frequently say as much concerning the sanctifying of the Water in Baptism by the holy Spirit and yet it remains Water still though it serve to the mystical washing away of sin So do the bread and wine remain bread and wine after the sanctifying of them and their becoming the body and blood of Christ to us They are both bread and wine in their substance and the body and blood of Christ the Spiritual use to which they are appointed To that use when once they are consecrated we have no regard at all to the substance of bread and wine but only to the body and blood of Christ which by doing this are communicated to our souls in the remission of sin the sanctification of the Spirit and eternal life To conclude what Gregory Nyssen saith concerning Baptism * Tom. 2. in Bapt. Christi p. 802. Do not contemn the divine washing nor undervalue it as a common thing because of the Vse of the Water for that which it works is great and there are wonderful effects of it we may say concerning the Supper of the Lord Bread and Wine are but small things but in this holy use of them they are great and produce admirable effects Nay he himself immediately mentions this very thing among others for an example of the great benefit that may be received from common matters when they are applied to a divine use This Altar saith he at which we stand is in its Nature but ordinary stone nothing different from those you tread upon but being dedicated to God â—ervice it is an holy Table c. And this bread also is in the beginning but common bread but when the mystery hath offered it then it is called and it is the body of Christ So the mystical oyl and so the Wine which are little worth before the blessing after the sanctification of the Spirit have another kind of operation And thus a Priest who the other day was a vulgar person being separated by blessing becomes a guide a Governour a teacher of piety c. And these things he doth without any change at all in his body or form By these examples any man may see that he thought the bread and wine in the Sacrament become the body and blood of Christ with no more change in their substance than there is in the water with which we baptize or in the Priest who ministers there or at the Eucharist But that they are called the body and blood of Christ in regard of the Use to which they are sanctified and are his body and blood in regard of the wonderful effects which are communicated to the faithful in the use of them viz. remission of sin and all other benefits of his passion Now what greater favour can we desire at Gods hands than to be admitted to such fellowship with him and with his son Jesus Christ what is there of equal power with this to possess our hearts with the love of God was there ever any so treated by him as we are did the friends of God in ancient time receive such pledges of his grace and favour were they ever made thus one with him and joyned to him by pertaking of his Sons body and blood who would not give up himself soul and body eternally to him that thinks of these things who can think he makes a dear purchase if he give his life in exchange for such invaluable blessings we should go to the Table of the Lord and say How excellent is thy loving kindness O God! How pretious are thy thoughts towards us how great is the sum of them who would not fear thee who would not love thee and glorifie thy name For thou hast given us exceeding great and pretious promises 2 Pet. 1.4 that by them we might be pertakers of a divine Nature Thou hast sealed them with the blood of thy Son and hast made a new Covenant with us in that blood Heb. 10.16 17. to put thy laws in our hearts and write them in our minds and our sins and iniquities to remember no more Thou hast made him an high Priest for ever to make intercession for us and given him power and glory at thy right hand 1 Thess 5.24 that he may be able to perform all his promises Faithful is he that calleth us who also will do it For ever O Lord thy word is setled in Heaven Psal 119.89 90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations But thou hast given likewise farther assurances of thy merâ—y and thy Truth by entertaining us at thy Table and making us pertake of that body and blood which was offered for our sins Enough Enough O most merciful Father We see the love thou bearest to us We cannot desire greater tokens and testimonies of it than these thou hast given us 2 Cor. 1.20 All thy promises in Christ we believe are Amen certain faithful and true We know and are sure 1 John 2.1 2. that we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is a propitiation for our sins I will never doubt any more of thy good will towards us for I taste and feel that the Lord is gracious Psal 111.4 5 9. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion he will ever be mindful of his Covenant He hath sent redemption unto his people he hath commanded his covenant for ever Holy and reverend is his Name Psal 103.17 18. The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him To such as keep his Covenant and to those that remember his Commandments to do them I wait therefore for thee O Lord Ps 130.5 my soul doth wait and in thy word do I hope Mine eyes shall be ever towards the Lord Jude 2. that Mercy and peace and love may be multiplied unto me that I may walk in the light as thou Lord art in the light for so shall we still have fellowship one with another 1 Joh. 1.7 and the blood of Jesus Christ thy son shall cleanse me from all sin Amen The natural consequence of what hath been said concerning the love of God towards us in sending his only begotten Son that we might live through him and he might be the propitiation for our sins is drawn to our hand by S. John 1 Epist 4.11 Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another This is so certain a fruit of an hearty sense of Gods merciful kindness to us that no man ought to think he loves him or hath any fellowship with him or with his son Jesus who doth not feel in himself an unfeigned affection and readiness to do good to all his Christian Brethren By this we know that we dwell in him and he in us which we pray for at the Lords Table because he hath given us of his spirit v. 13. That is indued us with his own kind and gracious Nature and disposition Of which that
40.8 11. I delight to do thy will O my God yea thy Law is within my heart Withhold not thy tender mercies from me O Lord let thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me Vnite my heart to fear thy name Fill me with all thy fulness O God and above all things with fervent charity This I pray that my love may abound yet more and more in knowledg and in all judgment that I may approve things that are excellent Phil. 1.9 10 11. that I may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto thy glory and praise I am thine save me Multiply grace mercy and peace upon me unto eternal life For it is thou O God Psal 68. ult that givest strength and power unto thy people Blessed be God Immediately after the receiving of the Cup they may lift up their hearts and say Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 1.3 7 8. who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace wherein he hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence O Lord how manifold are thy works Psal 104 24 c. in wisdom hast thou made them all The earth is full of thy riches and so is the great and wide sea wherein are creatures innumerable These wait all upon thee that thou mayest give them their meat in due season Thou openest thine hand and they are filled with Good But eye had not seen 1 Cor. 2 9 10. Eph. 3.5.11 nor ear heard neither did enter into the heart of man the things which thou hadst prepared for them that love thee and hast now revealed to thy holy Apostles and Prophets by the spirit according to thy eternal purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord. Who for us men and for our Salvation came down from Heaven and was manifested in flesh to destroy the works of the devil 1 Joh. 3.8 and dyed for our sins Rom. 4.25 rose again for our justification ascended up on high to give gifts unto men Eph. 4.8 and is at the right hand of God to make intercession for us Heb. 7.25 1 P i. 3. ult Heb. 1. ult Angels authorities and powers being made subject unto him and sent forth to Minister for them who shall he heirs of Salvation Eph. 3.8 Col. 2.3 O the unsearchable riches of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledg I submit my self unto thee O thou Prince of life and Lord of glory unto thee I will live henceforth and not unto my self and if for thee I must die the will of my Lord be done Ps 16. ult Thy favour is better than life in thy presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore Luk. 17.5 Lord increase my faith strengthen my hope raise my love to a greater height and make patience to have its perfect work that I may not love my life unto the death But the trial of my faith Rev. 12.11 though it be tried by fire 1 Pet. 1.7 Col. 2.2 may be found unto praise and honour and glory at thy appearing And O that our hearts may be comforted being knit together in love Eph. 4. ult that we may be ever kind tender-hearted forgiving one another as thou O God for Christ's sake hast forgiven us That so with united minds and affections we may be still praising thee and saying Blessed be the Lord of Heaven and Earth who only doth wondrous things Psalm 72.18 19. And blessed be his glorious name for ever and let the whole earth be filled with his glory Amen and Amen Or thus O the breadth and length Eph. 3.18 19. and depth and heighth O the love of Christ Jesus our Lord which passes knowledge Phil 2.7 8. who made himself of no reputation but took upon him the form of a Servant and humbling himself became obedient unto death even the death of the cross for us miserable sinners Rev. 5.12 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Re. 1.5 6. 1 Pet. 2.5 For he hath washed us from our sins in his blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Christ Jesus Behold O Lord an heart that offers up it self unto thee in love unfeigned I absolutely resign my will to thy holy will and pleasure Not my will but thy will be done And praised be God who hath made a new covenant with us in the blood of Jesus Col. 1.20 who hath by him reconciled all things to himself both in heaven and in earth and hath now renewed unto us the assurance of his continued love Psal 75.1 Vnto thee O God do we give thanks unto thee do we give thanks for that thou art near unto us thy wondrous works declare Psal 20.3 4. The Lord remember all our offerings and accept our Sacrifices Grant us according to our hearts desire and fulfil all our petitions Col. 1.9 10 11. That we may be filled with the knowledg of his will in all wisdom and Spiritual understanding and may walk worthy of him unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in knowledg strengthned with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness giving thanks continually to the Father of mercies who hath made us meet to be pertakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light 1 Tim. 1.17 Psal 106. ult Now unto the King eternal immortal invisible the only wise God be honour and glory for ever and ever And let all the people say Amen But when you have eased your hearts a little in these expressions of faith love and grateful remembrance of our Saviours kindness you will still find room for more devout effusions of your soul in some holy passion or other while you are at this feast Either before or after you have been at the Table of the Lord while the rest of the company is communicating there will be time to entertain your selves with sundry pious thoughts and meditations which I shall briefly suggest unto you in the next part of this Treatise that now follows The intention of which I told you in the beginning should be to instruct you in a plain and easy method how to pertake of this holy food with the greater fruit and delight also PART III. Containing a familiar way of disposing our selves to Communicate with Profit and Pleasure HAVING shewn you what is the Nature and Use of this Feast you will expect perhaps that I should tell you who are the persons whom our Lord invites and calls unto
observe them with my whole heart and rejoyce in thy pretious promises accounting them better than thousands of gold and silver My hope my satisfaction my comfort is in thy word which incourages me to wait on thee for the grace of thy holy Spirit blessing thee for that portion of it which I have already received I thank thee for all thy other goodness to me and trust thee for the continuance of it as far as thou seest profitable in thy wise providence to which I heartily refer my self I hope thou wilt accept of these poor but sincere acknowledgments and not condemn me out of my own confessions but pardon my errors and miscarriages confirm my holy purposes pitty my infirmities and strengthen my pious endeavours That I may perfectly mortifie all sinful lusts and desires faithfully discharge my dutie in my several relations thankfully and soberly use all thy mercies patiently bear the heaviest afflictions and improve my soul in wisdom and goodness by all the helps thou affordest me by thy holy Gospel by the good counsels of others the inspirations of the holy Ghost thy many remarkable providences about me and whatsoever courses thou takest with me to bring me safe through this world into an happy eternity And now that I am about to address my self to the Table of the Lord O that I might have such a sweet remembrance of his love as may revive my spirit encourage my hope excite me to all my duty and put an humble confidence in me to look up unto thee again for thy pardon and for the grace of thy holy Spirit to enable me to please thee better ever hereafter Thou who knowest all things seest that my soul waits for thee O God and longs to be more like thee and is ready to offer up its understanding will and all its affections unto thee That I may remain stedfast and unmoveable in justice and charity meekness and humility temperance and purity contentedness and patience devotion and piety with all other fruits of thy good Spirit Suffer nothing to appear in my soul before thee but reverend thoughts of thee most zealous love to thee passionate desires that Christ Jesus may live in me and appear in all the actions of an innocent harmless and useful life That so the day when I approach unto thee may be a day of good tidings of great joy a day of peace and reconciliation of feasting and refreshment of comfort and incouragement to walk before thee with a perfect heart as long as I live Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest Phil. 4.8 9 19. whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue and if there be any praise help me alwayes to think on these things And the God of peace be with me and supply all my need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus In whose name and words I still recommend my self to thy grace saying Our Father which art c. The Meditation afterward THou art my portion O Lord Psal 119.57 I have said that I would keep thy word Why should I repent me of my choice or start from my resolution Thy Counsels and commands are the surest guide thy power the strongest defence thy good providence the fullest store-house thy eternal justice and holiness the best security thy promises the richest treasure and good hopes in thee our highest happiness It is enough enough O Lord to be beloved of thee the all-sufficient good who comprehendest all things in thy mind and canst do all things by thy power and delightest in raising such monuments of thy wisdom and greatness as thy almighty love may dispense endless blessings unto I am well satisfied now that I can say Psa 142.5 thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living The Lord is my portion whom shall I envy The Lord is my portion for what shall I be discontented The Lord is my portion of whom shall I be afraid Why art thou cast down Ps 42.11 O my soul why art thou disquieted within me How can his friends fail to partake of his bounty who treats even his enemies with so much kindness 62.5 My soul wait thou only upon God for my expectation is from him Trust in the Lord and do good 37.3 4 34. and verily thou shalt be fed Delight thy self also in the Lord and â— he shall give thee the desires of thy heart Cast thy burden on the Lord and he shall sustain thee 55.22 he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved Wait on the Lord and keep his way For the eyes of the Lord are upon them that love him Ecclâ—â— 34.16 17. He is their mighty protection and strong stay A defence from the heat and a cover from the Sun at noon a preservation from stumbling and a help from falling He raiseth up the soul and lightneth the eyes He giveth life and health and blessing Judeth ult 16. All sacrifice is too little for a sweet savour to him and all the fat is not sufficient for his burnt-offering but he that feareth the Lord is great at all times Ecclus. 34.13 The spirit of those that fear the Lord shall live for their hope is in him that saveth them My heart shall rejoyce in him because I have trusted in his holy name Let thy mercy O Lord Psal 33.21 22. be upon me according as I hope in thee And I hope that I shall never forget thy word which I have said that I would keep the revelation of thy wisdom the declaration of thy will and the description of thy most holy and happy life My God I have taken thy precepts as my heritage for ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart Psal 119.111 112. I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes alway even unto the end This day I have added one vow more of consecration to thee I have made over my self intirely to thee to be thy portion Whom shall I love whom shall I serve to whom shall I resign my will and wayes but only to thee the Father of lights and the Father of mercies who hast not thought thy Son too much to give to me Never will I forget this happy day which hath brought me a taste of the joy and peace and serenity which spring from the very beginning of a God-like nature I will alway be devoted to him Let his will be done on earth as it is in heaven for it is the will of my heavenly Father Let these words remain upon record against me if I endeavour not to make him my pattern and not only in that place where I have now been but in all my behaviour in this world that great Temple of his demean my self holily and purely with that humility reverence meekness and submission which becomes his presence What have I here to
my soul I only bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 3.14 15 c. of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named that he would grant me according to the riches of his glory to be strengthned with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in my heart by faith that I being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledg that I may be filled with all the fulness of God Amen The Thanksgiving and Prayer afterward O Lord the fullest and most bountiful good who art rich in mercy to all that call upon thee never weary of our importunities nor weary of importuning us to dispose our selves to receive thy blessings Eccluâ— 2. ult Thy power is the beginning of righteousness and is guided by the greatest wisdom and the greatest love As is thy Majesty Wisd 12.16 so is thy mercy and because thou art the Lord of all it maketh thee to be gracious unto all Thou lovest all things that are 11.24 25 26. and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made for never wouldest thou have made any thing if thou hadst hated it And how could any thing have endured if it had not been thy will or been preserved if not called by thee But thou sparest all for they are thine O Lord thou lover of Souls It is of thy mere goodness that I am not consumed Lam. 3.22 and because thy compassions fail not That I have so much liberty as to recount thy mercies which keep me in life and let it not be as wretched and miserable base and vile sickly and uneasie troublesome and tedious as it might have been according to my deservings is for ever to be remembred with most humble thankfulness I cannot forget unless I cast away all care and consideration of my self from how many dangers thou hast delivered me in what extremities thou hast succoured and relieved me and what friends lovers and kind acquaintances thou hast bestowed on me But the greatest of thy mercies are those which thou hast expressed to us in the Lord Jesus without which all the rest might have made our life in the next world to have proved more miserable and intolerable to us Thou hast sent him in the tenderest and most endearing manner in our own flesh with the most moving and compassionate entreaties and the strongest and most obliging arguments to surrender our selves to thy obedience to whom of right we belong And he hath laid down his life so great was his love the just for the unjust 1 Pet. 3.18 that he might bring us to thee our God And thou hast rewarded his obedience to the death with a glorious Resurrection and set him at thine own right hand and given him the promise of the Holy Ghost Acts 2.33 which he hath shed abundantly on his Apostles to guide them into all truth Joh. 16.13 that they might go and Teach all Nations and Baptize them into his Religion Matth. 28.19 20. and teach them to observe all things that he hath commanded I remember with most grateful acknowledgments the manifold gifts which thou bestowedst on thy Church to confirm the faith of Christ and propagate it in the world till it came to these Regions where I live Blessed be thy goodness that I was born of Christian Parents and without my knowledge very early by their care dedicated unto thee Blessed be thy goodness that ever since I have been thy care and that thou hast brought me up to the knowledge of thy holy Gospel wherein I read this story of thy marvellous love and am instructed in my duty towards thee and towards men and encouraged by exceeding great and precious promises being put in hope of immortal life the pledges of which thou hast ordered and appointed thy Ministers to provide for me and give unto me I have now by thy goodness received them and tasted that the Lord is gracious full of compassion and of great pity not desiring the death of a sinner but that he should return and live This raises thy mercy to the greatest height that thou hast done all this for those who are so dull and insensible cold and careless inconstant and uncertain apt too soon to forget these benefits and great obligations which thou layest on them But thou hast done all this and continuest thy kindness to make us better Which is the thing O Lord that I most heartily desire and labour after and shall ever account it the greatest blessing when I am overcome by thy merciful kindness and am willing to part with my self and all my own desires to gain thee and thy love by being led and ruled in all things according to thy will To that I unfeignedly again submit my self and humbly vow all the powers of Soul and Body to thy obedience I own thy blessed Gospel for the rule and direction of my life and thy Son Christ Jesus for my pattern and example and thy good Spirit for my guide and governour in whose holy comforts I rejoyce more than in any thing in this world For ever magnified be thy love that thou hast exalted one mighty to save and hast sent him not only with a pardon but with the power of the Holy Ghost to renew sanctifie and advance our Nature by changing it into the likeness of thine own I hope in thee O Lord for the continued influences thereof to quicken my Faith and render it more and more effectual in all the actions of an holy life That I may have high and adoring thoughts of thee and humble thoughts of my self overlook the little things here below and labour for those above do good with what I have and lay up treasures in Heaven be contented with my portion and sober and discreet in the use of it live peaceably with all men but not be partaker in their sins and that it may alway be part of my employment in this World thus to worship thee and reflect upon thy goodness and the rest may be to live according to my prayers and acknowledgments Amen and Amen O that all Nations whom thou hast made would come and worship before thee Psal 86.9 10. in Spirit and in Truth Joh. 4.23 O that they would glorifie thy Name for thou art great and dost wondrous things thou art God alone But let all Christians especially 1 Cor. 12.13 who by one Spirit are all baptized into one Body and have been all made to drink into one Spirit glorifie the Name of their Lord Ephes 4.3 by keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and agreeing together in Godly love And do thou O Lord the God of Peace direct their hearts into the more excellent way that though tongues and prophecies and miracles are ceased yet that humble kind meek and long-suffering Charity may remain and abound more and more which will bring us all to live in endless love and peace and joy together in the Heavens The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 13. ult and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with me and with all my Friends and all thy Servants every where Amen THus by the help of God I have brought this Treatise to a Conclusion which I hope will not be unwelcome to those that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity Ephes 6. ult And I most humbly beseech the Divine Majesty graciously to accept my weak endeavours therein to serve this Church and stir up every Member of it with hearty love to offer up themselves to him in its Publick Service Which so gravely and pathetically expresses the sense of pious hearts at the Holy Communion that these Private Prayers which I have composed to wait upon it can only serve to excite those who will make use of them to joyn with more fervour in the Common Devotions and to continue those holy dispositions which they declare to be in their hearts if they sincerely unite them with these words * In the Prayer after the Communion And here we offer and present unto thee O Lord our Selves our Souls and Bodies to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice unto thee Which that we may ever be we cannot in a few words better implore the Divine assistance than in those of that incomparable Prayer at the end of our Communion-Service PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain Everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE END ERRATA PAge 53. line 19. read went away p. 179. l. 1. r. heart l. 2. r. mouth p. 320. l. 27. 1. have received p. 357 l. 12. r. Lord Jesus p. 362. l. ult r. a member p. 383. l. 10. r. and growth p. 396. l. 13. r. earnests
bounty in this invaluable blessing and make mention of this which his Son hath suffered for us as a compleat satisfaction for all our offences against him We must approach therefore to the Table of the Lord with affectionate acknowledgments of his infinite goodness extolling and praising his merciful kindness in bestowing on us so great a gift professing we will never forget the tender love of our Lord who laid down his life for us and beseeching the Father of Mercies to receive us into his grace and favour for the sake of his dear Son whose Death we shew unto him We should resolve to express the sense of our hearts in some such words as these Psal 92.1 2 3. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name O thou most high To shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night For thou Lord hast made me glad through thy work I will triumph in the works of thy hand 66.16.86.13 Come and hear all ye people I will declare what the Lord hath done for our Souls For great is his mercy towards us and he hath delivered our souls from the lowest hell Glorious things are spoken of thee John 1.14 29. Colâ—ss 1.15 Joh. â— 12 O Jesus thou lover of Souls The word made flesh the Image of the invisible God the light of the world the Lamb of God that takes away its sin the first begotten from the dead the heir of all things Rev. 1.5 the Prince of the Kings of the Earth Heb. 1.3 Heb. 8.1.9.24.7 25. an high Priest who is set down on the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens who appears in the presence of God and lives for ever to make intercession for us Psal 89.6 Who in the Heaven can be compared to the Lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord For thou Lord art highly exalted thou art exalted far above all Gods 9â— 9 In this most powerful name O Father Almighty we humbly cast down our selves before the Throne of thy Glory Give us leave to mention before thee the Death of him who said behold I come to do thy will O God Behold O Lord the bleeding wounds of thy well-beloved in whom thou hast testified by a voice from Heaven that thou art well pleased Remember how his Body was broken for us and his Blood poured out In him we believe thou art perfectly satisfied and therefore are bold to hope that thou art reconciled to us on that account O hear his dying groans regard his Agony and Bloody sweat by his Cross and Passion let our sins be blotted out and by his glorious Resurrection and Ascension let us feel every evil affection and lust perfectly killed and crucified We have nothing to plead if he have not done enough and fulfilled all thy will But since he hath laid down his life in obedience to thee O let us by vertue of that voluntary Sacrifice which now we represent before thee obtain thy mercy and grace We cannot be content to lose our share in so great a Love And since thou hast bid us to Commemorate it we hope we shall as certainly pertake of it as we do of this Feast to which thou hast invited us Ps 79.13.145.1 2. So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever We will shew forth thy praise from generation to generation We will extol thee our God O King we will bless thy name for ever and ever Every day will we bless thee and will praise thy name for ever and ever In such Meditations as these when we shew forth the inestimable value of Christs Sacrifice we do as it were offer it unto God or rather make before him a commemoration of his Offering And in this sense the Ancient Christians did call this Sacrament a Sacrifice and every Christian they lookt upon as a Priest and a Sacrificer when he came to the Table of the Lord. Because Christ not only bad his Apostles do this in remembrance of him but S. Paul requires every one of us to do the same and to shew forth his Death till he come There is none mentions this Sacrifice more frequently than S. Chrysostome but to explain himself after he had said we do not make another Sacrifice as the high Priests of old but always the very same he adds or rather we make a Commemoration of a Sacrifice * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Heb. 10. p. 523. edic Savil. And in the very same manner Eusebius writes in his first Book of his Evangelical Demonstration Christians cannot think fit saith he to return back again to the first and weak Elements he means the Mosaical Sacrifices which were but Symbols and Images not the Truth it self ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. cap. 10. p. 37. since they celebrate every day the Commemoration of his Body and Blood and are made worthy of a better Sacrifice and ministery than the Ancients were And a little after speaking of Christs wonderful oblation and most pretious bloody Sacrifice to the Father he adds that he delivered also to us a Remembrance instead of a Sacrifice to offer up continually unto God * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 38. By which words it is manifest he took the Remembrance or Commemoration of Christs death to be that Sacrifice which we make to God And again he saith in the very next page to celebrate the remembrance or commemoration of that Sacrifice upon the Table by the Symbols or representations both of his Body and saving Blood we have received according to the ordinances of the New Testament Hither he applies those places out of the Psalms offer to God Thanksgiving Let the lifting up of our hands be as an evening Sacrifice The Sacrifices of God are a contrite Spirit c. So that they thought of no other Sacrifice in those days but that of praise and Thanksgiving together with the offering of our selves our Souls and bodies to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice unto him as it is admirably expressed in our Communion Service * Prayer after all have Communicated With which the Author now mentioned perfectly agrees and delivers his mind almost in the same words We Sacrifice ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Ib. pag. 40. saith he a divine venerable and most holy Sacrifice We Sacrifice after a new manner according to the New Testament a pure Sacrifice c. we both Sacrifice and offer Incense too Celebrating the remembrance of that great Sacrifice according to the Mysteries delivered by him to us and offering Thanksgiving for our Salvation by godly Hymns and Prayers to God consecrating our selves also wholly to him and to our high Priest the word devoting to him both our Souls and Bodies It would be easy to add much more to the same purpose but
attended withal are not worthy to be named with the joys of those that sing continually and say Blessed be the Lord our God for ever Neh. 9.4 5 c. blessed be thy glorious Name which is exalted above all blessing and praise Thou even thou art Lord alone thou hast made Heaven the Heaven of Heavens with all their host the earth and all things that are therein the Seas and all that is in them and thou preservest all and the host of Heaven worshippeth thee Eph. 1.4 1 Pet. 1.21 Thou art the Lord the God and Father of Jesus Christ who hast chosen us in him before the foundation of the world and redeemed us by his blood raised him from the dead and given him glory that our faith and hope might be in thee our God Thine 2 Chron. 29.11 O blessed Jesus is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the Majesty for all that is in the Heaven and in the earth is thine thine is the kingdom O Lord and thou art exalted as head above all In thy hand is power and might and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all Now therefore our God we thank thee and praise thy glorious Name Psal 115. ult We will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore Yea bless the Lord ye his Angels that excell in strength that do his Commandments hearkning to the voice of his word Bless ye the Lord all ye his hosts ye Ministers of his that do his pleasure Bless the Lord all his works in all places of his dominion bless the Lord O my Soul Thus if we did converse with him and such holy communication did heartily pass between us it would be so pleasant and delightful that we should cry out with the Jews in another case Joh. 6.34 Lord evermore give us this bread We should long for such another repast and be desirous every day to wait on him at his Table At least we should greedily embrace the next invitation that he gives us to come unto it And because we cannot every day do this in remembrance of him we should secretly retire unto him in our own heart as into his holy Temple and there call to mind what he hath done unto us commemorate his love maintain our acquaintance preserve our friendship and renew to him our vows that by all these ways we may prepare our selves for his fellowship and society in the eternal world It may happen indeed that there may be but a few communicants at the Table of the Lord and so you may not have time there to do all this In which case you may use only some part of it or thus in brief open your heart to him when you see how he declares his love to you Adored be thy condescending love O merciful Saviour to thine unworthy servant who blushes to lift up his eyes towards thee even when thou invitest me unto thee For besides my other guiltiness this most gracious representation which now thou makest of thy self to me doth but little move my dull and heavy affections to love and rejoyce in thee I am heartily ashamed of my self only I desire and resolve to become better And here I prostrate my self before thee as a humble worshipper of thee presenting thee with a poor oblation of my soul and body which I dedicate again with the most dutiful affection I am able to excite unto thee Do thou O Lord excite a greater that when I shall appear before thee again I may present thee with a soul more pure humble meek merciful and improved in all other fruits of thy holy Spirit In thy mercies alone are all my hopes For as the Heaven is high above the earth so great is thy mercy toward them that fear thee As far as the East is from th West Psal 103.11 12. so far hast thou removed our transgressions from us O be merciful unto me be merciful unto me for my soul trusteth in thee 57.1 Looks thou upon me and be merciful to me as thou usest to do to those that love thy name 119.132 Thou art my portion O Lord I have said 57.173 that I would keep thy word Let thine hand help me Ephes 3.16 for I have chosen thy precepts Strengthen me with might by thy spirit in the inner man that denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts Tit. 2.12 I may live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and thee our Saviour Jesus Christ Now unto him that is able to keep me from falling and to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Saviour be glory and majesty Jude 24 25. dominion and power both now and ever Amen But when there is time to do the whole you will not spend it I hope in any thing else but such Meditations as these Which that they may be disposed in such order as every one of them may come in its season you may make use of in this manner Think you hear our Saviour speaking to you by the Bread and the Wine when you see the one broken and the other poured out Then you may immediately imploy your thoughts in the four first together with the second Meditation set down in the second part while the Minister is Communicating himself and others with him The V. and the VI. will be seasonable after you have received the Bread and the VII and VIII after the Cup together with those mentioned before in the same place And the two last in like manner after you have withdrawn your self from the holy Table or before according as you can find room for them And if your spirit be not able to hold out in so many thoughts and expressions of the inward sense and affection of your heart you may single out those which you find to give you the most lively touch and lift up your heart highest toward the Lord. And at some opportunity the rest perhaps may be as acceptable or more welcome meditations nay you may feel your soul inlarged and run out in more pious thoughts and affections than I can suggest or excite by all that I am able to say on this subject But I desire you never to omit one meditation when you behold the rest of the company receiving which is that all those and the whole Church who pertake of this holy Communion are your Brethren To whom you must stir up as I directed you before the most fervent charity and the readiest disposition to relieve counsel assist comfort or admonish them as there shall be occasion And with whom you must resolve to live in the strictest Unity and peace as those who are Members of the very same body When you think therefore that our Lord tells you there is nothing he desires of you
and godliness who am so deeply indebted to him who have lived so long in his family and been often likewise entertained at his Table and received there the renewed tokens of his dearest love O how unwearied is his goodness which calls me once more to pertake of that great favour Canst thou find in thy heart O my soul to admire any thing to love any thing like unto him Let us go with the forwardest affection to testifie how much we value his kindness to profess the sincerity of our faith in him and most dutiful love unto him Let us go and confirm the agreement that is between us and make a new choice of him for our only Master and Saviour and take upon us to be eternally his Servants Nay render him our most hearty thanks that he will admit us to that honour and with the most passionate admiration make him our acknowledgments that he would do so much to deserve our Service Is not this thy mind and intention in approaching to his Table Doth it not grieve thee that thou hast at any time offended so great love Hadst thou not rather die and be crucified as he was than willingly break the least of his Commands Dost thou not in heart and resolution forsake every thing that would hinder thee from doing his will Art thou not purposed to follow Jesus in all the actions of an holy humble and mortified life Let us go then and wait upon him and shew him the love that we bear unto him Let us give him thanks even for this good mind which he hath put into us and for all the hopes we have that he will continue it to eternal life Be not discouraged for when the wicked forsakes his way Isa 55.7 and the unrighteous man his thoughts he himself hath said that he will have mercy upon him and multiply to pardon He will pour more abundantly of his holy spirit on us to strengthen our resolutions He will make us grow in grace and bring forth all the fruits of righteousness He will abundantly satisfie us with the fatness of his house Psal 36.8 9 10. and make us to drink of the River of his pleasures For with him is the fountain of life in his light shall we see light He will continue his loving kindness unto them that know him and his righteousness to the upright in heart The Prayer O Most holy and ever blessed God the fountain of good the highest object of our love the rest and satisfaction of all rational desires infinitely greater than all we can see and all we can conceive I bow my self before thee and humbly worship thy incomprehensible Majesty It was thy goodness which brought me into being and thy patience which hath continued me in it unto this time and a greater mercy which hath not suffered my being to be miserable to me but heaped on me innumerable good things But I have no fit name for that superabundant love which thought of making mankind so very happy by thy Son Jesus It is a wonder O Lord that thou wouldest be at such expense about those who had chosen to be any thing rather than such as thou madest them None but infinite compassion could be so tender of those who despised thy Image and loved to live like the beasts that perish None but thou O merciful God could think of bestowing greater benefits on such brutish sinners And nothing but a stupid negligence and unaccountable inconsiderateness could ever refuse to be made pertakers of such endless happiness as thou designest to us I am one of those strange things that have forsaken thee and know not why Who was long insensible of thy grace and unmoveable under thy greatest importunities to return to thee And since thou hast prevailed with me am too much inclined to content my self with a small degree of likeness to thee and apt to find out little pretences and excuses for the doing of my own will rather than thine And that though I am so solemnly consecrated to thee and have been instructed in thy blessed Gospel and put in hopes of such glorious rewards and received such incouragements at thy Table where I have frequently promised chearful obedience in all things Blessed be thy inconceivable love O most gracious Lord who hast shed thy blood for those who sin against that love if with all their hearts and all their souls they return unto thee For ever magnified be thy mercy who hast given us so many assurances of the truth of thy love to us and so many opportunities to testifie the truth of ours towards thee Thou art pleased not only by thy word thy promise and oath to give us ground of hope but even by outward and sensible signs to incourage our weak and justly fearful faith For who can but tremble to think that he hath at any time offended the majesty of Heaven and earth and yet who can but hope that hears the voice of thy Son inviting us to come unto thee and promising a pardon to returning sinners O thou who callest me now again to thy holy Table and there hast made such rich provision for us assist I most humbly beseech thee all the Meditations desires and resolutions of my soul in that holy action That I may remember all that the Lord Jesus hath done and suffered for me with such an humble admiration a lively faith and a thankful love that I may feel my heart tied faster to him with the cords of his love and sent up to Heaven as the whole burnt offerings to the Lord. Draw me O God of love more powerfully to thee and fill me more with wisdom and goodness that my mind may more clearly discern between things that differ my will may become more easy to all that is good and more obstinate against all that is evil and that every affection and passion may be more gentle and submissive to the government of thy holy Laws Possess my heart against all the force of temptations by a never dying sense of thy goodness and a remembrance of those joys which thou hast prepared for those that love thee O that all my graces may receive increase of nourishment that I may more perfectly imitate the humility the meekness the patience the charity the resignation and absolute obedience of my Lord and Master Jesus Christ He hath bidden us believe that thou wilt give thy holy Spirit to those that ask it as readily as an earthly parent gives bread to his children O let the power of that attend upon me to fix my wandring thoughts to raise up my heavy and dull affections and to form all my holy purposes into a setled disposition and temper of heart to comply with thy blessed will in every thing I am not worthy I confess of the smallest crumb of thy mercy but thou hast made me to hope for these great blessings through thy grace declared unto us in Christ Jesus In whose words I further
who were his Creatures sinful Creatures with his own blood Surely we do not believe this How joyful how thankful should we be how holily how purely should we live if we thought our selves so nearly related to him What faith what hope should we place in him How confidently should we trust our selves and all we have with him How willingly should we resign our selves to his pleasure who hath not thought this too much to do for us And how contentedly should we want what he pleases not to give who hath done us such an honour as to marry us to himself If he had taken hold of the Nature of Angels and laid down that life that pretious life which was spent for us for their redemption how much would those heavenly creatures have loved him And yet now that he is desirous of our little love he cannot have it O my soul what is become of that love which thou lately professedst to him I thought the last time we were at his Table that thou wast mightily sensible of his love and wouldst never cease to love him Didst thou not protest that nothing was so dear unto thee as thy Saviour and his Commands and pretious promises That thou hadst rather lose thy life than lose his favour And didst thou not resolve that thou wouldst preserve it as thy life by all the acts of love to God and man O how easily do we forget the greatest benefits How apt are we to pay him only with liberal promises If he had not made us this new invitation to his Table it is possible we might have forgotten that we have any obligations to him But this sweet voice of thy Saviour which calls upon thee saying come do this in remembrance of me how doth it awaken and revive that love which sometime I felt in my heart to him Thanks be to his goodness for this new opportunity to acknowledg his love and to profess my own I hope in time I shall love him to the height of my desires and by these frequent remembrances of him become perfectly like him Though very unworthy therefore of this new favour who have been so unmindful of the old I will go into his house and present my self at his Altar if it be but to declare that I belong to him and am not willing to lose his blessing I will shew him at least that I do not quite forget him and have a mind to become a better Christian But how is it possible that I should see the representation of his mighty love that I should behold his pains and agonies for my sake and do no more than tell him that I keep him in mind and intend to obey him I cannot chuse but vow my self intirely to him I must bind my self in the most sacred Covenant to keep his Commands I can do no less than assure him again that I love righteousness and hate iniquity and will chuse death rather than to displease him Nay I will resolve never to cease to renew these vows and multiply my ingagements and then at last sure I shall become stedfast in his Covenant Psa 112.1 and delight my self greatly in his Commandments Psal 119.167 48 44 162 127 72. My soul shall keep thy testimonies and love them exceedingly My hands also will I lift up unto thy Commandments which I have loved and I will meditate in thy statutes So shall I keep thy Law continually for ever and ever I will rejoyce at thy word as one that findeth great spoil And love thy Commandments above gold yea above fine gold The law of thy mouth shall be dearer unto me than thousands of gold and silver Let us go my soul and thank him heartily as for other benefits of his passion so for these hopes I have of becoming so perfectly in love with him that I shall exactly resemble him Ps 42.11 Hope in God for thou shalt yet praise him who is the health of thy countenance and thy God If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me But verily God hath heard me Psal 66.18 19 20. he hath attended to the voice of my prayer Blessed be God which hath not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me The Prayer before O Most high and Holy one who canst not be comprehended by our shallow thoughts nor by any other thing but only thy self Though inconceivably beneath thine infinite Majesty and also a miserable sinner I make bold in the name of the Lord Jesus who is my hope with humble reverence to prostrate my self before thee Acknowledging that thou art my Maker my Lord and Soveraign and that I being the work of thy hands must needs be thy servant and subject Yea thou hast given me leave every day to call thee Father and ownest me for thy child With what fear and astonishment with what grief and sorrow doth it become me to ly in thy presence How heavily have I condemned my self by these acknowledgments For I have not always honoured and served thee as my Creator nor loved and delighted in thee as my most gracious Father nor obeyed and submitted to thee in all things as my Soveraign Lord and Master I have too oft rebelled against thine Almighty power and authority and spurned against the bowels of thy love and broken thy most holy Laws and violated that faith which I professed in my Baptism and have many times since plighted unto thee Thine Almighty mercy accuses me The passion and torment the death and resurrection the threatnings and promises all the love of my dear Saviour condemns me and so do the mighty works and the gracious inspirations of the Holy Ghost And yet I have no whither to fly nothing to trust unto but that Almighty mercy the passion and love of our Lord the power and grace of the Holy Ghost How shall I hope for pardon from that love which I have offended and look for mercy from those tender mercies which I have too much slighted With what confidence can I expect a remedy from that power which I have resisted O the long-suffering and patience of my God! O the infiniteness of thy mercy and the pretiousness of that blood that can wash away so many transgressions against it self I adore thee I thank thee O God who hast set forth Christ Jesus to be a propitiation Rom. 3.25 through faith in his blood By his Cross and Passion Good Lord I hope to be delivered and wait on thy mercy for the power of his holy Spirit to wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity Psal 51. and cleanse me from my sin Assist me thereby I most humbly beseech thee to purifie my self from all filthiness both of the flesh and of the Spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 to purge my mind my affections my passions from whatsoever is offensive to thy pure eyes who canst not approve of iniquity For I would have no uncleanness no inordinate affection Col. 3.5 8. no
wilt sooner part with it than not perform his holy will in every thing Vow to him again that thou wilt be true and faithful to him Embrace all thy Brethren there assembled with a kind affection because they are his friends and followers Desire that all the world should know him and be acquainted with him and that a perpetual memory of him may be preserved by doing this as long as the Sun and Moon endure And canst thou do it without those passions which the thoughts of a Friend are wont to raise up in thy heart None of them sure will be absent upon this occasion They will all attend thee in this holy action and thou wilt feel the greatest gratitude to thy Saviour who hath done so much to deserve thy love which is so little worth to him Then thou wilt hear him as good as say unto thee Son be of good chear thy sins are forgiven thee All that I have is thine I will be an everlasting friend to thee and make thee inherit all things It is my Fathers good pleasure to give thee a kingdom and here I give thee the earnest of that purchased possession What reason hast thou to doubt of the injoyment if thou art my friend by doing whatsoever I command thee Do not friends partake in each others goods My power which I have over all things in Heaven and earth shall assist thee My Angels shall be thy guardians My spirit shall be thy guide and director My comforts shall incourage and support thee Because I live Joh. 14.19.10.10 thou shalt live also For I came that my sheep might have life and that they might have it more abundantly The Prayer before O Most holy and eternal God who art good and dost good the whole earth is full of thy goodness Thy mercy reacheth unto the Heavens and thy faithfulness unto the Clouds Thou art great in power wisdom and all other perfections and therefore greatly to be feared honoured and loved by all understanding creatures When I consider how much thou hast done for me or how much I have often promised to do for thee I am on both hands confounded and ashamed in my own thoughts Thou art my Creator my Father my Saviour deliverer and constant Benefactor the God of my life of my health of all my present comforts and future hopes I have promised often to be thy faithful servant and thy dutiful child to honour and glorifie thee both with body and soul and all the good things thou hast bestowed on me In my Baptism I was dedicated unto thee and have many times confirmed that gift and renewed my engagements to continue in thy obedience In my promises protestations and vows I have been very liberal but how sparing in performance thou who art acquainted with all my ways knowest And I my self know so much of my negligence that I may justly wonder thou still retainest me in thy family and lettest me enjoy the priviledg of thy children Adored be thy great long suffering and patience towards me and all mankind Thanks be to the name of the Lord who after our abuse of so many blessings hath added the gift of his dear Son and sent him to pay a ransome for us O the unconceivable greatness of that love which hath so much befriended the most ungrateful enemies I humbly mention the blood of his Cross as a sufficient sacrifice oblation and satisfaction not only for my sins but the sins of the whole world I lift up my hands unto thee in his name to receive that gracious pardon which he hath purchased for me hopeing thorough him that thou wilt still continue thy love unto me who am stedfastly resolved to love thee above all things Far be it from me to think that the love of our Lord should maintain me in any rebellion against thee or countenance my contempt of thy holy Laws No love me so much good Lord as to change my will and renew my nature into thy own likeness that I may be truly a friend of God I wish for no greater happiness than to feel my soul at peace and friendship with thee by an intire and unchangeable love to all righteousness goodness and truth And I am going to remember his dying love that with the heartiest affection I may devote my self wholly to thy love and service I do as unfeignedly desire that all my sins may die as I am glad that Christ died to be a propitiation for them And I as sincerely offer up my self my understanding my will my desires and passions and all that I have unto thee as I really believe that he offered up himself for me O that the power of the holy Ghost may accompany me and unite my thoughts and affections to make a most thankful commemoration of his loving kindness Represent unto my mind most feelingly all that Jesus hath done and endured for our sake Fix my mind and heart upon the inestimable benefits he hath obtained to me That I may not only behold the outward figures of him but receive those pledges of his love with the humblest reverence with such a lively faith and vehement love and ready submission of my will to him that Christ Jesus may be inwardly formed in me I long for the happiness of knowing assuredly that I am a friend of his by my delighting greatly in his Commandments and trusting my self and all my concerns intirely in his hands and contenting my self in his love and good will toward me and rejoycing in the Soveraign Dominion power and glory which thou hast given him with most earnest desires that all the world may love and obey him Amen Our Father which art c. The Meditation afterward WIth what unwillingness are we wont to leave the company of a Friend in whom we delight How doth the remembrance of him stick unto our mind How often do we think of the kind words we heard from his mouth and view the tokens he hath left with us of his love Do we not use to cast our eyes behind us when we go from him and look after him as long as he is in sight Are we not glad to see but his back when we cannot behold his face O sweet Jesus then shouldst thou say to thy self who can be content to part with the thoughts of thee when he sees the love thou bearest to us and all the blessings thou impartest to thy friends and followers What heart can endure to lose the sight of such happiness or suffer thy remembrance to die out of its mind I should look as far as heaven rather than suffer thee to go out of my thoughts and always be casting mine eyes to thy dwelling place that I may behold at this distance though never so little of thy most excellent glory So one would think in reason But this dull flesh begins to complain that it is tired and cannot thus follow thee any further It makes me sigh to think that I must lose
off Who compassest my path and my lying down and art acquainted with all my wayes ever since I was born There is not a word in my tongue Psa 19.12 but lo O Lord thou knowest it altogether Such knowledg is too wonderful for me it is high I cannot attain unto it Who can understand the errors of his whole life And with what trembling ought I to approach thee though I knew nothing by my self But alas my own heart condemns me and thou art greater than my heart and knowest all things I am ashamed to think that I lived so many years before I seriously thought of all my duty to thee And that since I have known thy will and devoted my self to thy service I have made such small improvement in wisdom and virtue Many years are passed and innumerable blessings in them have been received but alas the God in whose hand my breath is Dan. 5.23 and whose are all my wayes how little have I glorified I have reason to blush that now I have brought an heart before thee with so little sense of that love which I have so often remembered and praised and acknowledged with the largest expressions of devotion to thee But it is some comfort O Lord that thy all-searching eye which pierces to the bottom of my soul sees a sincere desire there to become better and a stedfast resolution to endeavour to grow in grace and in the knowledg of our Lord Jesus Christ It is in my heart to renew my covenant with thee to ingage my fidelity once more to thee trusting that I have a good conscience in all things willing to live honestly Heb. 13.18 I hope thou wilt graciously accept and encourage whatsoever thou beholdest of thy self in me and when I go to offer my self again most solemnly to thee at thy Altar make me feel thy divine presence with me enlightning my mind with a clear sense of thee raising in me worthy thoughts and affections towards my dear Saviour ingaging my will more firmly to thine confirming all my pious resolutions exciting my Faith love hope and joy that this holy Communion may be to the continuance of a holy life in greater care diligence zeal and fervency in all well doing Assist me I beseech thee in every part of this duty that I may remember the sufferings of the Lord Jesus so as to be crucified with him and his great love so as to love him with all my soul and my neighbour as my self and the new covenant he hath made in his blood so as to have his laws written on my heart and all the the pretious promises he hath thereby sealed to us so as to place my entire contentment and satisfaction in them till I come to possess that perfect happiness which I wait for through thy mercies in Christ Jesus Amen Our Father c. A short Meditation after WHat hast thou now received from our Lord Are they not the most sacred pledges of his love And what doth the Lord require of thee but only love But how great a thing is love Love brought him down hither to us and love will carry us up to God Love made him like to man and love is able to make thee like to God O the power of heavenly love How shall we get it planted in our heart How But by love The frequent meditation of this admirable love of God in his Son Jesus will not suffer us not to love him with all our heart and soul and strength Let us resolve then that the remembrance of his love shall lie perpetually in our heart As we have begun the year with the thoughts of his love so let us continue it What more welcome thought can there be to thee every morning when thou awakest than this I am the beloved of the King of Glory With what canst thou open thy soul more chearfully What will brighten it and chase away the darkness of melancholly sorrow sadness cares and fears like to this If thou hast not lost an hour and wasted this pretious time which thou hast spent at the Table of the Lord thou canst not but feel the mighty force of his infinite love Let us try my soul what it will be able to do in a whole years thoughts upon it Let the morning light bring Jesus ever along with it to thy mind and enkindle in thee a new devotion to him And let us take all occasions to celebrate his memory that so our holy resolutions may be more quickned and strengthned and when the flame begins to burn dimm we may blow it up again and add more fewel to it If a friend had left thee a token of his love whereby to keep him in mind wouldst thou throw it into some blind corner and never look upon it But suppose he was a dying friend nay a friend that dyed for thee to save thee from death could he ever go out of thy mind or wouldst thou let the thing he left to remember him by be long out of thine eye Let us not deal more unkindly with our Saviour Did he think when he went to heaven that those whom he hath so obliged would remember his love so seldom and so coldly That they need be so much entreated to come and have communion with him Is it not a grief to him now if he be capable of any to see that he hath so few lovers And that they who profess love to him testifie it so rarely and in so poor a manner Let us vow my soul again that we will henceforth shew our selves his hearty friends by keeping his holy Commands and never forget that this is one Do this in remembrance of me I will remember thee O Lord and in this manner lift up my hands in thy name till I have finished my dayes and come to see thee as thou art in all thy Majesty and Glory And this Thanksgiving and Prayer may be added afterward O Lord I thine unworthy servant whom thou art pleased to call thy child most devoutly humble my self before thee in new adorations of that love which I can never fully understand The highest of our praises is most heartily to acknowledge that thou art exalted above all blessing and praise And our most grateful acknowledgments to be very sensible of the weakness of our love when it is advanced to its greatest and strongest pitch Thy love is like to thy self and we cannot search it out to perfection It is higher than the Heavens Job 11. what can we do It is broader than the Sea what can we know I have enjoyed many years of mercies and thou hast been loading me with a multitude of inestimable benefits both for Soul and Body ever since I came into this world Every day brings me fresh tokens of thy goodness and this day the dearest of all the tokens of thine everlasting love Psal 139. O how precious are thy thoughts towards us how great is the summe