Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A26360
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The Christian's manual in three parts ... / by L. Addison ...
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Addison, Lancelot, 1632-1703.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing A513; ESTC R36716
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123,157
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421
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After the Sacrament was celebrated there was one common Table for Rich and Poor whereat they did eat promiscuously and what was left was given to those in want And this I take was the Agape or Feast of Love mentioned by St. Jude and described by Tertullian Apol. c. 38. LX. And in proportion to this Custom when you come to the Sacrament you are to bestow something on the Poor that you appear not before the Lord empty and serve him of that which cost you nothing And though you are as to the quantity of your Alms left at liberty yet you had best to be merciful according to your Power If you have much give plenteously if you have little do your diligence gladly to give of that little for so you gather your self a good Reward in the day of Necessity In the Sacrament by a joynt communicating in the same divine Mysteries you attest to the World your being united to Christ your Head and to every true Christian as a fellow-member of the same Body And as Faith unites you to Christ so Charity also to his Members and by virtue of these two Graces the Sacrament seals the Communion of the Members with the Head and of the Members one with another But when you come to the Sacrament with Malice in your Soul you can have no true Communion with either but are guilty of the vilest Hypocrisie by making profession of that Christian or Brotherly Charity whereof your Heart is void and empty In this case I refer you once more to the counsel of our Saviour St. Matth. 5.23 24. where two things appear for your Instruction viz. 1. That though the Gift be already at the Altar it must be left there rather unoffer'd than be offer'd by one who is not at perfect Peace with his Neighbour 2. That he is not to neglect or quite put off the Offering of his Gift Tobit 4.8 but presently to remove the occasion of his not offering it aright LXI And when you find your Heart duly furnished with Faith toward God and the proper effect thereof Charity toward man you must once more go down into your Soul to see if it have that holy and heavenly temper called Devotion which is a Grace so sutable to the receiving of the Sacrament that it seems to make up the whole Office And if Devotion be not so warm and vigorous in your Soul as it ought and you would have it to be you must enquire into the Impediments thereof in order to their speedy removal Now amongst the fatal hindrances of Devotion the Cares of the World are with too great Justice chiefly to be reckon'd for they naturally fasten your Thoughts to the Earth and set your Affections on things below and are as so many depressing weights upon the Soul which unluckily keep her from those Transports of Devotion by which the would soar to Heaven And therefore upon your coming to the Sacrament you had need to allow your self some time wherein to withdraw from worldly Business and to cast off earthly Thoughts and by holy Meditation to lift up your Heart unto the Lord and to give your self unto Prayer which is indeed the principal instance of that Devotion now spoken of And your Prayer must at this time be chiefly for Pardon of by-past Sins for strength against them for the future and that God would grant you all those Graces which he now requires at your hands when you come to the Sacrament Be sure then to be diligent in this Duty for should your other Endeavours be never so vigorous and constant regular and uniform yet without Prayer for Gods blessing and assistance you appear to trust to your own arm and to rely upon your own strength not considering that all your sufficiency is from God that he gives you the Will and Power to do well and therefore unto him direct your Prayer with Humility Sincerity and Zeal to assist you with his Spirit that you may come so prepared to the Holy Table as that you may partake of the Benefits there reacht out to every worthy Receiver LXII Thus you see with what Graces your Soul must be furnished when you come to the Communion And if you find them to be but weak and feeble and in a low degree it must be your care to quicken and stir them up begging the assistance of Gods Spirit to that end And you may much quicken your Faith by due meditation on the many gracious Promises God has been pleased to make to the truly Penitent You may likewise instance your Love to God by considering his manifold Mercies those especially whose remembrance you celebrate in the Sacrament sum'd up in the death of his Son for your sake even when you in the Loyns of your Forefathers were his Enemy And this last consideration is both proper and powerful to move you to that Charity we have above treated of For coming to the Lords Supper you are in a more especial manner to follow the Example of Christ first in a perfect forgiveness of all that have done you wrong and next in manifesting your kindness to them in all Offices of Christian Love and Friendship And when you thus labour to stir up and increase these Graces in your Soul they become her Wedding-garment wherein she is fit to appear at this great Feast But if this be wanting she cannot expect to be otherwise entertain'd than an Intruder And what this is you have it illustrated in the Parable of him who coming to the Marriage without a Wedding Garment was cast out into a place of extream misery And though this Judgment may not fall suddenly nor straight upon your communicating yet you know not how soon that he that will come may come and who may abide the day of his coming For who can dwell with everlasting burning Ep. 33.14 Who can endure an unquenchable Fire LXIII But if after all your care in the Duties already mentioned you still doubt of your Condition and suspect the insufficiency of your Preparation for so holy a Performance if you find that notwithstanding your Resolution and Labour to the contrary you are ready to fall back into those Sins which you have confessed and lamented and abjur'd then you must confess Sorrow and resolve afresh resist and fight against both your Sins and their Occasions And if they still return you must still strive they get not the Victory which be sure they cannot while you labour in good earnest to have them subdued and mortified But if you still find the Law of your Members continually to war and often to prevail against the Law of your Mind and the Affections to prove too strong for your Reason and that this causeth you to be jealous you are not worthy to communicate Then be pleased to consider LXIV First That the end of your coming to the Lords Table is not to make protestation of your Righteousness and Perfection but to seek for both
other Appointed means but by a due receiving the Holy Communion The Young Persons Devotions upon his first Admission to the LORD'S TABLE Expostulation WIlt thou then O God vouchsafe me to partake of that which my Soul has so long thirsted after Shall I this day be admitted a Guest at that Divine Banquet from which my own unworthiness ought for ever to exclude me Wilt thou be so gracious to a miserable sinner as to accept of a renewing of the Covenant I made in Baptism after that by numerous ways I have violated and broken it Then Lord I will not absent my self but draw near hoping to be found in the number of those whom thou dost invite even of those who truly and earnestly repent of their sins who are in Love and Charity with their Neighbours who intend to lead a New Life to follow thy Commandments and to walk from henceforth in thy Holy Ways For upon these and no Terms else do I come to the Holy Sacrament which yet I dare not receive till with all Humility of Soul and Body I have prostrated my self and made Confession of my sins The Confession ALmighty God Father oâ— our Lord Jesus Christ Maker of all things Judge of alâ— Men I acknowledge and bewail my manifold Sins and Wickedness which I from time to time most grievously have committed by Thought Word and Deed against thy Divine Majesty provoking most justly thy Wrath and Indignation against me I do earnestly repent and am heartily sorry for these my Misdoings the Remembrance of them is grievous to me the burden of them is intolerable Have mercy upon me have mercy upon me most merciful Father for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake forgive me all that is past and grant that I may ever hereafter serve and please thee in Newness of Life to the Honour and Glory of thy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayer for Pardon FOrgive me O Lord whatsoever I have transgrest against thee from the time of my Baptism even to this very Moment whether against Knowledge or through Ignorance at home or abroad sleeping or waking in Thoughts Words or Deeds Whether occasion'd through the fiery Darts of my Ghostly Enemy or by the unclean Desires of my own Heart Have Mercy upon me and grant me pardon through Jesus Christ Amen Remember not the sins of my Youth nor my Transgressions According to thy Mercy remember me for thy goodness sake O Lord. Lord the sins of these my Younger Days are many the Breaches innumerable wherewiâ—â— I have ignorantly or foolishlâ— for want of Knowledge or Coâ—sideration offended against thee Lay them not I beseech thee tâ— my Charge but of thy owâ— free Mercy and Compassion to 〈◊〉 wretched sinner be thou pleased to be reconciled unto me anâ— seal the same to my Soul by thiâ— blessed Sacrament For thy Name sake O Lord pardon my iniquity for it is great I have many ways greatly sinn'd against thee and have no ground of hope for Mercy but only from thy free abundant Pardon which I know exceedeth my Sins and for which I am the more abundantly qualified by how much my state is more truly Miserable On the account therefore of thy Free Pardon to the greatest sinners so they be truly penitent I beseech thee be reconciled unto me who this day unfeignedly repent and turn to thee For Purifying the Heart ALmighty God unto whom all Hearts be open all Desires known and from whom no Secrets are hid Cleanse the Thoughts of my Heart by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit that I may sincerely love thee and worthily magnifie thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord give me Grace this day to receive the blessed Body and Blood of thy Son my most blessed Saviour into a Clean Charitable and Thankful Heart that it may perfectly cleanse me from all Dregs of sin that being made clean it may nourish me in Faith Hope Charity and Obedience with all other Fruits of spiritual life and growth in thee That in all the future Course of my Life I may shew my self such an engrafted Member into the Body of thy Son that I may nevâ—â— be drawn to do any â—hing thâ— may dishonour his Name Granâ— this O Lord I beseech theâ— eveâ— for his Merit and Mercy sake Amen For Self-Examination ALmighty God and most merciful Father give me I beseech thee that Grace that I may duly examine the inmost of my heart and my most secret thoughts that I may know how I stand before thee Lord I confess all my sins and my unworthiness to present my self at thine Altar But thou and thou only canst forgive sin and give true Repentance do both gracious Father and them behold I am clean to come unto thee Lord make me a worthy Receiver of that for which I come even Christ and Forgiveness of sin in Christ and that for his own Mercy-sake and thine Amen For belief of Christ's Presence without disputing the manner O Lord God hear my Prayers And while others dispute grant that I may stedfastly believe behold I quarrel not the Words of thy Son my Saviour's blessed Institution I know his Words are no gross unnatural Conceit but they are Spirit and Life and supernatural He hath promised me if I come worthily that I shall receive his most precious Body and Blood with all the benefits of his Passion without amusing my self then about the manner of receiving Him Lord make me able make me worthy to receive Him For grant me this Favour and I know I can no more die Eternally then his Body and Blood can again die and be shed Lord so wash and cleanse my Soul that I may now and at all times else come prepared by hearty Prayers and Devotion and be made worthy by thâ— Grace of this blessed Sacramenâ— the Pledge and Earnest of Eternâ—â— Life in the Merits of the same Holy Jesus who gave his Body anâ— Blood for me Amen Immediately before the sight of tâ—â— Bread O Lord God how I receive thâ— Body and Blood of my moâ— blessed Saviour the price of mâ— Redemption is the very wondeâ— of my Soul Yet that I do receivâ— them is my firm and constant belief At this time they are graciously tender'd to me and my Faith Lord make me a worthy Receiveâ— and be it unto me according to mâ— Saviour's Word Amen Looking upon the Bread and Winâ— say O Thou that sittest on high with the Father and art here invisibly present with us come and sanctifie these thy Creatures of Bread â—nd Wine and those by whom â—hey are to be received Amen As the Bread is coming to you say LEt thy Body I beseech thee O Lord Jesu Christ which was given for me preserve my Boâ—y and Soul unto Everlasting Life â—nd grant that I may take and eat â—n Remembrance that thou hast died for me and feed on thee in my Heart by Faith with Thanksgiving Amen As the Wine is brought say LEt thy