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
Virgin of that Town whom he courted and loved entirely but the more he courted her the more refractory she was till she even abus'd him and reproach'd him and shut the door against him The Priest seeing no way to compass his designs consults his Oracle and Idol but receives no answer In the mean while a killing sickness seiz'd the Town a Distemper which made People mad and dye raving The evil being become universal and spreading daily more and more some of the chief Men of the Town resolve to send an Embassie to one of the Heathen Gods in another City which gives them this Answer That this Plague should not cease till one Callirrboe a Virgin in that Town were offer'd in Sacrifice or some Person for her The news of the Oracle being noised about the Town Callirrboe goes to all her Friends to see whether any would suffer for her but finding none so fond she prepares for deâ—th and coming forth at the day appointed dress'd in her Funeral Robes Coresus that was to be the Executioâ—er appears with his Sword to cut off her Head for it was his Office upon such dreadful Solemnities but as he is preparing to give the fatal blow his Bowels began to yearn and to destroy a Person whom he had loved with most cordial affection was so severe a tryal to him that rather than be guilty of so barbarous a Fact in the presence of the whole Assembly he runs the drawn Sword into his own Bowels and as the Blood was now issuing in Rivers from his Body professes to the Damfel that he dyed for her so sincere so strong so fervent was his Love Callirrhoe astonish'd at the sight and confounded with the enterprize her stubborn Heart melts and now would have saved his Life with her own but it was too late yet to make him amends her Love to him on a sudden grows so violent that she resolv'd not to out-live him and at the same instant made her Life a Sacrifice to bear him company Meditation of Christ's Passion produces in a manner the same effect for as it represents Christ's dying for the stubborn sinner and â—ying for love of him it raises reciprocal flames in the considerate Soul It puts the case Suppose there should be a King most Wise most Rich most Potent most Beautiful most Gracious in the very flower of his age who being about to Marry should cast his Eyes and Love upon a poor Country Maid his Subject and withal very much deformed homely ignorant despised and disregarded by the meanest Men adorned with no good Quality that should cause attraction and solemnly Marry her What an obligation would that be to that poor infirm Creature advanced to a Throne from nothing from worse than nothing to entertain that Royal Husband with marvellous respect and to behave her self in his Presence with all possible Reverence and Love and Modesty considering what she hath been and what she is come to by his means What an obligation to Treat him with all Respect Honour and Humility What an obligation to love him with a most ardent most tender and most affectionate Love and to be most true and faithful to him loving none like him who has deservâ—d so much at her hands What an obligation to commend and praise him and to express her Sense of his unspeakable Favour to her What an obligation when he is sick to tend him to be about his Bed to declare her Sorrow and Grief and Compassion by her Tears especially since he hath humbled himself beyond example to espouse her What an obligation when he is absent to speak of him to long for him and to be impatient for his return What an obligation to sing his Virtues his Condescension his Mercy and his Charity and to magnifie his Wisdom his Goodness his Beauty and his Love to her What an obligation to give him content in all things and to deport her self every where so as to please him What an obligation if she have committed the least offence to think of it with great regret and remorse to beg his Pardon and to implore his Mercy What an obligation to endure any thing any trouble any cross any inconvenience for his sake and to think her self happy that she is in a capacity to suffer any thing for his Name What an obligation to be entirely subject to him and to yield to all things he desires of her Finally What an obligation to think her self most happy in his love and to rejoyce in being thus advanced by him to a state she could never have wish'd or hoped for Meditation having put this case applies it to the present occasion and saith Thou O my Soul thou art that poor despicable contemptible Maid that the Monarch of the Universe the Wisest the most Potent the greatest Prince in the World did fall in love with There was no Beauty no Wisdom no good Qualities no Perfection no Amiableness in Thee for which he should think of thee for his Spouse and that which surpasses all admiration this Sovereign Prince this Prince of Princes could not gain this wretched Maiden but by enduring a Thousand Torments by spilling of his Blood and hazarding his Life and he freely and cheerfully Sacrificed himself to obtain thy Love He required no Dowry of thee for he was infinitely Rich and thou miserably Poor He loved thee not in a foolish Passion for he is infinitely Wise He chose thee not for his Pleasure for thou wert defiled to a Prodigy and himself is happy and was happy in himself from all Eternity nor did he Marry thee by force for he is Omnipotent but it was mere Love mere Charity mere Compassion that he set his Affections upon thee and by his Marrying thee he hath ennobled thee aggrandiz'd thy Fortune made thee Wise and Rich and Great and Beautiful and hast not thou reason to love him with all thy heart and with all thy strength And by such Meditations of Christ's Passion the Soul is enflamed with the Love of the Lord Jesus Add to all this 3. What can be a more proper preparative for this Sacrament wherein the Passion and sufferings of our Lord are most solemnly remembred than a previous Meditation of his Sufferings For hereby the Soul will be more expedite in that remembrance and remember that Death not only with greater facility but with greater Sense and greater Affections too It is so with Men that are to speak in Publick they premeditate what they are to say and think much of the thing they are to be upon when they come before the Assembly and I see no reason but this may be a good preparative for acting in publick too Certainly he that actuates his Faculties thus in private will be better able to exercise them in publick for hereby the Heart is season'd and when it appears before God in this Ordinance the sense which the private Meditation hath lest upon it fits it the better for participation of
ruder than the rest having his Ear cut off by his miraculous touch is restored to his former soundness Herod seeks to kill him and at the same time he purges his Country from Devils and Diseases This sure could not be done but with an intent to shew us an example and except we do as he did how can we be said to be his followees It 's from this great Example that the Apostle infers a Duty Rom. 12. 21. Be not overcome with evil but overcome the evil with good and we all know who it was that told us that in vain we call our selves Children of God except we do good to them that hate us Matth. 5. 44 45. The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. VVe see here in what a different shape Sin appears from what it did before if the nature tendency and design of it be rightly considered That which before seem'd but a little Cloud or Twilight upon such a prospect will appear Egyptian Darkness Who of us makes any thing of Hypocrisie yet have we proved before that it is a betraying of the Son of God especially if it be reigning and allow'd of So it is with other sins The Jews Malach. 3. 8. thought their keeping back their Tythes and depriving the Priests and Ministers of the Lord of their due to be a trivial thing yet God speaks to them in Thunder and calls it robbing of the Almighty Will a Man rob God Yet ye have robb'd me Wherein have we robb'd thee In Tythes and Offerings So they made nothing of offering the Lame and the Blind but God calls it profanation of his Name Mal. 1. 12. A wise Man therefore and he that would not cheat himself in matters of Salvation must consider what verdict God gives of such sins as the World makes little of and in so doing will find how unsafe it is to venture on such trespasses and what dangerous things they are Indeed he that examines and ponders what names God gives to some sins in Scripture how he calls Covetousness Idolatry Ephes. 5. 5. Disobedience Witchcraft 1 Sam. 15. 23. Unbelief under the means of Grace trampling on and treading under foot the Son of God Heb. 10. 29. Living in a known sin being of the Devil 1 John 3. 8. Sensuality Enmity to the Cross of Christ Phil. 3. 18. Apostacy Crucifying of Christ afresh Heb. 6. 6. Love of the World Adultery c. Jam. 4. 4 must needs have other apprehensions of such sins than the duller or more vitious sort of Mankind hath and until we do so it 's a sign we have no mind to be sincere Converts till we look upon our Sins through the Glass of Scripture till we give our Sins those Names which He that cannot err doth give them till we begin to call them what they are indeed and our hearts are concern'd and troubled about that which such names import our Repentance is but lame and partial and we obstruct our way to mercy and forgiveness and prepare for being miserable in the midst of flattering hopes and expectations II As we do abhor and detest the Treason of Judas so let 's take heed we become not guilty of it our selves We are not in a capacity of acting that very Treason that the ill-natured Disciple did because Christ is not now on Earth and the circumstances of Time and Place and Government do differ yet how that Treason may be acted over again by a behaviour and conversation agreeable to that of Judas hath been already shew'd and whatever we do let 's not fall into the snare into which that unhappy Man did fall His end his despair the terrors of his mind the torments of his conscience the contempt and scorn of God and Men he rusht into are sufficient discouragements from that Hypocrisie which drove him on to those Precipices To maintain invincible Loyalty to our Great Master is not only our Duty but our Interest To promote whatever makes for his Honour and Glory is that which becomes us not only as we are his Subjects but as we are redeemed with his Blood So great a Mercy ought to crush every rebellious thought in our Minds Never had people a more gracious King a King which doth not only divide his Estate among his Subjects but is resolved to advance them to the highest Dignities they are capable of And what if sometimes he doth afflict us That doth not speak him a Tyrant but a Father or Physician rather who lets us Blood to prevent Diseases and launces our Wounds that they may not fester and kill us If he lays Burthens upon us it is not to oppress our Souls but our Sins and if he make us go through the Fire it is not that the Flame may consume us but that the Smoke may kill the Caterpillars and Locusts that eat the wholsom Herbs of our Graces It is not that he delights in our Groans but that he is desirous of our Welfare and when he scourges us it is necessity and our own good that puts him upon using that method not a fondness to exercise his Power and Authority The PRAYER O Blessed JESUS When I look upon thee and behold thy Beauty and Glory I wonder how I have been able to conspire against thee with thine Enemies How have I been led away by false appearances and listned to false rumours which sinful Men have spread abroad concerning thee Thou hast been represented to me as an Enemy to my mirth and ease and plenty and temporal advantages and I have believed it and run blindly with the multitude to crucifie thee I see how against Reason Conscience Interest and a thousand Obligations I have acted O forget the Injuries I have offered thee O remember no more the Treasons I have been guilty of Never never will I wittingly or wilfully betray thee again Let all Guile and Hypocrisie and Double-dealings be put away from me Make me an Israelite indeed Let sincerity and integrity ever preserve me Make me willing to forego all interests so I may but have an interest in the love of Complaency Let all enmity all dissention all hostility betwixt us cease I agree not only to a Truce but to an Eternal Peace I know Lord the danger of breaking the Peace lies on my side who am naturally treacherous fickle and inconstant but thy Grace can cure that inconstancy Lord stretch forth thy mighty Arm and hold me up that I may never depart from thee may always love to be with thee always delight in thy presence always rejoice in thy love and always seek thy honour and glory Amen Amen CHAP. III. Of the Place where the Lord's Supper is to be eaten the Church and of Private Communion The CONTENTS The Publick Church the fittest Place to receive the Lord's Supper in This proved from the Practice of the Apostles and the succeeding Christians The same proved from Reason and the end for which Christ died Private Communions first began in times of
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
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
sensible of it and so much more grievous by how much it was Spiritual Our Bodies indeed were not laid in Iron nor with the Israelites forced to make Brick without Straw There were no Task-masters set over us to beat and would and bruise us we were not chained to Triumphal Chariots nor forced to work in Mines and Gallies but it was far worse our Souls which were the far better part of us were led Captive by the worst of Tyrants the Law we were govern'd by was the Law of Sin the Prison we were doom'd to was Eternal Darkness the Burdens which were laid upon us were intolerable and we were under the Power of an Usurper whose Smiles were Deaths whose Favours were Punishments and whose Kindnesses were Destruction and Ruin under him we labour'd and toil'd in vain and when at night after our Travel we looked for Wages we could expect nothing but Fire and Flames We read of Dracula the Transylvanian that having one day invited all the Beggars and poor Men he could light of to a splendid Dinner or Entertainment after they had filled their Bellies he set Fire to the Hall where they were and burnt them all The same Fare we must have expected of that Tyrannical Master under whose Bondage we groan'd but from this Slavery the Son of God by dying for us redeemed and rescued us A Mercy which as it deserves to be remembred above all the deliverances that ever happened to us so where can the remembrance be more proper than in the Sacrament of his Death and Passion 4. In vain is all this remembred if we do not remember to imitate this Saviour in his Self-denying Acts for therefore all this Mercy and Love and Charity is represented to us in this Sacrament that it may be an Obligation upon us to deport our selves in the World after his Example So that as he prayed for his Enemies so must we as he blessed them that cursed him so must we as he freely forgave the Men that wronged him so must we as he died for the Truth so must we as he defended it to the last without wavering so must we as he would not suffer any outward Respects to discourage him from Conscientiousness so neither must we as he before his Foes witnessed a good Confession so must we as he did Good for Evil so must we as he shewed Pity to Men in distress though they had affronted and done him an Injury so must we as he bore his Cross contentedly so must we as he despised the World so must we He that remembers not his Death so as to endeavour to be like him forgets the End of his Redemption and dishonours the Cross on which his Satisfaction was wrought For the Honour due to the Cross of Christ is not with the Church of Rome to pray to a piece of Wood called the Cross of Christ Hail Christ's Cross our only Hope in this most blessed Passion-Week Increase the Goodness of the Good and Pardon to the Guilty give but to live in the World as the Lord Jesus did who was crucified for us and by living so to adorn the Doctrine of the Cross of Christ Jesus that is to admire and reverence his Cross. III. From such a Remembrance flow more than ordinary Advantages for Things are useful according as they are managed and consequently if the Remembrance here required be used according to the Rules laid down these following Benefits will certainly ensue upon it For 1. Hereby our Love to God is kindled and renewed Love kindles Love as Fire kindles Fire and therefore God appears in this Sacrament as he did to Moses in the Bush all in Flames of Love that those Flames may warm our Breasts And O happy Soul that feels those Flames warm and heat all that is within her When Love takes possession of the Soul or rather when the Love of God represented in the Sacrament raises Love in the holy soul then the Soul becomes the Seat of Wisdom the Tabernacle of Holiness the Chamber of the Celestial Bridegroom a spiritual Heaven a Field which the Lord hath blessed a Spouse dearly beloved a Garden of Pleasure the Marriage-house a Paradise of Vertue into which the Lord descends not to find out the Malefactor and to discover his Nakedness but to betroth to himself the beloved Virgin languishing with Love waiting for her Beloved and longing for the Bridegroom 's Coming And where this Divine Love takes place there the Love of the World expires for as St. Austin speaks He cannot love that which is Eternal that doth not cease to love that which is Temporal And from this Love arise those happy Breathings O Fountain of Love Nothing is sweeter than thy Love nothing more pleasant nothing more beneficial Thy Love is not troublesome Where thy Love is there is true Pleasure It is contented with it self it knows no Bounds it watches Opportunities to vent it self it triumphs in its own Cell and captivates all the Faculties Thy Love O Lord gives Liberty drives out Fear tramples upon Humane Merits It gives Rest to the Weary Strength to the Weak Joy to the Mourners It feels no Weariness it feeds the Hungry and keeps the Faint from sinking 2. Hereby our Consciences are purged from Dead Works This as it is ascribed expresly to the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant Heb. 9. 14. so it must be attributed to the true Remembrance of that Blood in this Everlasting Sacrament Such a Remembrance cleanseth the Heart purifies the Soul makes the Dross of Sin vanish and the Impurity the Mind was oppressed withal wear away Such a Remembrance like the Gift of Prophecy Jer. 20. 9. is as a burning Fire shut up in the Bones which consumes the Hay and Straw and Stubble that annoyed the House of God For the Beauty of God's Love makes Sin appear black and ugly and causes a Loathing of it Hereby Holiness is advanced and Grace begins to flourish and the Rubbish being removed the Winter of Iniquity gone the Frost in the Soul dissolved the Flowers of the glorious Spring appear This Remembrance chaseth Lust and Luxury and therefore those in whom it hath these Effects are said to wash their Robes and make them white in the Blood of the Lamb Rev. 7. 14. 3. Hereby Christ is invited to dwell in us The House being thus cleansed and swept the Noble Guest is invited to make his Abode there This Remembrance is attractive and where the Soul is thus affected with the Remembrance of Christ's Death he comes and inhabits that beautiful Palace for such a Person seems resolv'd to keep his Word And to him the Promise runs If a Man love me he will keep my Words and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our Abode with him John 14. 23. A wonderful Favour this To have him dwelling in us who is the Light of the World the Light of Heaven the Light of Angels and the Sun of Righteousness
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
such Bonds and Obligations The God thou hast to deal withal is a jealous God and if these Engagements cannot oblige thy Soul to a serious Conversation they 'll be witnesses to promote and hasten thy Condemnation II. See here what a miserrble and doleful state it is not to be in Covenant with God He that is not hath no security from the wrath of God the Threatnings of the Gospel are in force against him and he knows not how soon the Thunderbolt will fall upon his Head Like a condemn'd Malefactor he is repriev'd for a while and can promise himself a share only of the common Blessings which the Great Creator bestows indifferently upon his Friends and Enemies Not to be in Covenant with him is to be dead to his Paternal Grace and Favour and to be depriv'd of those Influences which make the Saints joyful in Glory and cause them to sing aloud upon their Beds Till you are in Covenant with your God you can have no hopes of Pardon your Sins remain upon you and that load will crush you at last into despair O think of it you that never made such a Covenant with your God in good earnest Notbeing in Covenant with him Christ's Blood and Death and Wounds and Agonies do not profit you And for you O miserable Creatures Christ died in vain that Damnation Christ came to deliver the World from continues to be your Portion and should you die in that condition you are undone to all intents and purposes Till you are in Covenant with God you are under the power of Darkness and under the Government of the worst of Tyrants you are Slaves in the midst of all your jollities Bondmen in the midst of your Pleasures You laugh in Chains triumph in your Fetters and stand upon the brink of Destruction O do not make light of this unhappy state your making light of it speaks you desperate but being concern'd at your danger may yet be a means to free your selves from the Net you are at present intangl'd in Fear of being undone may yet keep you from it and sorrow that you have not seriously thought of it may yet turn the stream and convert the Heart of God to you into Mercy and Compassion therefore it is that we instruct you in meekness if God peradventure will give you Repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth and that you may recover your selves out of the Snare of the Devil who have been taken captive by him at his Will 2 Tim. 2. 26. III. From hence it appears how necessary it is for People when young to make or renew this Covenant with their God As no Man can close too early with the offers of Grace so if this Covenant were made by all young Men and Women seriously and with deliberation what a restraint would it be upon their juvenal Desires What a curb to their extravagant Fancies What an Armour against Sin and the ill examples of the World How would this considerate Engagement keep them in and fright them from consenting when sinners do entice them The reason why it hath not this effect upon them is because it is not made with suitable applications of the Mind to the importance of it or to the Greatness and Majesty of that God with whom it is made and to the danger and hazard they run in breaking of it for every trifle that comes in their way and when they have made it they do not keep their Hearts warm by ruminating upon what they have done nor do they renew it so often as they might and should do Were it preserv'd fresh and green and flourishing in their Minds it would harden them against impression of all those little allurements which now draw their Affections and their Souls another way Did they think when a sinful shew when vain company when a glozing pleasure when a base suggestion invites them to consent I have wash'd my Feet how shall I defile them again I have given my self up to the disposal of him to whom all Power in Heaven and Earth is given How can I be faithless and escape his Anger I have in this Sacrament made a resignation of my Heart to him that rescued me from the burning Lake how shall I break with him and escape his displeasure I have consecrated my self to a greater Master How shall I debase my self and serve such pitiful nothings I have but one Soul and have given that away to my Redeemer How shall I espouse this Vanity I have promis'd Obedience to him that washed me with his Blood How shall I obey his Enemy Such Thoughts as these repeated often would make the Heart inflexible to all the charming intreaties of the World or the Devil and Oh! that you would but make this Tryal you would find that we are not Mad but speak the words of Truth and Soberness as St. Paul told Festus in a case not much unlike this Acts 26. 25. IV. It 's no very difficult thing to come to a Holy certainty and assurance that we are in Covenant with God It must needs be difficult to the unwilling and to him that hopes God's Favour will fly into his Mouth without seeking it any thing seems hard and if it were difficult the difficulty is not insuperable especially if we look into the conditions of the Covenant There is no man that is in his Wits but may upon a diligent search find and know whether he heartily agrees to the conditions and whether he promises what is required on his part out of love to the ways of Religion and whether he makes conscience of performing his promises It 's true the Heart is deceitful but that it is so is our own fault we may remedy that deceitfulness if we will search it and by the Rules Christ hath prescribed in the Gospel bring it into order It is not to be imagin'd that God would leave us in uncertainties in so great a concern as this and he that bids us apply the Comforts of this Covenant must be supposed to have left us signs and characters whereby we may know that we are confederates with him and have a right to what he hath said he 'll do for us and there can be no greater character than the testimony of our Conscience that our engagements influence our Spirits keep us in awe prevail with us to be cautious and can do more with us than a base Lust or any sinful gain and pleasure If thou freely resignest thy self to the guidance and direction of thy Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier and the love of God manifested in this Covenant works upon thine Affections and thou art content to be ruled by ois Law art sensible of the equity and reasonableness of it consentest to his injunctions not only professest subjection but actually endeavourest to submit to what he commands and art willing without any reserves that not only thine Understanding Will and Desires but thine outward Man too thine Eyes and Ears
to you in the Spirit for they had received this Spirit already and he was already come to them in the Spirit and what sense would it have been to say Ye that have received the Spirit of Christ must shew forth his death till he come to you in the Spirit just as good sense as if a Man should say Ye that are in London must do such a thing till you come to London so that if this were the sense the Apostle must have contradicted himself or spoken that which no body knew what to make of It follows therefore that since by his coming in Scripture is frequently meant his coming to Judge the World as Rev. 22. 20. 1 Cor. 4. 5. Luc. 18. 8. That here it hath the same sense because without it the words will not bear a reasonable construction 4. The design of the Apostle in this 11th Chapter is to rectify several mistakes and errors and abuses that were crept in among the Corinthians in their administration and eating of the Lord's Supper and this is intimated v. 17 18. So that his intent in writing to them must be to inform them how they were to behave themselves in the use of this Ordinance what exorbitancies they were to abandon what evil customs they were to retrench what vulgar errors they were to beware of and consequently his intent could not be to abolish this Sacrament or to teach them to use it no longer than Christ should come to them in the Spirit He that gives a Man directions about a good work in what manner he is to perform it what he is to take heed of in the practice of it what Rocks and Stumbling-blocks he is to shun doth not perswade him to leave the good work undone or to neglect it but chalks out to him only the way he may walk in with safety doth still allow the work to be of Eternal Obligation only that it may be acceptable to God bids him beware of the Shelves and Sands he may run upon in the prosecution of it and though in reformation of abuses the thing it self which gave occasion to the abuse is very often cancell'd and taken away yet that Rule holds only in things indifferent In Duties and things Commanded such as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is this could not be practised for if Ten thousand abuses were committed about Prayer yet Prayer would still be a Duty and therefore the Apostle reforming the errors of the Corintâ—ians in the administration of this Sacrament cannot be supposed to abrogate the Sacrament it self for as he saith v. 20. He had received it of the Lord i. e. by way of a commanded Duty which therefore could not be abolished 5. Let us admit of this odd expression of Christ's coming to them in the Spirit if a Man have received the Spirit of Christ that 's so far from being a sufficient reason to justifie his staying away from this Sacrament that it is a powerful motive to come to it not only because he that hath the Spirit of Christ will be sure to do what Christ Commands him but because the Spirit of Christ must be cherished preserved kept warm and made much of which is not to be done but by frequent contemplation of God's Love and Charity and compassion to our immortal Souls whereof this Sacrament doth not only put us in mind but gives us a faithful representation The Spirit of God within us must be preserv'd by the use of such means God hath appointed and since this Sacrament is one of these means he that neglects it cannot promise himself a long continuance of that Spirit in his Soul and what if Men that have frequented this Ordinance have found no good by it for that must be their own fault and because they come to it like Swine no wonder if they come away from it in no better condition 6. Though it is readily granted that true Believers in their first conversion receive the Spirit of Christ yet that puts no stop to their receiving larger and greater influences of it by the use of this Sacrament As Grace is begun in their first conversion so it is increased by a conscientious use of this Ordinance The coming to it doth not abate the power of this Spirit but advances it This Ordinance being a Spiritual Ordinance the Spirit of Christ is the more likely to exert its virtue in a sincere Believer that frequents it The Cross of Christ which is Foolishness to the Greek is Wisdom to the Spiritual Man and the more he looks upon it with suitable Devotion the greater courage and strength he will receive from it to fight the Battels of the Lord. The Spirit of Christ that works in a true Believer works by rational Arguments by Arguments that are most apt to prevail with rational Men and since nothing can be a more effectual Argument than the Love of Christ manifested on the Cross and particularly in the Sacrament of the Cross it must follow that the first operations of Christ's Spirit in the Soul are no hindrance to his farther operations in this Holy Sacrament 7. It 's true in this Sacrament external Symbols and Elements are made use of but that 's not at all improper or inconsistent with a Gospel state nor do these Symbols hinder any Man from worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth but rather promote it If under the Gospel Men may make no use of external tokens to put them in mind of Spiritual things the Apostle was out in his Divinity when he tells us That the invisible things of God are clearly seen being understood by the things which are made even his eternal Power and Godhead Rom. 1. 20. Christ indeed abolished the burthensome Symbols of the Ceremonial Law but did no where tell us that he would leave no Symbols at all in his Church to remember him by And though we grant what the Apostle saith Col. 2. 20. 21. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the Rudiments of the World why as though living in the World are ye subject to Ordinances touch not taste not handle not Yet it plainly appears from his discourse that he reprehended no other but Judaizing Christians who having embraced the Christian Religion were still observant of the Ancient Ceremonies which Moses while the Church was in its Minority had given to the Jewish People such as were distinctions of Meats and Drinks touching dead Bodies or any thing that was defiled with Leprosie touching any thing unclean whether Man or Beast c. whereof a large account is given in Levit. 7. 21. So that this Saying doth not reverse the Symbols used in the Holy Sacrament they being of another nature and instituted upon a different design and so far from evacuating a Spiritual Worship that those become most Spiritual persons that frequently exercise themselves in a devout use of it and therefore what arrogance must it be for Men to think themselves wiser than Christ himself and
that Kingdom that the Kingdoms and Glories of this World may not beguile or tempt me to love the World If I love the World the Love of the Father cannot be in me Represent the Beauty of thy future Kingdom to my Mind in lively Characters that my Admiration of this present World may decay and I may be content to sell all for the Pearl of Price that is before me 52. This Man went unto Pilate and begged the Body of Jesus IT is base to forsake a Friend when he is under a Cloud Then to shew our Respect to him when he lies unjustly under Contempt and Disgrace is true Affection It was bold and great and like a Friend to beg the Body of Jesus when it was counted a Disgrace to be any way concern'd for him How hast thou deviated from this admirable Example O my Soul when a Person whom thou hast courted and admired in the Day of his Prosperity hath through the Venom of malicious Tongues and more malicious Practices fallen from his Glory and Respect How hast thou withdrawn thy self from him been afraid to speak the Truth of him and to give him that good Character which thou knewest he deserved As thou dealest with Man so it is to be feared thou wilt deal with thy God and Religion when it becomes dangerous to own them Up and be earnest with thy God to give thee invincible Integrity which may mock all Storms and be the same to God and to thy Neighbour in all Conditions Stick close to God and to thy Friend and rejoyce in a good Conscience for that will bring thee Peace at last 53. And he took it down and wrapped it in Linen and laid it in a Sepulchre that was hewn in Stone wherein never Man before was laid REligion is an insignificant thing if it cost us nothing Good Men love to be at Charges for their God and the Good of their own Souls O my Soul How loth hast thou been to let those Persons reap thy Carnal Things which have sown unto thee Spiritual Things When thou hast thought nothing too much for thy Luxury and Pride and Ease how hath it gone against the Grain to be expensive for Religion Thou hast loved to serve thy God cheaply How loth hast thou been to express thy Gratitude to God by being liberal to his distressed Members and thy Spiritual Guids Oh learn by this Example to prize thy Spiritual Good more and let thy bountiful Actions shew that thou hast the highest Value for the Concerns of Eternity 54. And that Day was the Preparation and the Sabbath drew on O My Soul How little Preparation hast thou made for the Everlasting Sabbath and thine Eternal Rest Dost thou hope to rest for ever among the Flowers of Paradise and is it not high time to prepare for it Dost thou think to rest at last under the Wings of thy Everlasting Father and is it not time to rise and work as it were for thy Life that thou may'st find Repose in the Everlasting Tabernacles Was ever any admitted there that would not sweat and labour here Oh labour against thy Corruptions wrestle with Temptations fight with thy Spiritual Enemies live in Contemplation of the highest Good embrace thy Saviour with the warmest Love strive to do much Good in thy Generation and thy Rest will be sweet 55. And the Women also which came with him from Galilee followed after and beheld the Sepulchre and how his Body was laid TRue Goodness is never weary of following Christ It follows him to the very Grave It may meet with Stops and Rubs in its Way but it gets up again and is not tired with Running the Race which is set before it O Blessed Jesu Thou hast not been weary of working and suffering for me Let me never be weary of loving thee When my Flesh would make me give over running after thee assist me with new Strength and Courage that I may hold out to the End And since none shall sit at thy Table in thy Kingdom but those that have continued with thee in thy Temptations Oh let my Soul feel the Power of thy Spirit which may lift me up that I may mount up with Wings as Eagles may run and not be weary walk and not faint till I am within the Gates of Heaven 56. And they returned and prepared Spices and Ointments and rested the Sabbath-day according to the Commandment MY dearest Lord though I have no opportunity to prepare Spices and Ointments for thy Burial yet thou hast shewn me how I may offer an Odor of a sweet Smell a Sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing to God This is a life fruitful in good Works No Incense smells sweeter in thy Nostrils No Persume casts a nobler scent in Heaven than this Enrich the ground of my Heart fatten it with thy Blood water the Furrows thereof with thy Heavenly Dew and shine upon it with thy Gracious Beams and bid the Tree of my Life advance and Bud and Blossom and bear fruit even the Fruit of Charity of Meekness of Humility of Patience of Goodness of Faith of Love of Temperance of Sobriety of Watchfulness and of contempt of the World that I may have my Fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting Life The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. HOw justly after this prospect may God say What could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it St. Bernard hath an Elegant Discourse upon this Subject to shew what force the serious consideration of Christ's Incarnation and of what he hath done for us and particularly of his Sufferings and Death hath to kindle the Fire of reciprocal Love in our Hearts God being desirous saith he to restore Man who had lost himself and to rescue him from the clutches of the Devil said within himself If I should force this wretched Creature against his Will and Choice to the Duties he is to discharge and perform I should make a Beast or an Ass of him instead of a rational Man nor would he come to me voluntarily of his own accord and with a good Will nor would he be able to say I will freely sacrifice unto thee Therefore to make his coming to me a matter of choice and rational freedom I will terrifie and fright him to see whether that will drive him to Repentance and accordingly he threatened him with misery which no Mortal is able to express with everlasting Darkness and a never dying Worm and unquenchable Fire But stubborn Man nothing terrified with all these Thunders God was resolv'd to try what Promises would do and since naturally he is desirous of Riches and Honour and Pleasures and long Life God accordingly promis'd him infinite Treasures of Glory unexpressible Dignities in Heaven and such Pleasures as the Heart of Man is not able to conceive they are so big and large and overflowing and a life free not only from all evil but from any end or period and abounding