them so See therefore and enquire how Concerns stand betwixt God and thine own Soul Shall thy Reason lie useless Shall that excellent Faculty be employed in searching into the Accounts of thy Shop and not into the State of thy better Part Is it not worth knowing whether thou art of God or a Child of the Devil And whether thou hadst rather grovel in the Dust like a Muck-worm or elevate thy thy Soul and fix it upon Objects which Angels desire to pry into Hath God given thee Power to examine thy self and wilt thou neglect that Power Though thou canst not Read nor Write yet thou canst think and think whether thy Life be according to the Holy Rules which are observed by other conscientious Christians Through this examination thou mayst come to see what God hath done for thy Soul and if he hath planted there an abhorrency of that which is evil and a strong affection to that which is good how joyfully mayst thou come to this Holy Table and expect that God will pour Water upon him that is Thirsty and Floods upon the dry Ground and that thou shalt spring up as among the Grass and as the Willows by the Water-courses Isai. 44. 3. 3. He that comes to be acquainted with himself at the same time comes to be acquainted with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. This is true Policy and as he is the greatest Politician in Temporals that sees afar off and considers the events of things and upon what causes they depend and gives counsel accordingly so he is the greast Politician in Spirituals that studies himself acquaints himself with his own heart for such a person looks further than his present profit and sensible how this self-acquaintance will be valued one day counsels himself to be expert in that Wisdom For it is certain that in the last day not the great Scholarship of Men not their improving of Arts and Sciences not their skill in various Languages not their Ability to Discourse well not their volubility of Tongue not their Rhetorical and Eloquent Speaking not their profound Philosophy nor their Diving into the secrets of Nature will be much admired These things did well for this World and might be serviceable to various Sorts and Degrees of Men But if Persons with all these Accomplishments about them overlook'd their own Hearts cherished Weeds and Vices there and would take no notice of them their Parts and Learning will not stand them in great stead in that Day of Retribution The poor Christian that ransack'd his Soul often turned over the Leaves of his Conscience that spiritual Book on purpose to see his own Spots and Stains and wash himself clean out of an holy Emulation of the Purity of the Lord Jesus he will be counted at last the most prudent Man that had the quickest Eye and a Sight sharper than an Eagle for as this gives him a Title to all that Christ hath purchased and the rich Blessings laid up for him in this holy Sacrament so in the last Day it gives him full Possession of all the Trophies of Christ's Victory The PRAYER O God! Thou seest the secret Recesses of my Soul Though I may hide my self from my self yet I cannot hide my self from thee whose Sight is not darkned by the Night nor stopped by an Object intervening nor hindred by Walls of Brass nor weaken'd with the greatness of the Distance O Lord Thou hast commanded me to examine my self and to search into the Sins and Errours of my Life What Foes I have and how many there be that rise against me that would swallow up my Soul and devour it that I may secure my self against their Rage by taking Sanctuary at the Death of my ever blessed Redeemer the Lord Jesus O Lord I am very apt to do thy Work negligently I am apt to do it by halves and superficially and without any regard to its weight and moment Thou that knowest my Dulness my Backwardness and my Hypocrisie deliver me I beseech thee from my self and make me Partaker of that Light whereby thou meanest to discover the Sins of Men in the last Day when they come to appear before thy Tribunal By that Light they will see every Deformity every Enormity every Exorbitance of their Outward and Inward Man That will discover to them what they have long ago forgotten and manifest to them what for many Years they have not thought of That will shew them every Errour of their Lives to their Confusion and Amazement That will make them see their Faults so evidently and so distinctly that they will not be able to deny them but be forced to render themselves Prisoners to thy Justice That will undeceive them in their fond Opinions of their Sins and pull away the Varnish they have put upon them and make them appear in their native Hue and Blackness Oh vouchsafe me that Light in some measure now that I may not deceive mine own Soul Make me Partaker withal of the Zeal of thy Justice and of that Hatred thou bearest against Sin that I may hate my Sins as
love thee feel XI O Saviour Gentle as the Spirit that in the shape of a Dove lighted on thy Sacred Head Teach me that Meekness which look'd so amiable in thy Life Expel the evil Spirits of Wrath Anger and Pride and Envy out of my Soul Speak the word and these Winds and Waves will obey thee Let thy gentleness make me great When I shall have overcome my wrathful and proud Inclinations and O! let the Sacrament I am going to help me in the Conquest then shall I be great and glorious in thy sight XII Great Shepherd of my Soul whose Wounds are full of Sweetness full of Mercy full of Charity Let thy Wounds prove the most powerful Remedies to rid me of my Corruptions When any impure Thoughts rise in me let thinking of thy Wounds crush them when sluggishness in Religion assaults me let thy Wounds and the remembrance of them make me vigilant in thy service and when in the Holy Sacrament I think of thy Wounds let all my vain imaginations expire XIII Great Friend of my immortal Soul Such a friend is not to be found in all the World as thou hast been to me for thou hast laid down thy Life for me O let me make much of thy friendship and cherish it by being meek and humble and merciful and patient as thou wert that thou mayest be my Friend when I dye and after Death receive me to thy self O confirm and seal thy Friendship to my Soul in the Blessed Sacrament and let the same Spirit move in me which raised thee from the dead XIV O Thou who hast wash'd me from my Sins with thine own Blood chuse I beseech thee my Heart for thy Dwelling place adorn and replenish it with thy Gifts and Graces make me to loath all transitory things make me poor in Spirit cure in me the itch of Self-love throw down all pride and eagerness after the Riches of this World and make the Holy Sacrament I am going to a mean to adore thee in Spirit and in Truth and to persevere in Goodness to the end XV. Great Comforter of all weary and laden Souls Circumcise my Heart from all evil Thoughts and Words and Actions and Comunicate thy self unto me that I may never be separated from thee or ever be deprived of thy Comfort Draw my Soul after thee in the Holy Sacrament and let that Blessed Ordinance powerfully stir up my Heart to love thee XVI O Thou who art the door of thy Sheepfold By thee let me have access to thy Father's Love And as in the Holy Sacrament thou openest thy Bosom to me so let me run and seek shelter there Chain me to thy self by Bands of Love and let no Temptation defile me O keep me that I may never cowardly faint at any adversity XVII Thou who hast endured contradictions of Sinners against thy self Be thou ever in my mind and teach me to bear Calumnies and Reproaches with great tranquility of Mind Let me refer all difficulties to thee and with silence expect thy Grace and Comfort and let the Blessed Sacrament so influence my Soul that I may fear none but thee XVIII Great Captain of my Salvation I am going to learn to fight the good fight in the Blessed Sacrament of thy Love Let thy great example there encourage me to fight against all Ambition and Ostentation against Censoriousness and Uncharitableness against all Intemperance and Gluttony against all proud and covetous Thoughts against Guile and Hypocrisie against discontentedness and misitrinst of thy Providence Against such Enemies give me grace to fight over these let me triumph that having striven lawfully I may at last be admitted to the Glorious sight of thy Sweet Self and be charm'd with thy Love for ever CHAP. XXVII Of the proper Acts of Devotion when we come to the Holy Table The CONTENTS Private Acts of Devotion must be forborn while the Congregation joyns in common Addresses to Almighty God General Acts of Devotion relating to the wonderful Love of Christ and our Love to him Particular Acts of Devotion at the Consecration and Receiving of the holy Symbols I. THE following Acts are fittest to be used before the Prayers of the Church usual at the Communion do begin or before the Minister of the Ordinance comes to us with the sacred Symbols and while others are Communicating II. While the Minister of the Ordinance is engaged in the Prayers of the Church these Ejaculations must be forborn our Duty during the publick Devotions being to joyn with the Congregation in their common Addresses to God These Acts of Devotion are either General or Particular The General I call those which respect the Love of the Lord Jesus The Particular those which are to be exercised at the Consecration and Receiving of the Consecrated Bread and Wine General Acts of Devotion at the Lord's Table I. GReat Saviour of the World Thou art infinitely amiable worthy to be loved by all to whose Ears the joyful Message of thy Love doth come I rejoyce in the Knowledge of thy Love I count my self happy that I am born under the Shadow of thy Gospel in which thy wonderful Love to the Children of Men is manifested I desire no other Knowledge 'T is enough that I know thou hast loved me beyond Example I desire to count all things Dross and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ. II. O my Jesus I am not worthy to love thee Yet because thou biddest me love thee and hast told me that my Soul was created on purpose to love thee I chearfully resign my Love and Affection to thee I desire to love thee I wish for nothing more than that I may passionately love thee Whom have I in Heaven to love but thee And there is none on Earth that I desire to love more than thy self For thou art altogether lovely and thy Love surpasses all the Love of Friends and the dearest Relations I have III. O my blessed Redeemer I desire to love thee with all my Heart and with all my Strength Thou gavest me this Heart and this Strength And on whom can I bestow it better than on thee the Author of it Oh that all that is within me might be turned into Desires and Inclinations and Sighs and Languishings and Breathings after thee For I cannot express what thou hast done for me What thou hast done for me is beyond all the Kindness that the greatest Men ever did or can do for the meanest and poorest Creatures IV. Great Advocate of my Soul Thou seest my Desire to love thee Make it strong and powerful Take a Coal from the Altar and give it Fire that nothing may hinder the Flame from mounting up that nothing may weaken this Desire nothing may break it nothing may tire it nothing may mingle with it that is unclean or contrary to thy Love V. Great Object of my Desires Make me a Martyr of thy Love Make me willing even to die for love of thee Raise a
not been for such forcible means or straits and necessities so that the Minister of the Ordinance may thank their Office more than their Religion that he sees them in that holy place And most certainly this is not Eating the Lord's Supper for nothing is properly an act of Religion but what is a free-will-offering and flows from an internal love of the Duty And what is here said of accidental Employments is too true of standing Offices of the Church A Minister or Clergyman may come to the Lord's Supper and yet not eat the Lord's Supper he may celebrate it as a Minister and yet not eat it as a sincere Christian he may eat it because his Office obliges him to administer it and yet not eat it with that sense which becomes a sincere believer And it is so with lesser Officers about a Church Custom may carry them a great way and for some years they may never fail to come to this Table and yet may not eat as they ought for they may do it upon the account of their Office only and because it is expected of them but the sense of the end and of the love of God may be wanting which defect makes it a very lame offering 3 Such Men however come and to this they are led by a fancy they are willing to entertain that other Men who come receive it with no greater sense or seriousness than they They consider not whether this will be a good Plea another day but it gives present satisfaction and this makes them espouse it Not to mention that it is great rashness and presumption in them to judge of other Mens hearts the secrets of which they are for the most part ignorant of and if other men should be no better than they yet that would be no excuse Men being to live by Precepts not by every Example that is before them yet thus Men love to delude themselves and by that means precipitate themselves into unspeakable Dangers For III. This not eating as they ought strangely hardens them in Sin If the Cross of Christ cannot open their eyes or make them sensible of their Errors few things can be supposed able to do it to their comfort If the Blood of the Covenant cannot supple their hearts other things must be believed to be ineffectual because God looks upon this as the most potent remedy to effect it nor is this to be understood only of scandalous sins but all such offences which Christ hath peremptorily forbid though the world takes no great notice of them such as are aversion from holy Thougts and Discourses and neglect of those Gospel Graces the Apostle presses upon such as would not be Christians in vain And hence it is that where Men do not eat the Lord's Supper aright our Exhortations to those nobler Duties of Religion are lost upon them and all the severe threatnings we rehearse and mention to rouze them from their Spiritual slumber are spoke into the wind and they continue strangers to that Spiritual frame which the Apostle calls Rom. 8. 5. minding the things of the Spirit By a Spiritual frame of the heart I mean a God-like Temper which is pleased with any thing that makes for the Glory of God and as Fire converts all things into its own substance spiritualizeth Objects or makes a spiritual use of them and is truly enamoured with the severer Precepts of the Gospel and looks upon them as perfective of our natures and consequently thinks no Commandment grievous Hence it is that such Men who are strangers to this frame their Religion turns into mere Formality and Hypocrisie and however it may look in their own eyes in the sight of God it goes for no more than Paint and Varnish mere Glow-worm light that shines but warms not glitters but gives no Heat blazes but doth not touch the Heart and like rotten Wood seems bright but hath nothing of Fire in it and this must necessarily cause very false Applications of Gospel Promises which at last produces such Self-deceptions that when they come to appear before the Bar of God's Justice they 'll not only wonder at the Cheats they have put upon themselves but tear their hair and smite their breasts and be ready to kill themselves to think how they have murthered their own Souls with kindness and by fair Words and Speeches enticed them into ruin IV. From what we have said it will easily appear what eating of the Lord's Supper doth import eating it I mean in a Scripture Sense 1. To eat it with a relish of the Benefits of Christ's Death and Passion even in our common Meals we find a great difference betwixt eating and relishing betwixt eating with and without an Appetite betwixt tasting the juice and delicacy of the Meat and fancying it to be no better than Chaulk or Ashes He that eats the Lord's Supper aright his Soul must eat as well as his outward Organs and as Christ saith John 6. 63. The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life so the Soul that eats as it should do the benefits of Christ's Death they must be Life and Spirit to her a perfect Cordial true Elixir real Sweetness comfortable Balm and sweeter than Honey to the Palate These Benefits are Pardon and Peace and reconciliation to God and Salvation and the Soul must be affected with them prize them value them practically above the Riches of the World and count all things dross and dung for the excellency of them and be willing to part rather with Father and Mother and Lands and Houses than with the Comforts of them and that is to relish and then the Soul eats indeed whereas a person that either thinks not of these Benefits or if he thinks of them hath no actual value for them so as to feel in himself how highly he esteems them and what a mighty veneration he hath for them though he may be said to eat yet he doth not relish them and therefore doth not eat aright 2. It is to eat with secret longings to be conformable to Christ Jesus in his Humility and Charity or as the Apostle expresses it to have the same mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus Phil. 2. 5. And this in another place is called hungring and thirsting after righteousness Matth. 5. 6. and was represented of old by the secret longings of the Spouse Cant. 1. 3. Draw me after thee and I will run Where there is no such longing to conform to Christ in these Virtues a Man doth not properly eat the Lord's Supper like a healthy man for he digests not the Food doth not turn into good Juice it doth not nourish him he doth not thrive upon it I call it longing for the desire after these Graces which were so eminent in Christ must be strong and vehement ardent and grounded upon the Beauty Loveliness and Amiableness of them such a longing as David expressed for the Lord's House and his
this more than Man to Reign over you There can no just Reason be given for your not coming frequently to this Holy Table but that you are loath to agree to the Terms of sincere Repentance and Obedience he requires at your hands and are you loath to be saved Do you take pleasure in being Reprobates Is it such Comfortable thing to be excluded from God's favour While you wilfully absent your selves do not you refuse to be healed Here the kind Physician comes and declares his Willingness to cure you by the Balsom of his Wounds and had you rather be sick than of a healthful Complexion Here is a Medicine tendered unto you a Medicine for your sin-sick Souls and had you rather perish than rise and awake that Christ may give you life Hath the Son of God endured so much gone through such a Discipline of Torments through Fire and Water that your Souls might live and do you despise his Love Do not you Despise it when you come so seldom to apply it Would not one think that you have a mind to be miserable when you are so backward to come to him that would deliver you from your misery Ah! did you believe the astonishing misery of God's Love how would you breath how would you pant how would you hunger and thirst for this Fountain open'd for the House of Judah and Jerusalem It 's a sign your Appetite is dull your desires feeble your Affections cold your Inclinations frozen were all things right within the Fire would burn and at last you would speak with your tongue I come Lord I come I delight to do thy Will It is the Will the Order the Command of that God in whom you believe to come often and shall any thing hinder you from obeying his Command Shall not his Orders prevail with you Can you prefer your little business before his Will Do you believe that he must be your Judge and will you allow always your selves in Rebellion and Contumacy under his Injunctions If any man serve me let him follow me and where I am there shall also my Servant be saith Christ Joh. 12. 26. Ah! Shall so sweet a voice be lost upon you Shall not this Invitation of the bleeding Jesus melt you He was just going to his Cross when he said so He was just going to institute this Sacrament of the Cross when he call'd so Ah! How sweet are these words How full of Kindness How fragrant is this Breath What can work more upon harden'd hearts break break thou stubborn heart The Rocks sympathize with him and cleave asunder and cannot this voice this voice of Mercy make an Alteration in thy breast O take heed lest this Lamb which came to take away the Sins of the World put on another shape ere-long even that of a Lion and roar upon you as it is Luc. 14. 24. I say unto you that none of those Men that were bidden shall taste of my Supper I know there are some honest Souls who out of a Sense of their own unworthyness dare not come and dread frequent approaching to this Table but such I would not fright but win to this frequent Communion and all I shall say to them at this time is this Are you willing Christ should set up his Throne in your Souls Are you willing he should tread down his Enemies in you Enemies which have usurp'd his power Are you content he should be formed in you and fill all your Faculties Are you content all should stoop to him and all that is within you should bow to his Scepter If so fear not you cannot come too often your frequent running to his Altar will be Incense to him Incense which he 'll smell as he did Noah's Sacrifice and secure you against future Destruction II. The frequent Communicant ought to receive some Comfort from these Instructions But then by the frequent Communicant I do not mean one that doth indeed come often to this Table but knows not what it is to be heated by the fire of Divine Love whose Sins are strong and his holy desires weak and whose frequent coming hath made him as careless as the vast number of Sermons he hath heard For such a frequent Communicant God hath given us no comfoâ—ts to such a one we have no message no Embassy of Peace but the frequent Receiver whose choice of the better part is both confirmed and encreased by frequent Receiving this is the Man to whom we are bound to carry Balm and Spices for a Present To you it is that this word of Consolation comes Your frequent attending at this Table is living under the precious drops of the dew of Heaven How goodly are thy Tents O Jacob How justly may you say that God loves you when you love to be often with him whom your Souls do love Surely your Souls will grow fat and flourishing that are so often nourished at this Table It 's a sign you long for the Courts of the Lord and you shall certainly appear in a Nobler Court one day a Court where nothing is mean nothing trivial nothing savouring of Terrestrial delights but a Court where all the Servants are Kings and all enjoy more than the Greatest Monarchs of this World do Blessed are your Eyes for they see and your Ears for they hear The oftner you see the precious Sacrifice on this Table the more endearing it will become to you the oftner you hear him call here come to me all that are weary the more desireable will he grow in your Eyes the oftner you meet here the greater will be the friendship betwixt him and you till this friend comes at last and recieves you to himself so that you shall be for ever with the Lord. The PRAYER O Dearest Saviour dearer to me than Father and Mother My Friend in all dangers my Benefactor in all wants my Fortress in all troubles I cannot but confess that thou hast frequently called to me frequently entreated me frequently expostulated with me and frequently asked me why I would die And I have as frequently stopt my Ears against thy call and been deaf to thy voice and my follies have kept pace with thy favours I see my mistakes I see my errors and my Sins I desire may be ever before me I know thy voice It is the good Shepherd's voice that calls me to this Table and thy Sheep hear thy voice I earnestly desire to be one of that number O feed me with thy pleasures O open mine Eyes that I may see the rich pastures that are to be found in thy Grave To this Sepulchre let me repair often O persuade me to look often into it that I may with the Holy Woman see the Angels sitting there To increase my willingness to come frequently visit me frequently with thy Salvation Let not my familiarity of that sight lessen my esteem of the Sacred Mystery The oftner I participate of it the greater let my Love my Affections and my Admiration be
Open still new Springs of Love when I come to this Sacrament of thy Everlasting Love that the New Springs may still give new life to my Soul new courage to do thy Will new Power to tread on Serpents new resolutions to conquer all that stops my way And thus my dearest Lord transform me by the renewing of my Mind that I may prove what is the Holy acceptable and perfect Wall of God Amen Amen CHAP. XVI Of the Perpetuity of this Ordinance and the Necessity of its Continuance to the World's End The CONTENTS St. Pauls Command to the Corinthians of shewing forth the Lord's Death till he come not to be understood of Christ's coming to them in the Spirit but coming to Judgment This proved largely by many arguments The reasons laid down why this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is to last to the end of the World Christ's coming to Judgment proved to be a very proper object of our Contemplation in the Recieving of the Holy Eucharist and a help to Patience and Faith and confidence in the Goodness of God God's Marvellous care of our everlasting welfare shewn in tying us up in Bonds of Obedience in this Ordinance Men who look for Grace and Salvation as they are bound to make use of the means of Grace so they are obliged to make use of this The wretched state of those who neglect to shew forth the Lord's Death in this Sacrament The same temper required in Recieving the Eucharist that we desire to be in when we shall be summoned to Judgment The Prayer I. THat this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a standing Ordinance and to last to the end of the World St. Paul expresly tells us 1 Cor. 11. 26. For as often as you Eat this Bread and Drink this Cup ye do shew or do ye shew the Lord's death till he come Whereby is plainly meant Christ's coming to judge the World and this hath been the unanimous belief of the universal Church since the Apostles time unto this day which makes us justly wonder at the boldness and ignorance of Quakers and other Enthusiasts who have presumed to abolish this Ordinance in their Conventicles pretending that this Sacrament was fitted only for the Infancy of the Christian Church but intended it should cease when Christ should come to them in the Spirit and having already received Christ as they fancy in their first Conversion and Regeneration they foolishly and ridiculously imagine that they have no need of receiving him again in the use of the outward Symbols tendered to Christians in this Sacrament Puffed up with this airy conceit they run into this Sinister and Childish Interpretation of the Apostle's words contrary to the sense of all Christian Churches as if Till he come were as much as Till he come to you in the Spirit to which impertinent Exposition nothing could possibly lead these silly Men but the Spirit of error and contempt of all human Learning and undervaluing the common dictates of Reason and a monstrous Spiritual Pride which not only swells them with an opinion that they are wiser than all the Christians in the World besides but tempts them to other insolencies and Prophanations of the Written Oracles of the Holy Ghost and therfore lest weak Capacities should be ensnared by such specious pretences it will be necessary to shew the unreasonableness of this interpetation 1. There is not the least Syllable not the least hint given us in all the New Testamenâ— that this Sacrament after it was once instituted was ever to be abolished which made not only the Apostles introduce it into the Christian Congregations while they lived but all the Churches planted and founded by them retained and continued it knowing nothing to the contrary but that this Ordinance was to be perpetual and Eternal and therefore as they had recieved the necessary use of it from those who laid the foundation of their Religion so they propagated the same to their posterity Nay among the Hereticks that left and separated from the Church there were very few but what preserved the use of this Sacrament in their Congregations and though they had the insolence of Blaspheming other Mysteries of Christianity yet this Ordinance they were afraid to abolish being sensible that it was one of the Corner stones of Christianity And who could imagine otherwise that considered how this Sacrament succeeded in the room of the Passover which was Item enough that it was to last for ever for as the Passover after its first Institution was to last to the end of the Jewish Oeconomy that expiring with Christ's Death so this succeeding was an argument that it was to continue while the dispensation of Christianity should last and that is to the end of the World 2. No Man will deny but that those three thousand Souls converted by St. Peter's Sermon did receive the Holy Ghost for St. Peter expresly promises them Acts 2. 38. Repent and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the Remissions of Sins and ye shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and this was very common in those days for true Penitents to receive the Holy Ghost immediately upon their Baptism and sometimes before their Baptism as Cornelius and his Company Act. 20. 44. 48. And though by the Holy Chost in those places are meant the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost speaking with Tongues healing diseases c. Yet it must be granted that in their conversion they had the Sanctifying Spirit of God sent upon them yet these very Persons that â—nd so received the Spirit continued in breaking of Bread and in Prayer as we are told Act. 2. 42. And that by breaking of Bread there is not meant sitting down to their private and ordinary meals is evident from hence because it is mentioned as a part of their Devotion and publick Worship to which their ordinary Diet cannot be referred and therefore it must be the Encharist or this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper that 's meant by it for by that Term it was usually expressed in the Primitive Church as we see 1 Cor. 10. 16. 3. Those very Corinthians to whom the Apostle writes in the place aforementioned and gives a Command to shew forth the Lord's death in this Sacrament till he came had already received the Spirit of God as we read 1 Cor. 2. 12. Now we have received not the Spirit of the World but the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given us of God and to this purpose he adds 1 Cor. 6. 11. Such were some of you but ye are Washed but ye are Sanctified but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God These Men then had received the Spirit of God and therefore when the Apostle writing to them chap. 11. Saith that they should shew forth the Lords death till he come most certainly he cannot mean till he came