for Confirmation or have I slighted the Prayers and Benediction of God's Priest Have I wholly forsaken Satan or rather am I not still under his power by being a slave to the habits of folly and disobedience Have I ever at any time used Charms or Amulets or consulted Witches or Conjurers Am I not yet in love with the pomps and vanities of the World a great frequenter of sports to the hindrance of Religious Duties and do I delight in profane and lascivious representations and are not my Lusts yet unmortified and have I not derogated from the honour of the Captain of our Salvation by cowardise and negligence Eucharist Have I not profan'd the holy Supper of the Lord by not acquainting my self with the nature of the Mystery and the necessity of preparation or by coming to it without Faith and Repentance without an universal charity and a thorow reconciliation to God and my enemies without examination without a due sorrow and amendment of Life Have I not often received that Sacrament without those ardors of devotion which I am obliged to or without that bodily reverence which the most Sacred and Heavenly Mysteries require Have I not made rash promises when I have received and never minded them afterwards Have I not suffered the House to lye idle when it hath been so swept and garnish'd to encourage Satan to take with him seven other Spirits worse than himself and to come and dwell in my Soul till its later estate be more deplorable than its first To which I subjoyn Lord be merciful to me a sinner and so strengthen me by thy Grace that I may perform my Vows and keep the robes of my Baptism unspotted and tho I have approach'd thy Table without the Wedding Garment yet cast me not into outer darkness whence there is no deliverance Now these and all other Transgressions are either heightned or lessened by their circumstances the Examinant therefore ought to consider 1. The Time when he offended Was it on the Lord's day Here additions and alterations may be made by the devout penitent according to his own state or any other publick Festival on a publick Fasting day or the days of my own private humiliation during the hours of Prayer either at the Temple or in my Closet either at or immediately before or after the receipt of the holy Sacrament and have I often committed one and the same sin for these circumstances argue a perverse frame of mind and that it is not infirmity but wilfulness that makes the offender 2. The place where the sin was committed Was it in the Church at the holy Table or in my Closet or in any publick place where the offence became scandalous incouraging the vicious and offending my weaker brethren 3. The state and condition of the Offender Am I not in Holy Orders one of God's Priests that Minister at his Altar have I not more knowledge and a better acquaintance with my duty hath not God afforded me more convictions greater light and frequenter opportunities of doing good was the sin committed when I was under some affliction of mind body or estate or after some sudden deliverance out of some severe judgement on me for my former failings hath not God by his holy Spirit laid many hinderances in my way to ruine and have I not overcome all difficulties and often been my own tempter have I not continued to be wicked after many checks of Conscience and many solemn Vows to the contrary after the experience of much mercy many deliverances and great tenderness compassion and long-suffering in my Saviour towards me 4. The persons injured Are not my sins committed against my God my Master my Saviour my best and only Friend have I rob'd the House of God of its ho nour or revenue have I ground the face of the Poor or rob'd the Fatherless and Widows have I given evil counsel to the ignorant or those that cannot discern the fallacy have I been unjust to my Children or Relatives who are nearest to me and as it were parts of my self Among all which sins I must particularly mourn over and detest those to which I have been most inclined by natural temper or custome and resolve to avoid all provocations and temptations and whatever hath or may promote such evil habits and to practice the contrary virtues To which I subjoyn Lord I have caused thy Name to be blasphemed among the enemies of Religion and Piety but be thou pleased to pity and pardon me the greatest of sinners and give me thy Grace that I may do so no more Besides all which I am bound to reflect on my many secret sins and forgotten offences and to subjoin Lord who can understand how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret faults and keep back thy Servant from presumptuous sins lest they get the dominion over my Soul so shall I be innocent from the great offence The Collect. ALmighty Lord and everlasting God Grant I most humbly beseech thee to thy distressed Servant Pardon and Peace and vouchsafe to direct sanctify and govern both my heart and body in the ways of thy Laws and in the works of thy Commandments that through thy most mighty protection both here and ever I may be preserv'd in body and soul through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen To this I add the 38 Psalm or the 51. or some other penitential and after that the 22 Psalm Then follows the Litany much agreeable to the former method LORD let thy Ear be attentive to the Prayer of thy Servant who desires to fear thy name O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and in him the Father of Mercies have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O God the Son the Redeemer of the World and the lover of Souls have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O God the Holy Spirit of Peace and Love the giver of every Grace and every good Gift have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O Holy Powerful and Compassionate Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world grant me thy Peace Lord hear Lord forgive hearken O Lord and do and defer not for thine own sake O Lord our God From polluting the robes of my Baptisme and making new leagues with Satan from a feigned sorrow and an outside repentance Good Lord deliver me From sin and shame from the paths of folly and destruction from great boasting and little performance and from a vain and empty frame of mind from stoath and idleness and the neglect of my best concerns Good Lord deliver me From Self-Love and love of the World from being busy about nothing and slighting the thoughts of Eternity from deferring my repentance and putting off my accounts to the day of
That my past sins may be intirely forgiven and the rest of my life spent in the works of repentance I beseech thee c. That the end of my life may be Christian without pain and without shame if thou seest fit and that I may be able to render a good account when I shall stand before thy dreadful Tribunal I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. From mine enemies defend me O Christ Graciously look upon my afflictions Pitifully behold the sorrows of my heart Favourably with mercy hear my Prayers Mercifully forgive the sins of thy Servant O Son of David have mercy upon me Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear me O Christ Graciously hear me O Christ graciously hear me O Lord Christ O Lord let thy mercy be shewed upon me As I do put my trust in thee Pardon O Lord the guilt of my sins remove the punishment and wash out the pollutions keep me from the shame and the suffering due to them and rescue me from the dominion of Satan the tyranny of my own Lusts and from everlasting destruction Amen Bp. Andrews BLessed Jesu Interpose between God and my Soul thy Priesthood and Sacrifice between my self and Satan thy Kingdom and Conquest between my Soul and my Sins thy Innocency between my Soul and my Concupiscence thy Charity between my Soul and the punishments due to a Sinner thy Passion and the satisfaction of thy Blood between my Soul and my Conscience and God's Tribunal thy Advocateship between my Soul and its want of Righteousness thy absolute and complete Obedience between my Soul and its want of desert thy alsufficient Merits between my Soul and its want of fervour in Devotion thy Intercession between my Soul and its want of sâ—rrow and repentance thy Agony and bloody Sweat for what thou did'st and what thou suffered'st O my dearest Saviour O my best of Masters was done and suffered in my stead and for my benefit Amen Id. LET the Soul of Christ sanctify me the Body of Christ strengthen me the Blood of Christ redeem me the Water that came out of his side cleanse me the Stripes of Christ heal me the Sweat of Christ refresh me the Wounds of Christ save me the Poverty of Christ enrich me and the Sufferings of Christ preserve me from eternal damnation Amen Bp. Taylor GIve me the beauties of Wisdom the brightness of Chastity the health of Temperance the peace of Meek persons and the reputation and joy of the Charitable Amen A Collect for the Assistance of the Holy Spirit O God who knowest that we are set in the midst of so many and great dangers that the Temptations of Satan are very prevalent the vanities of the World very deceitful and our own corruptions very strong help and assist me and all thy servants with the succours of thy holy spirit Give me the spirit of Truth of Wisdome and Understanding to keep me from all error and infidelity the spirit of Counsel to guide me in all difficulties the spirit of Might and Power to preserve me from all Apostacy the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord to keep me from all sin and wickedness Let the Holy-Ghost be my comforter in my distresses the assistant of my devotion the quieter of my conscience and let it bear witness with my spirit that I am one of the Sons of God that neither the wiles nor frowns of the Devil the fears of suffering or the hopes of wealth and honour may sway me to neglect my duty but that I may continue thine for ever and that thou mayst be my protector and guide my friend and advocate now and in the agonies of death and at the day of judgement Amen OUR Father which art in Heaven c. MAY the Power of God the Father protect me the Wisdom of God the Son inlighten me the operations and assistances of the holy Spirit quicken me and may the holy Trinity keep me under the shadow of their wings till I come to the palace of Glory Amen Amen The Epistle Heb. 12.1 WHerefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds The Gospel Luke 22.41 AND being withdrawn from them about a stones cast he kneeled down and prayed saying Father if thou be willing remove this cup from me nevertheless not my will but thine be dene And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground The MEDITATION THO every thing that is good and virtuous hath its attractives yet when virtue is attended with power it is in its exaltation and makes as many Votaries as it hath spectators and every one looks on it with admiration and surprize and addresses to it with resolutions either to become good or to beg its protection from evil because Piety so assisted proves a great exemplar and a puissant shelter And such was the holy Jesus who was wonderful in all his atchievements for nothing less than unspotted Innocence and Omnipotence conjoin'd could furnish the World with a Saviour The whole Life of Jesus was a miracle of Love and Compassion and the attempts of the Patriarchs appear mean and inconsiderable when compared with the transcendent performances of the Son of God for if to consult the wants of mankind and to relieve them if curing their Bodies and instructing their Souls if feeding them with temporal food and giving them the Bread of Heaven be demonstrations of a large and a divine Soul then that title is peculiarly to be ascribed to the Redeemer of the world whose actions were one continued series of benefits and mercies I will therefore love the examples of good men but I will admire and adore Jesus I will make reflections on their excellent lives but I must fix my thoughts on the conversation of my Saviour who when he requires my adverting to his Pattern and his Laws enjoins me to look off from all other objects and to settle my eyes on him who loved me and bought me with his own most precious blood for they are but a cloud of witnesses but Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness and as when the Sun arises the little handful of Clouds and dusky vapours dwindle and vanish so when the glorious God appears in competition he eclipses all humane perfections For that which sustained the great Apostle when he was ready to be poured out as a drink-offering for the truth of the Gospel 2 Tim. 4.6 and what excited
flames begun to rage in the Recollects Convent And yet many of the practises of some men of that Communion are no way reconcilable to the notion of the Divinity of the Eucharist for not to mention ‡ Alan de Sacrific c. 32. that if but a Hen be sick in the Neighborhoud you may have a Mass said for its recovery it was usually buried with the Corpses of Bishops whom they Inter'd in their Episcopal Robes with a Patin and Chalice by them and the Consecrated Bread on their breast and this says the old ‡ Bals in Can. 83. Trullan Canonist was done to affright the Devil from Hannting their Tombs and it was also given as an ‡ Bals in Can. 61. Trull Conc. Wormat. c. 10. c. Ordeal to discern whether a person were guilty of a crime that could not be proved especially to Clergy-men to purge themselves from notorious crimes It was also sometimes left as a pawn or pledg and so St. Lewis of France pawn'd an Host for the pledg of his Ransome to the Sultan of Aegypt as did also Uladislaus King of Hungary to the Turkish Emperor Amurath when they made an Agreement But beyond all this men were not only contented to receive this Sacrament as an Oath of secrecy to conceal Treason Parricide Murther and such like crimes but some were so hardy as to attempt the damnable villany of poysoning their God to murther the Lords Anointed so the * Naucler Gener 42. p. 991. Emperor Henry the 7th was dispatcht and so also Pope ‖ Malmesb. l. 3. c. 39. Victor 3d was sent to his Grave and we are told * Lambard's Peramb of Kent p. 66. that William Arch-Bishop of York being discontent that he could not get the Preeminence of the See of Canterbury mingled Poyson with the Wine of the Chalice and so murther'd himself But I should tire my self and others should I multiply quotations for either these are proofs enough or a greater number of witnesses will not serve turn And May the Blessed Jesus the Governor of his Church purge it from all dross from all unwarrantable opinions and superstitious practises that all his Family may Worship Serve Honour and Humbly Obey him as we ought to do till the number of the Elect be Consummated when the Sons of God shall be admitted to sing Eternal Praises to his Majesty in Heaven Amen Amen The End of the First Part. PART II. Containing an Account of the Festivals of the Holy Week Lessons Meditations Prayers and Anthems 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athenag legat pro Christ p. 5. No Christian can be wicked unless he be-ly his profession PART II. The INTRODVCTION THE devout Christian being thus fitted to commucate with his Saviour being instructed how to discern the Lord's Body and being acquainted with the advantages which the worthy receiving of it does bring with it and with the Duties preparative to such a receiving what remains but that every occasion of coming before God and partaking of the Dainties of his Table be with all eagerness pursued after and embrac'd Consider therefore O my Soul how shouldest thou long to dwell in the Courts of God and to serve him in the Beauties of Holiness His Name is wonderful and he is fairer than the Children of Men full of Grace are his Lips for God hath blessed him for ever and in him also hath God blessed the rest of the Sons of Men him hath God anointed with the Oyl of Gladness above his Fellows consecrating him to be our high Priest to make Attonement for the Sins of the World All his Garments smell of Myrrh Aloes and Cassia of bitter Scents that embalm his Crucifixion for when he was nailed to the accursed Tree then was the Wine mingled with Myrrh given him and when he was to be buried he was laid in a mixture of Myrrh and Aloes to fit his Body for its Sepulcher And what wilt thou do O my Soul to express thy gratitude to this thy Redeemer who is become thy Lord and thy God But worship him and Adore him and give Thanks unto him World without end Every day of his Life was to him a day of Affliction and Suffering from his first appearance at Bethlehem to his being Crucified on Mount Calvary his whole Age was one continued Good-Friday and should not every day of my Life be an Easterday He dyed daily and should I not daily remember that Passion and celebrate the Praises of that Condescenton and live to the Glory of that Mercy Should I not every day if I may be actually concern'd in the showing forth the Lord's Death till he come or at least intentionally and in Preparations Representing to my mind my bleeding Saviour and mourning over those Sins of mine which brought him to so much shame and so much torture and rejoycing in the Salvation which he hath wrought out for me By this means the subsequent Directions will serve as well for any other Week as for the Holy Week and I shall always be in a readiness to communicate with my Master Jesus and blessed are those Servants whom our Lord when he comes shall find so doing The Collect. HOly and immortal Saviour who didst both Dye and Rise again that thou mightest be Lord both of the Quick and Dead and didst Institute and in thy Holy Gospel command thy Church to continue a perpetual memory of that thy precions Death and glorious Resurrection until thy coming again Send thy Grace unto me and to all People that we may Worship thee Serve thee and Obey thee as we ought to do and be thou pleased to give us all things that be needful both for our Souls and Bodies give us this day and every day that heavenly Bread the Spiritual Manna that comes down from above and send thy Holy Spirit into our Hearts that we may be always in a fit Posture to receive it forgive us all our Sins and preserve us from all Temptations that we may live for ever to ascribe unto thee with the Father and the Holy Ghost the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and for ever Amen PALM-SVNDAY PAlm-Sunday is the day on which our blessed Saviour being determined to fulfil all that was spoken of him in the Law and the Prophets took his last journey from Galilee to Jerusalem to compleat our Redemption by his Sufferings and his Resurrection the People meeting him at Mount Olivet with Branches of Palms Olives and other Trees in their Hands Emblems of his Meekness and his Triumphs crying Hosannah to the Son of David blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord Hosannah in the highest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Greeks Dominica Palmarum Florum atque ramorum among the Latins and from this Original the day hath its Name in all Churches and the Transactions of this day were so observable that the Latin Church of the later Ages turn'd this as well as the other Festivals into
the Bishop in person if present was obliged to Catechise those who were Candidates for Baptism and on this day was the Nicene Creed solemnly recited in defiance to all Hereticks which Creed till the time of Timotheus Patriarch of Constantinople was never used as a part of the Eastern Liturgy but on this one day only in the year In which Church also according to an Ancient Constitution ‡ Chrys to 5. p. 563 Pallad vid. Chrys p. 82. they were wont on Good-Friday to celebrate all the holy Offices in some particular Church and that commonly in some Oratory erected over the Grave of some eminent Martyr without the Walls of the City because our blessed Saviour suffered without the Gates In some of the Churches ⸫ Sozom. l. 7. c. 19. p. 100. of Palestine they used to read the Apocryphal Book called the Revelation of St. Peter but in other Churches of the East they read out of the Old-Testament the History of Job the liveliest Type of Christ's Sufferings and Triumphs and out of the New in the * Rupert de Divin offic l. 6. c. 6. Western Churches the Gospel of St. John because St. John was an eye-witness of our blessed Master's Sufferings but in the African ‡ Aug. Ser. 141. de temp Church they read St. Matthew's Gospel Thus did the good men of old spend this day calling themselves to an account for their offences and humbling themselves in the sight of God and is it not even in this Age very requisite that every Christian should call himself to an account for those sins which brought the Son of God to so much shame and torture and should mourn and fast and pray earnestly for that forgiveness which was purchas'd thereby I take it therefore for granted that on this day it is requisite to use more than ordinary severity because on this day our Plessed Saviour was murther'd and to this purpose besides the usual Prayers reading and Meditations which are parts of the preparation for other days on Good-Friday it will be necessary to subjoin some acts of the deepest Humiliation and Sorrow for sin To which purpose every good man ought strictly to examine himself of which sort of Examen I have subjoined a Specimen after which the use of the Penitential Psalms is very proper particularly Ps 38. or 51. with this Caution That I understand by my Enemies not my worldly adversaries for they are my Brethren and them I must bless and pray for but the Devil and my own Lusts and by blood-guiltiness c. my new crucifying my Saviour my murthering of my own Soul and being accessary to the destruction of what ever good and vertuous thoughts the Spirit of God hath put in my mind To which Penitentials the 22d Ps will very fitly be added because it is an intire Prophecy of the sufferings of the Son of God and cannot but raise in me a deep sense of his Sorrows and the cause of them when I remember they are some of the last words which our Blessed Saviour spoke before his Death when we are infallibly assured that he begun and probably convinc'd that he went through the whole Psalm The most proper posture to repeat these Psalms in is Kneeling or prostration because they are solemn and humble acknowledgments of my hainous Offences which have undone my self and Crucified my Redeemer The Examen I Am this day to examine my self and to adjust the Accounts between God and my own Soul it is easie to be another mans flatterer but it is natural to be my own and therefore I am resolved impartially to state my affairs and to rejoice or mourn proportionable to the condition in which I find my self And tho the enquiry be terrible and affrighting yet I had rather pass this private scrutiny than have my Offences exposed to the view of Men and Angels It is the greatest of happiness to be innocent and never to offend but the next instance of Felicity is to be penitent I am conscious to my self that I have been a Criminal but I am resolved not to continue in my Crimes I will call my Transgressions to remembrance that God may blot them out of his Memory and I will judg my self in this World that I may escape in the day of the Lord To this End therefore that I may put my self into a capacity to obtain God's Pardon for my sins whose number is unaccountable whose burthen is intolerable and whose remembrance is very grievous to me and that I may not approach the tremendous Feast without the Wedding Garment I thus interrogate my self with all severity and exactness ' Say O my Soul art thou in God's Favour or hast thou merited thy Saviours Frowns What Proficiency hast thou made in thy Christian Calling since thy last accounting with thy Master VVhat Temptations hast thou conquer'd What Passions mortified What holy Opportunities improved What Virtues gotten or increased How conformable hast thou been to Jesus and what progress hast thou made in the way to Heaven If I find any of these beautiful Lineaments in my mind I will rejoice with joy unspeakable and be exceeding glad as men rejoice when they divide the spoil But if I have been an Apostate from my vows and broken the Covenant of my Youth If I have prostituted my Soul to Satan defacing the Image of God and defiling his Holy Temple let my heart within me mourn and refuse to be comforted let it make lamentation as one that is grieved for his only Son and is in bitterness for his First-born let my head be waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I may weep day and night over my sin and my shame that I may wash my bed and water my Couch with my tears because it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God For who can dwell with everlasting burnings and a consuming Fire Now to help forward and make easie this work that I may diligently inspect all my offences with all their aggravating circumstances since my last renewal of my vows on the day of my last solemn Humiliation a memorial of all my actions in Writing is very useful that what is there recorded may be a help to my Memory which is most apt to forget my offences Upon the inspection of which the most regular Examination will be made according to the method of our Church Catechism wherein are included the Principles and fundamentals of Faith and Manners which I have engaged to observe and from which if I have swerv'd I cannot without a true Repentance expect God's Pardon and Mercy Now the Catechism being an Explanation of the Doctrine of Repentance Faith Obedience Prayer and of the due receiving of the Holy Sacraments the Examination must be proportionate and the inquiries strict What wandrings from the rule of Repentance What sins against the Creed Commandments Lords Prayer or the Sacraments have I been guilty of since my last Account An
the Doctrine of the Book of God obliging them to learn the Psalter and the Epistles of St. Paul without book while we think that study unworthy of our selves or our posterity We plead it 's true as St. Caesarius of Arles says the difficulty of learning the Rules of Faith and Holy Life without book especially if we cannot read But if the most ignorant and unlearned can find out a way to remember a prophane or lewd Song or Story will their ignorance excuse them if they have not learnt the Precepts of the Gospel Men have wit and memory enough to attain without reading to that which the Devil teaches them for their destruction But when they are to receive from the mouth of their blessed Saviour the Laws that will make them eternally happy then they plead ignorance But whatever others do or my self have heretofore practis'd I profess for the future that I will love thy Law And do thou think upon me O Lord according to thy word wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust Thou hast given me thy Holy Scriptures that through them I might have hope in all capacities and in all distresses of mind body or estate For tho I read there that Lucifer sinn'd himself beyond the hopes of Redemption and that there is a sin against the Holy Ghost that cannot be pardon'd and a sin unto death that is not to be pray'd for yet the state of sinful men is declared to be different from that of the fallen Angels And what these particular Transgressions are and wherein they consist is not plainly revealed in those Oracles that no man might despair of mercy but withal that every man might beware of the smallest sin as if it were of the greatest magnitude the deepest dye and most dismal consequences From this Book also I learn That at what time soever a sinner repents and doth that which is lawful and right he shall save his soul alive For who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect since it is God who justifies and who is he that condemns since Christ hath died and is risen again and sitteth at the right hand of God to make intercession for us Lord be merciful to my former sin for my neglect hath been great and keep me stedfast to my duty for the remainder of my life that tho I cannot see my God yet I may every day hear him and converse with him in his word and being inlightned thereby may learn to depart from evil The Collect. For the 2d Sunday in Advent BLessed Lord who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning grant that I may in such wise hear them read mark learn and inwardly digest them that by patience and comfort of thy Holy Word I may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed Hope of Everlasting Life which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ Amen CHAP. IX Of Christian Love WHen I have thus adorn'd my soul with saving knowledg my next employment is strictly to examine my practise and what degrees of divine love I have attained to now I better feel what that love is in my heart than I can describe it with my tongue For when I am in the Palace of divine Love I am in St Paul's Third Heaven where tho the Apostle without doubt saw ravishing sights and such as were worth dying for and heard admirable discourses such as the King of Glory entertains his favorite Angels with yet he assures us he heard and saw * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 12.4 what could not be uttered or described But as it is said of Heaven tho it does not appear what we shall be yet we have a glorious character of that City given us in Holy Writ so it may be said of Christian Love Great things are spoken of it and such as render it venerable in the eyes of all wise and discerning persons For 1. It is a complication * Aug. de C. D. l. 15. c. 22. Nihil aliud virtus est quà m or do amoris Id. de C. D. l. 14. c. 7. Amor inhians habere quod amatur cupiditas est idem habens eóque fruens laetitia est c. of all Vertues When it longs for what it affects it is desire and when it enjoys it it is gladness when it flies what it abominates it is fear and when it falls into the hands of its enemies it is sadness says St. Austin and * 1 Cor. 13. a greater than St. Austin hath told me That Love is the most comprehensive Vertue For Charity suffers long and then it is meekness it is kind and then it is courtesie it envies not and so it is peaceableness it vaunteth not it self and so it is modesty it is not puft up and so it is humility it doth not behave it self unseemly and then it is called decency seeketh not her own and then it is publick-spiritedness is not easily provok'd and then it is patience thinketh no evil and so it is simplicity and innocence rejoiceth in the truth and so it is verity and spiritual gladness beareth all things and so it is Christian fortitude believeth all things and so it is faith hopeth all things and so it is assurance endureth all things and then it is magnanimity and it never fails and so it is perseverance it purifies more than the flames of Martyrdom and is a better Alms than the world dispos'd of to charitable uses it enlightens more than all reading and all contemplation and it makes a man a Christian while Knowledg and Miracles only make him a Prodigy In a word it is all Philosophy and all Religion and he alone truly knows how to live who knows how to love Nay it is Heaven upon Earth says the devout Poet For We know not what they do above But that they sing and that they love Nay it is God himself * 1 John 4.8 For he that loves not knows not God for God is Love ' Who is able to describe the beauties of Holy Love says St. Clement * Ep ad Corinth p. 63 64. The height to which it carries us is unsearchable it unites us to God and it covers a multitude of sins it is the bond of Union and the bane of Schism and Divisions and without it nothing can please God It was nothing but Love that brought down Jesus from Heaven to shed his Blood for us and nothing but Love that can carry us thither whence he came down on Earth 2. Love is the only Original of all our satisfactions in this Life it sweetens all sufferings and makes difficulties easie for it subdues whatever opposes it True Love is a flame enkindled in the mind by our holy Saviour which preys upon and destroys all secular and carnal affections its eye is fixt on Heaven and its wings spread toward that bright Palace and thither it endeavours with unwearied speed to fly because that is
thy sight for all mankind especially for the houshold of faith through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen May the Blessing of God Almighty the Father Son and Holy Ghost be with me and remain with me now and for evermore Amen § 28. And because the blessings of an Easter are very valuable and deserve extraordinary returns the good Christian thinks fit after the Evening Service at Church is over to return again to his Closet to converse with his holy Saviour and to exercise those acts of Love of Faith of Contrition and Hope and other Graces which for want of leisure or other conveniences could not so well be performed in the House of God to which he subjoins this or the like Meditation The MEDITATION § 30. I Am now return'd from that happy place that is preferable to Paradise where I have been treated with a Feast of fat Things and Wine well refined and what does my Lord require of me in point of Gratitude for these his inestimable benefits but to do Justice to love Mercy and to walk humbly with my God For every thing in this Sacrament obliges me to holiness of Life the Institutor of it was the undefiled High Priest of our Profession who did bear all sins but committed none the end of its Celebration is to show forth his Death which when we receive unworthily we act over again we new crucifie the Lord of Life who hath bought us and bring on our selves the most horrid and affrighting guilt that we can incur the preparation is nothing less than a strict examination of our Consciences than strong Prayers and Cries ardent resolutions of being better and a constant course of pious and charitable Actions This Sacrament actually enters us into Covenant with God and what agreement can there be between Light and Darkness It is an Emblem of our holy Profession which calls us to an exemplary Conversation it is a bond of Christian Communion and obliges to Charity 't is a representation of our Saviour's Crucifixion and so calls to the practice of Patience Forgiveness and Holy Resolution and it is a solemn Sacrifice of Praise and so obliges to practical Gratitude How wide are thy Wounds O my dying Saviour and how sorrowful thy Countenance Oh thy bitter Agony Oh thy shameful Cross And all occasioned by my sins and shall I continue in the same Transgressions out of despite to my Saviour Lord let me never be in any capacity to do so any more for how shall I dare to eat with thee and to lift up my heel against thee In this Sacrament I renew the Vow which I made in my Baptism and have so often shamefully broken and thereby forfeited the blessings which were promis'd me upon the performance of my duty Now this Covenant as on Gods part it entitles me to his Protection and his love to the Merits of his Son and the indwelling of his Holy Spirit so on my part it engages me to accept of that Son of his in all his Offices obliging me to receive him as my Sovereign and to obey his Commands and to depend upon him to receive him as my High Priest and to believe that his Sacrifice of himself if I repent and amend shall cleanse me from all sin but if I continue in my disobedience shall avail me nothing and to give my self up to his Instruction as a Prophet learning from him all the particulars of the Divine Will that are necessary to make me wise to Salvation and perfect unto every good Work But how often have I broken that Covenant rebell'd against this my Sovereign made my self unworthy of the blessing of this my High Priest and cast all his Laws behind my back Before my Repentance my bosom was a Den of Thieves and a Cage of unclean Birds but now it is cleansed and I am become a new Creature now know I that I am the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in me but if any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is holy which Temple I am There is a particular Veneration paid to the places where Princes usually entertain themselves and every House where any of the Blood-Royal of Persia is born is afterward converted to a Sanctuary and whereever any of their Princes lodges in a Journey the place is reputed for the future sacred and ought not the place where my God takes up his Habitation to be for the same reason separate from profane and common uses And if some of the School-Doctors who assert Transubstantiation tell us that as soon as the consecrated Host grows mouldy the Body of God retires from it and it is again changed into its old substance of bread can I think that God will pitch his Tents in a polluted Soul infected with the Leprosie of Vice I do therefore resolve and it shall from henceforward be the employment of my time and my strength so to live in thy fear and to thy service that I may dye in thy favour and rest in thy Peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. § 31. At the end of this Meditation this Collect is fitly subjoined BLessed and most bountiful Saviour as thou hast honoured me and made me happy this day so vouchsafe me the same measures of Grace the same ardors of Mind and the same holy opportunities all the days of my Life fix my thoughts upon the things of Heaven strengthen and inflame my love to my dying Saviour increase and support my Faith confirm and secure my Hopes and give me frequent occasions to exercise all the other Virtues of my Christian Calling and as thou hast filled my soul with the most ravishing and transporting pleasures so make me for ever careful that I neither quench thy Blessed Spirit nor stifle its Motions but that I may improve all the seasons of Mercy and all the tendries of Grace to the best ends and purposes to the advancement of thy Glory and my own Salvation through thy Merits and Mediation who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest ever one God world without end Amen § 32. After this the devout man is all Rapture and all Joy and cannot forbear praising God afresh for all his spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places in this or the like Hymn O God my heart is ready my heart is ready I will sing and give praise with the best Member that I have I will give thanks unto thee O Lord among the people and I will sing praises unto thee among the Nations For thy mercy is greater than the Heavens and thy truth reacheth unto the Clouds Through God shall we do great acts and it is he that shall tread down our enemies Truly God is loving unto Israel even unto such as are of a clean heart Oh how amiable are thy dwellings thou Lord of Hosts my soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh rejoice in