Cup and drinks like a thirsty Man with a thirst after Righteousness drinks Salvation drinks everlasting Mercy drinks to the content and satisfaction of his Soul and out of his belly shall flow fountains of living waters i. e streams of Grace and Goodness shall flow from his Heart to the watering and enriching of those that are round about him John 7. 38. And this must needs make it a Cup of Consolation for what greater comfort can there be than to drink the rich draught of Pardon of Peace and Mercy and Joy in the Holy Ghost as every Soul is supposed to do that comes to this Ordinance with unfeigned Resolutions to have her conversation in Heaven 4. A Cup he took to put us in mind how necessary God's Goodness Favour and Providence is to us for this was expressed in the Law by making God the Portion of their Cup as we see Psal. 16. 5. The Lord is the Portion of my Inheritance and of my Cup a phrase much used among the Jews of the devouter sort when they would declare not only their interest in God's special Providence but the necessity of having a Right and Title to it A Cup is a necessary Utensil in a Family and there is scarce any person so poor and needy as to want a Cup so hereby they expressed both the absolute necessity of having a special interest in God's Love and the possibility the poorest body was in to arrive to this Priviledge A Man may be happy without Lands and Houses and happy without an Estate without Father and Mother without Children without a Prince's Favour but he cannot be happy without an interest in God's Gracious inclinations and Complacency Even an Idolatrous Laban Gen. 31. 30. was in some measure sensible of this Truth for when Rachel had stollen her Father's Images he seem'd to be much concern'd for them If thou wouldst needs be gone wherefore hast thou stollen my gods As if he had said I could have been content with thy taking away my Daughters my Grand-children my Cattle and my Sheep but to steal my gods than which nothing is more dear or more necessary to me this I cannot brook A Cup therefore Christ made use of in this Sacrament to tell us of what concernment it is to have God for our Friend and if he be our Portion we need no more if he be the portion of our Cup we have Wealth and Bliss enough and may defie all the Powers of Hell who in this case may assault but cannot prevail against us Indeed if Christ be ours and will vouchsafe to intercede for us we are more than Conquerors O Jesu Thou art our All our Crown our Glory if thou be for us we need not fear who is against us Let thy Wounds be ours and our wounded Spirits will be at rest O tell us that thine Agonies are ours and we will triumph over death and sing O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory 5. A Cup he took to bid us mind what he had so often told the Pharisees and to hint to us that whenever we see this Cup in the Sacrament we ought to ask our Hearts whether we make clean the inside of the Cup and Platter as the expression is Matth. 23. 27. i. e. Whether we purifie our inward Man our Souls and Spirits from those covetous disorderly unclean Desires Thoughts and Imaginations which are so apt to harbor there True Religion is no outside business but must be rooted in us and a Sense of the Love of God must be riveted into our Spirits that there God may become truly amiable to us and what we feel within may force as it were the outward Man into a suitable Fruitfulness Most Mens Religion like their Cloaths adorns only the ovtward Man and saying their Prayers going to Church and doing such little things as are no trouble to their Lusts or sinful Appetite are the principal Ingredients of their Divinity but this is not the Light which Christ's Religion gives for that strikes the Understanding works upon the Will and puts all that is within us into Fermentation This cleanses the Heart from filthiness the Thoughts from vanity the Mind from prejudice the Affections from love of the World from malice hatred and supercilious contempt of our Neighbors and the desires from revenge and greediness after the Shells and Husks of outward Comforts so that true Religion is a new Principle which produces a new Creature and newness of Life 2 Cor. 5 17. 6. And why may not we piously believe that his making use of a Cup was also to encourage our Charity and Hospitality expressed sometimes by giving a Cup of cold water to a Disciple in the name of a Disciple Matth. 10. 42. He that knows any thing of this Holy Sacrament knows it is a Feast of Charity a Feast at which we remember our Spiritual Poverty and lying at the Gate of Heaven fuller of Sores than the famous Beggar before the Palace of Dives and can the undeserved unexpected and inexpressible Charity of God to our Souls shine in our Faces and not warm our Hearts and Bowels into compassion and commiseration to the poor and needy such especially as are of the Houshold of Faith If we are so low in the world and Providence hath put us in so mean a condition that we can give no more than a Cup of cold water and do but run to the next Well or River and fill the Cup and bring it to a distress'd and fainting Christian a good Man and a Disciple of our Lord even that shall be interpreted favourably and God will find out a recompence for it a recompence which shall make the Giver sensible that it was for that Cup he gave that he receives that Mercy provided still that this Charity proceeds from a sense of the Love of God and tenderness to the necessities of the Humble Man This consideration one would think should be baulked by none that comes to the Lord's Table where the Lame and Blind and Maim'd are entertain'd for such abasing Thoughts of our selves we are to entertain here and if so How easie how natural is the Inference If so miserable a Creature as I am feasted here and God gives Bread of Life to my hungry Soul How can I express my Gratitude better than by casting my Bread upon the Water especially when I am promis'd to find it again after many days floating on the Rivers of Pleasure which are at the Right Hand of God for evermore VII Both the Evangelists and St. Paul taking notice that Christ took this Cup after he had done with the Cup in the celebration of the Passover we must not pass it by without making some Remarks upon it And 1. It was to teach us Order in our Duties and to avoid confusion in our Holy performances God is the God of Order and 't is fit his Servants should resemble him in this particular Greater Duties must ever be
and Feet and Gestures and Behaviour thy Reason Memory and Passion should all be at his beck move by his prescription act according to his appointment be seasoned with his Grace and conducted by his Wisdom If thou art content that all shall go rather than his Favour if his Love or a share in it be dearer to thee than the dearest of all outward enjoyments be of good cheer it 's a good sign and thou mayst rationally infer that thou art in Covenant with thy Lord and hast a right to all the priviledges that are annex'd to it for thy encouragement V. And here we may justly reflect what a mercy it is to be in Covenant with God a mercy indeed which no Tongue can express nay no Apollos neither as eloquent as he was can describe no Tertullus no Cicero no Demosthenes represent according to its worth a mercy which no Man knows save he who receives it a mercy weich fills the Tongues of departed Saints with praises a mercy which unhappy Souls that groan among Devils would give Millions for if they had them a mercy which sweetens all Conditions makes Sickness easie and Iron Chains sit soft mitigates pain and tempers grief and anguish A mercy which made the penitent Publican stand confounded amaz'd the humble Magdalen caused St. Paul to go chearfully through Stripes and Imprisonment and encouraged the Believers of old to defie death and torments He that is in Covenant with God enjoys all that Son of God enjoys though not as yet in fruition and possession yet in title and reversion God the Father carries him on his Wings as the Eagle doth her young the Eternal Son of God is his faithful Friend The Holy Spirit of God speaks to him in the still voice of peace and comfort He that is in this Covenant is safe in the midst of Spears and Arrows safe when he goes through the Water safe when he passes through the Fire safe when the Waves do roar safe when Hell gapes upon him safe in a Storm safe at Sea safe on the Shore safe in his Life safe in his Death God is concern'd for him in all his afflictions He is afflicted The Lord Jesus is touch'd with his infirmities and the Spirit of God makes intercessions for him with groans that cannot be utter'd In a word there is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus to them that walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8. 1. The PRAYER O God! whose pity is infinite whose compassion knows no bounds How shall I extol thy Humiliation How shall I admire thy condescension to this poor Worm Will God the Great the omnipotent God look upon such an one as I Wilt thou enter into a Covenant with this lump of Clay wilt thou tye and oblige thy self to do me good The Favour is wonderful I could not have thought it possible but that thou hast most graciously revealed it to me I believe Lord help my unbelief Behold I am Servant the Son the Daughter of thine Handmaid Be it unto me according unto thy Word I accept of thy offer I count my self happy that I may be admitted into Covenant with thee I renounce the Devil and all his Works Thou shalt be my Master my Father my Guide my Director my King and my God my Master to command me my Father to counsel me my Guide to lead me my Director to conduct me my King to rule me my God to dispose of me as thou pleasest I will know no Will but thy Will By the Blood of the Covenant unite my Will to thy Will Grant me to desire what thou delightest in desiring to search after it searching to know it and knowing it to fulfil it Make me O Lord for thou alone canst do it make me Obedient without contradiction Holy without defection Chast without corruption Patient without murmuring Humble without dissimulation Chearful without licentiousness Sorrowful without dejection Grave without affectation nimble in Religion without lightness Fearful without despair Upright without Hypocrisie and fruitful in good Works without presumption Give me a watchful Heart a Heart not easily drawn away by vain imaginations a Heart unbroken by afflictions unaffected with the vanities of the World that may not swell with prosperity nor sink in adversity Grant me understanding to know thee diligence to seek thee wisdom to find thee a readiness to please thee perseverance to wait for thee and confidence at last to embrace thee O Holy and Eternal Spirit I depend upon thy assistance Make me faithful to my God faithful to my Neighbour faithful to mine own Soul faithful in my Calling faithful in the discharge of my Duty faithful in my Promises faithful in my Conversation faithful in my Love faithful in my Obedience faithful in thy House faithful in mine own faithful unto Death that I may obtain a Crown of Life through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen CHAP. XV. Of frequent receiving the Holy Communion and the necessity of it The ONTENTS Frequent coming to the Lord's Table the Practise of the Primitive Christians Receiving every Lord's Day an universal observance Different Customs in different Churches Decay of a good life the cause of Communicating seldom The necessity of frequent Communicating shewn in four particulars as the Eucharist is a great preservative against Sin an engagement to emulate Christ's Virtues a Motive to Charity and the frequent coming a thing very pleasing to God Inquiry made how often a conscientious Christian is bound to Communicate The measures of that Obligation to be taken partly from the Orders of the Church we live in and partly from the fervency of our love to Christ. An Objection drawn from the danger of contempt and disesteem of the Ordinance if we come often answered Arguments to prove that lawful business in the World is no just impediment of Communicating frequently An Expostulation pressing frequent Receiving The frequent Communicant an Object of Divine Mercy The Prayer I. THough the Example of the Primitive Believers is not properly a Law yet we may have leave to infer so much from it that being well acquainted with the Will of Christ and his Apostles in those Practises especially which were universal we ought not without very urgent reasons to depart from that Pattern and if this Rule hold frequent communicating at the Lords Table will become if not absolutely necessary yet highly useful and expedient since it was the practise of the best of Men in the best of Ages and of this the Acts of the Holy Apostles give us a very large account particularly Ch. 2. 42. 46. which place being generally understood of the Eucharist it must follow that the Believers did daily participate of it But this seems to have been a custom peculiar to the Church of Jerusalem for though St. â—yprian St. Chrysostom and St. Austin speak of some places in their time where the daily Sacrifice was celebrated yet even in the Apostles days we find other Churches did
extraordinary Esteem of the Mercy that God will set light by it because we do Oh! Let us entertain it with the profoundest Respect and the deepest Veneration and think our selves the happiest Creatures living that we have this Act of Divine Bounty and Charity revealed to us But then it is impossible we should think our selves so except we walk worthy of the glorious News and transcribe on our Lives the glorious Zeal and Fervour and Sincerity of the Apostles and Primitive Believers III. As this severe Threatning denounced against unworthy Receivers is the strongest Dissuasive possible from Eating and Drinking unworthily so it is no just Discouragement to Receive with sincere Desires and Resolutions to become conformable to Christ's Holiness God frights from sinning not from doing well from wronging our own Souls not from Endeavours to save them from Impenitence not from true Repentance All that is to be done Christian in this Sacrament in order to Receiving worthily is to lay and prostrate thy self at the Feet of Jesus and to cry Lord What wilt thou have me to do Speak Lord for thy Servant hears Such humble Souls escape the Danger and may be confident of a gracious Look from the King of Saints But then if we fall down before the Throne and the Lamb and make this Profession let it come from the Heart and let our Tongues speak what our Minds think and our Wills mean to stand to and let our Desires to be one with him be such as Simplicity dictates lest our Hearts and Tongues not going together we may be found Lyars and fall into Condemnation And Oh that every unworthy Receiver would consider what Damnation means Consider it thou dull and careless Man and then tell me whether Christ requires any thing unreasonable of thee to prevent it Thou that runnest from an House on fire and from a Land-flood or Deluge that threatens to overwhelm thee wilt not thou do all thou canst to escape Damnation that Deluge of God's Wrath and that Fire of his Anger which no Man can quench Should this Damnation be thy Portion at last we may easily imagine what thy Wishes will be the same that all inconsiderate Souls are very full of when they have ruin'd and undone themselves Oh that I had been wise before the Fact and come to the Lord's Table with a better Frame put on the Lord Jesus and made his Vertues and Graces my Study my Delight and my Pattern But these are the Wishes of Fools And I did not think it would come to this pass is a Saying which we look upon as a Character of a weak and a Childish Understanding Both he that receives unworthily and he that never received yet both have yet Opportunity to turn from their evil Ways Therefore Seek ye the Lord while be mâ—y be found Call ye upon him while he is near Let the Wicked forsake his Way and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have Mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Isa. 55. 6 7. The PRAYER O Lord Great and Incomprehensible Slow to Anger and great in Power and who wilt not at all acquit the Wicked Thy Way is in the Whirl-wind and in the Storm and the Clouds are the Dust of thy Feet Thou rebukest the Sea and makest it dry and driest up mighty Rivers The Mountains quake at thy Word and the Hills melt and the Earth is burnt at thy Presence yea the World and all they that dwell therein Who can stand thine Indignation And who can abide the Fierceness of thine Anger where thy Fury is poured out like Fire and the Rocks are thrown down by thine Arm Who would not fear thee O thou great Preserver of Men Yet thou Lord art good and a Strong Hold in the Day of Trouble and thou knowest them that trust in thee In my Approaches to thy holy Table let me so reflect upon thy Mercy as not to forget thy Justice Let me so look upon thy Friendship as to cast an Eye withal upon thy Severity to thine Enemies Thou offerest me thy Friendship in this Ordinance How great is thy Goodness Oh let me entertain the Offer with Admiration God will dwell with simple Man and therefore requires a Temple a Temple not made with hew'n Stones not of polish'd Marble not of painted Walls but of living and shining Gems and of such Golden Ornaments as Rust cannot touch and Dust cannot blacken a Temple purified with the Fire of Love trimmed with an holy Conversation and decked with variety of Vertues Make my Soul I beseech thee such a Temple and come and fix thy Tents here for ever Thou art the Judge to whom I am accountable for my Receiving Let me remember that as that didst rain down Manna from Heaven upon thy People so thou didst rain down Fire and Brimstone too upon Sodom and Gomorrah Let me so rejoyce in the Mercies thou rainest down upon me in this Sacrament as to fear thy Judgments in case I abuse those Mercies If of every idle Word Men shall give an Account in the Great Day what Account will they have to give of prophaning this sublime and mysterious Ordinance If the Dust of thy Apostles Feet shall bear witness in that Day against the Obstinate and Impenitent what a Witness will the Body of the Son of God be against those who would not be warm'd with the Sight and Contemplation of it into Vertue Let these things sink deep into my inward Parts and teach me so to triumph in thy Praise as to tremble at thy Presence Yet Oh let not my Goodness be the Effect of a slavish Fear of Damnation so much as of Love and Delight in thy holy Ways Let Kindness do more with me than Terrour and let my Heart melt more with the Sight of thy Condescension than with the Sight of thy Flaming Sword Teach me to serve thee with Pleasure and Affection and let the Glory of thy Name be the End of all my holy Exercises Let thy Love be ever fixed in my Heart and be thou my Rest my Tranquility my Peace my Meat my Drink my Food my Treasure my Possession and my Portion for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. XXII Of Preparation And First of Meditation of Christ's Passion The CONTENTS Preparation for this Holy Sacrament reduced to Five Heads Meditation of Christ's Passion with reflexions on our Selves Self-Examination â—udging our Selves Self-Resignation and Devotions suitable to the Occasion Christ himself meditated of his own Passion before he administred this Sacrament to his Disciples Meditation of Christ's Passion useful to bring things to our Minds we did not think of before to enflame the Soul with the Love of Jesus and to make us remember his Death with a quicker Sense A Paraphrase upon the XXII and XXIII Chapters of St. Luke's Gospel What God said to the Jews may be the more justly said to us Christians What could have been
is for the healing of the Nations here fix though the Earth be moved here shelter thy self from the Wrath to come Christ the same Yesterday to Day and for ever will open Rivers in High Places and Fountains in the midst of Valleys When the Poor and Needy seek for Water and there is none He Prince of Peace wil hear them He the mighty God will will not forsake them He will plant in the Wilderness the Cedar the Myrtle and the Oyl-Tree He will set in the Desart the Fir-tree and the Pine and the Box-tree together that they may see and know and consider and understand together that the Hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy One of Israel hath created it Ezek. 41. 16 17. The PRAYER O Blessed and Crucified Saviour How often have I broke with thee How often have I broke loose from thee How often have I broke the Silken Strings whereby thou hast sought to tie my Soul How justly mightest thou turn thy Face away from me How justly mightest thou look upon me as unworthy to be called any more to this Spiritual Feast But remember Lord Remember I am Dust remember my Frailty and do not shut up thy Tender Mercies in Displeasure O call after this Prodigal and bring him home again to his Father's House Make lively Impressions of thy Crucifixion upon my Mind Let the Torments of thy broken Body fright me from all known Sin Whenever I am tempted to any Thing that is evil cry in mine Ears or possess me with this Thought That that very Sin did help to break thee on the Cross A lively Apprehension of this will keep my Soul undefiled this will break and crush my former Delight in Vanity this will embitter my Sensual Pleasures this will make me weary of running after other Gods this will humble my Soul this will subdue the vain Imaginations whereby I have been wont to flatter my self into Misery O give me a View of the Riches that are to be found in thy broken Body that I may run no longer after broken Cisterns and may rely no longer on broken Reeds O let my Soul feed on thy broken Body by Contemplation Thou didst not count thy Life dear for my sake O let me be touch'd with these Thoughts that I may despise Death and Torments for thy sake and may with all Saints and Martyrs behold thy Face at last in Eternal Glory O Jesu Great Store-house of Delight Who hast the Keys of David Spread open thine Arms of Mercy and receive this poor miserable Creature Behold this straying Sheep beset with Multitudes of Wolves runs to the good Shepherd Protect me from the fiery Darts of the Enemy embrace me as a tender Mother doth her sickly Child with Bowels of Mercy Kill in me the base Desires of the Flesh and whatever evil Inclinations thou spiest in me root them up Extinguish in me the impure Flames of Lust. Give me an excellent Spirit a Spirit active in the Practice and Exercise of Vertue Raise the Powers of my Soul by thy Love that I may love thee with all my Heart that I may praise thee that I may honour thee and think nothing tedious or troublesome that may promote thy Glory Repair this shatter'd Tabernacle and vouchsafe to dwell in it I have wilfully ruin'd it by my Sins O make it whole again Remove the Poyson which hath infected all my Faculties Destroy the Serpent's Seed that lurks in the secret Corners of my Heart If Adam could not preserve his Integrity in the State of Innocence how shall I preserve mine in this State of Corruption without thy special Grace and Assistance Thy Grace is the Treasure I want thou hast promised it I beg it O let me not go without it O Jesu Thou didst love me when I was thine Enemy O hate me not now that I am made thy Friend When I was lost thou didst redeem me with thy Blood now that I am found O wash me with that Blood O let me not perish now when Heaven is bought and an endless Bliss is purchased for me Now that the Hand-writing against me is blotted out let me not run into new Dangers nor forfeit that Blessing which is so graciously tendred to me It is the real Desire of my Soul to serve thee and O that I might do it with Chearfulness with Alacrity with Fervency and with Constancy The Preparation of the Heart is of thee thou givest the Will O give me Strength to do what I desire What can I do of my self I am naturally defiled Original Sin sticks to me Proneness to Evil follows me thou must stop the Current nothing but thy self can dry up this Fountain of Corruption it is thy Work And whatever Good is in me from thee it comes from thy Grace it doth proceed Let the same Mercy uphold me that hath hitherto guided me and guide me so through the Briars and Thorns of Temptations that I may not only be more than a Conqueror through him that loved me but may at last receive the Crown and Recompence of such as overcome Amen Amen CHAP. X. Of Taking the Consecrated Bread with our Hands and the Mystery of it The CONTENTS In the Primitive Church the Eucharist was always taken with the Hand This Simplicity in progress of Time abandon'd and as the Veneration of External Symbols advanced the Bread received in certain Vessels and sometimes upon Linen Cloth The Superstition of the Church of Rome of putting the Bread into the Mouth of the Communicant laid open and the Vanity of it shewn The Mystery of Taking the Eucharist with our Hands set down in three Particulars viz. To put us in mind with what Alacrity we are to accept of the Mercy offered us to testifie our appropriating of that Mercy to our selves and to hold it fast when we have received it Of God's Liberality in bidding us take the best Gift he hath to bestow The Impiety of those that take Christ for their Redeemer and continue disobedient discovered The Prayer I. 'T IS certain that Christ said Take and eat which the Primitive Church understood of taking the consecrated Elements with the Hand And to this purpose saith Tertullian We receive the Eucharist from none but from the Hands of the President or Minister of the Ordinance It was for this Reason that in the ancient Liturgies the Deacons cried to the People or Communicants Extend your Hands And upon this Account it was that St. Ambrose expostulating with Theodosius about the barbarous Slaughter he had been guilty of tells him How can you stretch forth your Hands from which as yet innocent Blood drops down How can you with such Hands receive the Body of the Lord Nor do even the Papists themselves who will not suffer the Lay-Communicant to touch the Wafer with his Hand but put it into his Mouth deny it Whether every one in the Ancient Church did take the consecrated Elements with his own from the Priest's or
And from hence flows the joyful Exclamation of the Apostle Gal. 2. 20. Nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me and the Life I now live I live by Faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me For this Faith enlightens the Soul gives it clear Apprehensions of Christ's Love makes her active and lively and teaches her to overcome the World 1 John 5. 4. 4. This Remembrance is making Approaches to Heaven and Eternal Happiness Every fresh Remembrance is another Step to Paradise What an Encouragement is this to come to the holy Sacrament Every time we thus remember the Death of Christ we get nearer to the Throne on which the victorious Son of God sits triumphing over Hell and Devils For the oftner he is remembred thus the more our Souls are elevated and become more spiritual in their Aspirations and the farther we proceed in Grace the nearer we come to Glory Heaven in Scripture is compared to an Hill and is the Mount where God is seen Every time we come to the Table of our Lord and remember him thus we climb higher and mount up with Wings as Eagles till at last we reach the Top where there is a perfect Calm no Air no Wind no Tempest no infectious Breath to disturb the Conquerors IV. But though the Death of Christ be the chief Object of our Remembrance at this holy Table yet that is no Argument but that we may lawfully remember some other Things relating to his Person or Greatness or Holiness particularly 1. His Divine Life before he was Incarnate A Life which no mortal Tongue can describe A Life in the Explication of which the blessed Cheruhims themselves must fall short A Life known to none but to him who knows all who hath Life in himself and is the Life and the Father of the Spirits of all Flesh. How truly might he say to the Jews Joh. 8. 58. Before Abraham was I am He was indeed from all Eternity lived in the Bosom of the Everlasting Father and his Life was most pure some holy most peaceable most pleasant most glorious A Life of infinite Content of infinite Satisfaction of infinite Joy and of infinite Love A Life spent in Eternal Love of the great Fountain of Divinity the express Image of which he was A Life employed in kind Thoughts to poor Mortals and in Divine Contrivances how their Misery might be retriv'd their Bands loosen'd their Dangers overcome their Enemies vanquished and their Souls advanced to Celestial Mansions A Life undisturbed by the Noise of Wars unacquainted with Tumults free from all Annoyances unmolested by the Disorders of a giddy and confused World A Life of Eternal Calmness which no Waves no Billows no Wind no Storms no Tempests could discompose A Life of perfect Serenity and immense Sweetness A Life employed in the Eternal and Incomprehensible Enjoyment of his own Perfections and which the inspired King gives us a very lofty Description of Prov. 1. This life Christ lived before he was pleased to visit this benighted World with his healing Beams and it concerns us to remember this Life that from that Consideration his Humiliation in coming to dwell among us may appear in livelier Colours 2. To this may be added His laborious Life here on Earth after he was Incarnate A Life despicable from his Infancy contemptible from his Cradle A Life of Poverty a Life of great Misery of Distress and a Thousand Inconveniencies A Life he lived to let us know that the meanest and most miserable outward Condition is no Lett or Impediment to our being beloved and esteemed in Heaven A Life he lived to shew with what Patience and Courage we are to bear the Troubles that a merciful God lays or sends upon us A Life he lived to declare to his Disciples that through many Afflictions they are to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and are not to promise themselves great Ease and Rest here but are to look for a Recompence in the Resurrection of the Just A Life employed in doing good to shew that we are not to be idle here but to busie our selves in that Work which will give the greatest Satisfaction even working out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling A Life he lived for our sakes to facilitate our Access to Pardon and the Throne of Mercy A Life he lived to make our Lives comfortable and the Remembrance of this Life must needs inhaunce our Esteem of his unparallell'd Goodness who could and would deny himself both in the Glory of his Divinity and the Comforts of this present Life for our Good and the Welfare of our Souls The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. CHrist's Example makes it lawful to set up Monuments of Mercies and to preserve the Memory of any signal Deliverance or Providence either by External Symbols or by keeping Anniversaries and Days of Devotion Indeed this was a very ancient Practice countenanced by God and warranted by his Approbation It was from hence that Moses preserved a Pot of Manna to put After-Generations in mind how God had fed his People in the Wilderness And Moses said This is the thing which the Lord commandeth Fill an Omer of it to be kept for your Generations that they may see the Bread wherewith I have fed you in the Wilderness when I brought you forth out of the Land of Egypt Exod. 16. 32. It was from hence that Aaron's Rod budding blossoming and bearing Fruit was kept in the Ark to tell Posterity how miraculously the Priestood was established in the Line of Aaron and for a Token against the Rebels as the Holy Ghost speaks Numb 17. 10. It was from hence that Joshua commanded Twelve Stones to be taken out of the River Jordan That this says he may be a Sign among you that when your Children ask their Fathers in time to come saying What mean you by these Stones Then ye shall answer them That the Waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord when it passed over Jordan And these Stones shall be for a Memorial unto the Children of Israel for ever Josh. 4. 6 7. In imitation of these Precedents the Jewish Church afterward of their own Accord unanimously agreed to keep an Anniversary to remember their Deliverance from the Rage of Haman Esth. 9. 17. Both Eusebius and Sozomen tells us of a Statue which the Woman who was cured by our Saviour of her Bloody Issue erected to his Honour at Caesarea which lasted a considerable time till Julian the Apostate pulled it down and erected his own in the room of it After such Examples who can think it unlawful for a private Christian to keep either a Fast or a Day of Thanksgiving when either some signal Affliction hath befallen him or some remarkable Mercy hath happen'd to him and to spend that Day in Exercises of Devotion whereby he may either work his Soul into greater Detestation of
assert God's just Anger against Sin and keep off the fatal blow from Man at once defend God'ds Right and establish Man's Felicity and thereby put the poor miserable Worm in a capacity of becoming Heir to the Riches of God who was an Heir of the Treasures of Wrath and a companion of Blessed Spirits who had deserv'd to howl with Apostate Spirits a Child of Light who was a Son of Darkness and a Servant of Righteousness who was a Slave of Sin I say the Holy Ghost supposes that he that seriously believes all this will think nothing too good for God will not stand out against so great a Mercy will fight no more against so great and so good a Master but will submit to him be ready to run at his Commands give himself up to the Will of so great a Benefactor and will be hearty and sincere in serving him Now the unworthy Receiver being so far from doing this so far from turning to God with all his heart and with all his mind that he refuses the Dominion of God will be a Slave to his Sin still and had rather obey the Devil than this most bountiful Master who hath done so much for him by doing so denies that Christ's Body and Blood was sacrific'd for him for if he believ'd it he could not do as he doth and tho' he may protest by all that 's Good and Sacred that he believes it yet Words and Compliments will not absolve him and if talking were believing no Man that professes Christianity would ever be damn'd What doth a Malefactor's pleading at the Bar that he is not guilty signifie when the Evidences are strong and the Matter of Fact is prov'd against him Belief that doth not touch the Heart or renew the Mind or spiritualize the Affections is mere Infidelity and where this Belief is not to be found the Sinner is accused of denying the Mercy he pretends to believe And to this purpose saith the Apostle They profess that they know God but in their works they deny him Tit. 1. 16. So that the unworthy Receiver i. e. He that receives and yet will not reform whatever his Profession may be in his Actions he denies that Christ was Sacrific'd for him and therefore makes himself guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. 2. He Eats and Drinks unworthily makes himself guilty of jesting with the Body and Blood of Christ As the Fathers of the Council of Eliberis speak He plays with the most tremendous things for in coming he seems to confess that by the Death of the Son of God his miserable Soul was redeem'd and a Pardon purchas'd for him and the Heavens made to bow to him and the good Will of God procur'd to save him for ever and yet he doth not think all this worth forsaking a sinful Lust or shaking a pleasing Dalilah from his Bosom and what is this but playing with the Body and Blood of Christ Should a Man make a very curious Harangue in commendation of his Neighbour compare him with Salomon for Wisdom with David for Sincerity with Jonathan for Faithfulness with Josiah for Piety for Generosity with Moses for Chastity with Joseph for Patience with Job with St. Paul for Courage with St. Peter for Zeal with Absolom for Beauty with Zacheus for Charity with Abraham for Hospitality nay with Angels for clearness of Understanding and for Purity of Life with Seraphim And when he hath done abuse and reproach him or do that which he cannot but know must be offensive and irksome or prejudicial to him gives the Spectator just occasion to think that all that flanting Panegyric was only a jocular thing design'd rather as an essay of Wit than as any real affection to the Virtues of the commended Party The unworthy Receiver doth in effect the same for his coming to this Sament is a tacit Commendation of Christ's Crucified Body and Blood whereby he seems to applaud the wonderful Works that Christ hath done for him and to proclaim to all the standers by what an Obligation that Death is to mortifie the body of Sin and to be true and faithful to him that did not count his Life dear to do him good and yet having no real purpose within whatever external Declaration he may make to become a new Man but after he hath been at this Table when temptations assault him temptations to his former sins yields to them as easily as ever plainly declares he was in jest when he seem'd to magnifie this Munificence of his Saviour and from hence it must follow that he is guilty of playing with the Body and Blood of Christ. 3 He that Eats and Drinks unworthily seems to wish that Christ may dye again and upon that account is guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord for in that Christ's Death is not efficacious to pull down the strong holds of Sin in him or rather in that he will not let that death prevail with him to the mortifying of his sinful Lusts he seems to wish for an iteration of that Death which may be more powerful and have a greater influence upon the destruction of his Sin It is a Declaration as it were that the Death of Christ as the case stands doth no good upon him and therefore since the Death of the Son of God must be the means to break the power of Sin in him he stands in need of another death of that Saviour which may do greater miracles upon his Soul or sinful Temper Christ's Death indeed must break the reigning power of Sin but then a Person in whom this effect is to be wrought must apply that Death think upon it warm his Heart with the Consideration of it ruminate upon the Motives of it and upon the greatness of his own Sin that occasioned it and upon the vast Advantages that flow from that Death and be restless with God to make it effectual to his Soul For to think that this Death will do the work without our Labour or Industry or pondering the weight and moment of it is to imagine that God will deal with us as with Brutes that have no understanding As Christ died once in the end of the World so his Death spreads his Virtue to all Penitents from the beginning to the end of the World But wherever it works a serious Reformation it must be improv'd by Faith and Thoughts and Prayer and Contemplation and should Christ dye a thousand times if these means be neglected his dying so often would signifie little to the inconsiderate Spectator This is the monstrous Fancy of some Men that they hope the Mysteries of Religion will or must change their Hearts without any trouble of their own which Conceit must needs make them contemptible in the sight of an All-wise God who sees them neglect the Powers and Faculties he hath given them The unworthy Receiver therefore finding no good by this Death of the Lord Jesus for it makes no alteration in his
Life for the better looks as it were for a new Sacrifice for Sin and since he will not be purged from his known Sins by the Blood of Jesus which hath been already spilt if he hath any hopes of being purified from his Sin in order to the obtaining of Eternal Happiness seems to desire a more effectual Death of that great Mediator which may against his Will drag him away from his sinful courses and thereby would have Christ suffer and be kill'd again and consequently makes himself guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. 4. He that Eats and Drinks unworthily kills the Lord Jesus You will say This is impossible Christ being in Heaven and incapable of any such Act of Violence No more could Saul if you understand it according to the Letter persecute him after he was glorified yet the voice that came to him in his way to Damascus said Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Act. â— 4. The same may be said of an unworthy Receiver he cannot strictly speaking kill the Lord Jesus yet being unwilling to venture upon a change of Life under all the Abjurations of a bleeding Redeemer that stubborness is Death to Christ as God said to the Jews Ezek. 6. 9. I am broken with your whorssh Heart So may the Saviour of the World cry to the Communicant that comes to remember his Death and will not die to his known Sins Thou piercest thou woundest thou killest me by thy obstinate and refractory temper as we say of a tender Father that the ill course his disobedient Son takes is death to him because it is as grievous to him as if one should attempt to take away his Life The unworthy Receiver by being loth to conform to the Rules of the Gospel in his Practices even while he beholds as it were Christ Crucified for his Sins does an Act so unworthy so disrespectful so injurious that it is as much as if he made attempts upon his Life nay he kills the preventing Grace Christ affords him and slays the good motions whereby Christ lives in him Christ is said to be in us as we are Christians and the unworthy Receiver being desirous and willing to maintain and keep his darling Sins doth thereby drive Christ out of his Heart and kill him in his own Soul for Christ and Love to a sinful Life are inconsistent and incompatible things These destroy his Life in the Soul and therefore in this Sense also the unworthy Receiver makes himself guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. 5. He that eats and drinks unworthily consents to the Murther the Jews were guilty of when they killed the Lord of Life and approves of that barbarous and inhumane Act and therefore is guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. He is supposed to consent to that Murther that is not sorry for if And how can he be sorry for it that is not sorry for his Sins which were the principal Cause of it The unworthy Receiver being supposed to be one that doth not heartily shake hands with a sinful Life and is loth so to renounce his known Sins as to tear them from his Heart we cannot imagine that he is heartily sorry for them for his Sorrow hath not those Effects which Godly Sorrow is said to have 2 Cor. 7. 11. For this same thing when ye sorrowed after a Godly sort what Carefulness it wrought in you Yea what clearing of your selves Yea what Indignation against Sin Yea what Fear i. e. of offending God! Yea what vehement Desire Yea what Zeal Yea what Revenge The Tree is known by its Fruits And if Sorrow for Sin must be discovered by such Effects and these Effects appear not in the Communicant as he cannot be thought to eat and drink worthily so in not being sorry for his Sins he doth not appear sorry for the Murther the Jews committed upon the Body of our Saviour his Sins being the Cause of that Murther And doth not this look like Consent or Approbation of that Murther You will say How can any Man be sorry for Christ's Death when that Death is our greatest Comfort and what Consolations the pious Soul feels it feels by virtue of that Death Shall a Man be sorry for that which God had ordain'd appointed and design'd for the Relief and Redress of our Misery If Christ had not died we had been ever wretched and unhappy and must have looked for no Friendship from above and therefore to charge Men with being guilty of his Death because they are not sorry for it seems to be both against Scripture and Reason Is any Man sorry for a Treasure he finds in the Field Or sorry for an Estate that falls to him by the Decease of a Relation Or sorry for an Act of Oblivion which a gracious Prince imparts to Offenders whereof himself is the Principal But to this the Answer is very easie for the Benefit of Christ's Death and the Mercy God intended Mankind by it must be carefully distinguished from the Instrumental Causes whereby Christ was brought to his Death which were partly our Sins and the barbarous Cruelty of the Jews The Benefit that came by the Death of Christ a Christian most certainly ought not to be sorry for but hath reason to rejoyce in Day and Night But that he was so inhumanely murther'd by the Jews and that our Sins were such abominable things in the Sight of God that to expiate them God was moved to give up his own Son to the lawless Rage of those cruel Enemies this requires our Grief and Sorrow That the Jews did commit a very heinous Sin in crucifying Christ is evident from St. Peter's Discourse or Sermon to the Murtherers Act. 3. 17 18 19. For though God hath decreed that Death as an Expedient to reconcile Man to himself and decreed not to hinder the Jews in pursuing their wicked Designs and Purposes but to make that Death an Antidote against Everlasting Death yet that doth not excuse the Jews from the Guilt of Sin in killing of him whose Cruelty God was resolved to turn to the Good of all true Penitents and sincere Believers nor a Christian from an hearty Sorrow that his Sins were the deserving Cause of it So that a Christian may at once rejoyce in Christ's Death and be sorry for it rejoyce in the unspeakable Mercies procured by it and be sorry that those stubborn Wretches did with that Cruelty dispatch him or rather that his Sins did arm those desperate Sinners to put the Lord of Life to death for the Jews could have had no power to murther him but that the Sins of Mankind crying aloud for Vengeance enabled them and gave them Strength and ministred Occasion to do it So that he that is not heartily sorry for his Sins is not heartily sorry that the Jews did murther him and therefore the unworthy Receiver not being heartily sorry for the Sins he hath lived in consents to that Murther of the Jews and upon
singular Mercy A Prince may send two Persons one whom he hates another whom he loves to Prison with very different Intents the one with an Intent to have him executed according to Law the other to preserve him from the Rage of his Enemies And the same may be said of Sickness which we see lights indifferently upon Good and Bad. 2. Though Sicknesses and Untimely Death are govern'd by Second Causes by Colds and Heats by hard Labour and Straining by excessive Passion and Grief and Joy by tedious Journeys and dangerous Voyages by Fevers in the Blood and Contrariety of pugnant Humours by Winds and Storms by Fire and Water by a Pestilential Breath and going to infected Places c. yet he that sits at the Stern of the great Vessel must not be supposed to look on carelesly or to be nothing but a Spectator of the Conspiration of the Second Causes These Second Causes are constantly govern'd by a Power supream and by his Order and Influence they move He directs and bids them concur to produce such Effects and while they seem to act by Chance and in the dark he himself hath pregnant Reasons why he causes such a Concourse of inferior Causes and these Reasons he hath thought fit to reveal in his Word where we are to seek them So that though an unworthy Receiver may get his Sickness and Death by Quarrelling by Gluttony by Drunkenness and Intemperance by being wounded and bruised by rude and insolent Men yet Providence is not asleep all this while and though he doth not command or approve the Sins which are the Occasion or the immediate Causes of the ensuing Sickness yet he wisely permits them resolves not to hinder them from producing such Effects for Reasons his Eternal and infinite Wisdom hath pitched upon so that they may very well be intended as Punishments and Judgments even while they are the natural Effects of Second Causes And God in punishing the unworthy Receiver with Sickness and untimely Death lays Righteousness to the Line and Justice to the Plummet there being nothing more just than that he should fall sick that hath been sick of God's Service and he come to an untimely Death that hath disregarded the Death of Christ Jesus and counted it an unworthy thing And what if some unworthy Receivers live as long as other Men and perhaps to a very great Age yet that doth not make the Apostle's Words less true nor is it any Security to the Offenders that therefore they shall go scot-free The Threatnings of God that concern this present Life if they are not executed in this Life shew however what the Sinner hath deserved and not being executed here if that which should have been inflicted here is added to the Punishment hereafter he hath no great reason to brag of his escaping here Sometimes the Sinner bethinks himself and repents and turns from his Errour and by that means escapes the sad Effects of his Threatning for all Threatnings have this implicite Condition included In case the Offender doth not make his Peace with God Add to all this That if the Threatnings of God be executed upon some Persons guilty of the Sin to which the Threatning is made it is enough to vindicate the Veracity of God And if any Sinner of the same Size and Degree do escape still the Threatning shews what they may expect if they turn not The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. THE Wise Man's Advice surely is very reasonahle Eccles. 7. 14. In the Day of Adversity consider Times of Affliction are considering Times Affliction is sent on purpose to teach and to instruct us 'T is intended to put us in mind of the Sins we have forgotten or been wilfully ignorant of the Sins of our Childhood the Sins of our Youth the Sins of our riper Age and the various Neglects and Defects of our holy Services And therefore in the Old Testament the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jasar which stands for Affliction imports not only Correction and Chastisement but Instruction too It is an excellent School-master and he that submits to its Teachings will become wiser than a Multitude of Books will make him Therefore my Son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of him Heb. 12. 5. Consider who it is that sends the Rod and what the Design of the unwelcome Messenger is Consider how much thou needest it and how justly thou hast deserved it Consider how it is intended for thy Good and how thou shouldest have forgotten why thou camest into the World but for this Remembrancer Consider how little Reason thou hast to take it ill when the dearest Servants of God have passed through this Fire and how without it thou wouldst have continued a Stranger to thy self Consider its Mercy that he will call home the straying Sheep and will not let thee wander in the Wilderness of Sin And that when he strikes his Intent only is to beat the Dust out of thy Clothes not to hurt the better part This Consideration will go near to produce that excellent Temper in thee which David speaks of Surely I have behaved and quieted my self as a Child that is weaned of his Mother My Soul is even as a weaned Child Psal. 131. 2. II. Let not him that is weak in Faith yet loves the Lord Jesus Christ in Sincerity makes Conscience of his Laws and would not willingly offend him to gain the World let him not be frighted when Sickness or any outward Disaster and sad Accident befals him as if that were a certain Argument that therefore he hath received unworthily The Enemy may suggest such a Thought but Christian explode it as boldly as it comes They are other Reasons that make thy Heavenly Father lay his chastening Hand upon thee His Design is to make thee entirely conformable to his own Son to that Son who for the Glory set before him endured the Cross. He was made perfect through Suffering so would God make thee perfect through Affliction If a Person be never so holy yet if he hath not passed through the Furnace of Affliction he wants Perfection Afflictions gave the Son of God as he was Man a Title to his Father's Kingdom and they are Items to thee that thou shalt reign with Christ for ever These Troubles that encompass thee are to make thy future Joys the greater and thy Crown more bright and shining Fear not that thou hast received unworthily while thy Conscience bears witness that thine Eyes thy Heart thy Affections were toward him in the holy Sacrament and are so still If thy Treasure and thy Heart was in Heaven then and thou still endeavourest to preserve that Frame thy Eating and Drinking hath done thee good and thou hast been refreshed by it and the Lines did fall to thee in pleasant places These present Afflictions are thy Security that God loves thee and as they tell thee that thou hast no continuing City here so
Seriousness what Protestations of Cautiousness and Fear of offending God for the future Yet when God hath restored thee when the Almighty hath been so favourable to thee as to give thee the Desires of thy Heart how careless hast thou been of thy strongest Promises How regardless of the strictest Engagements How negligent of thy Duty How hast thou returned to thy former Vomit and with the Swine that was washed to her wallowing in the Mire 7. Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread when the Passover must be killed HOW many Easter-Days hast thou lived to see O my Soul Days when thou shouldst have risen with Christ from the Death of Sin and applied thy self unto a Life of Righteousness Yet thou art the same still thou wert so many Years ago What Lust hast thou mortified what Corruption hast thou killed what darling Desires hast thou sacrificed for Christ Art not thou as dull and as dead in God's Service as thou hast been heretofore The Sins that thou hast left was it the Love of God or the Change of thy Condition that made thee abandon them On the blessed Day of thy Saviour's Resurrection may be thou hast been devout and serious but what strange Liberty hast thou given thy self soon after How hath thy Piety and Goodness died again and thy Carefulness to please God given up the Ghost and expired 8. And he sent Peter and John saying Go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat HOW often O my Soul hath God sent his Spirit and his Messengers to thee with an Order to prepare and meet thy God by a serious Repentance Yet thou hast either resisted his Spirit or disobliged his Messengers or undervalued their Summons How little hast thou regarded the Condescention of so great a God! How little hast thou minded the Favour God did thee in visiting so worthless a Creature Dost not thou remember how thou hast pretended that thou hadst either Farms to see or Oxen to buy or an House to look after and thus hast put off thy God that would fain have gathered thee as an Hen doth her Brood under her Wings 9. And they said unto him Where wilt thou that we prepare HOW careful are the Disciples that they may do nothing contrary to their Master's Will How do they enquire after the very place where he would have them prepare O my Soul How little hast thou been concerned whether thy God were pleased or not Thou hast been so far from observing the Circumstantials of Religion that thou hast not minded the Substance How hast thou rushed into Sin as the Horse rushes into the Battel without being sollicitous or concerned about offending God! How little hast thou enquired what thy Lord and Master requires of thee How contentedly ignorant hast thou been of his Laws and how loth to know thy Master's Will that thou mightest not be obliged to do it 10. And he said unto them Behold when you are entred into the City there shall a Man meet you bearing a Pitcher of Water follow him into the House where he enters in HOW strangely doth Providence order things Just at the Disciples entring into the City God orders this Man to meet them How wonderfully O my Soul hath God made the Second Causes to meet for thy good How hath God turned such Men's Hearts towards thee into Mercy and Compassion How often when thou hast been in Trouble hath God sent thee a Deliverer How often when thou hast seen no probability of Help hath God come in with his Salvation Yet how careless hast thou been of his Providence How apt hast thou been to ascribe these Events to Second Causes Dost not thou blush to think thou shouldst be so dull as not to see God in such Dispensations 11. And ye shall say to the good Man of the House The Master saith unto thee Where is the Guest-Chamber where I shall eat the Passover with my Disciples HOW often O my Soul hath thy great Master attempted to enter into thy Heart and to make that his Guest-Chamber And how surly how ill-natur'd how impudent hast thou been in refusing so great a Guest whose Presence would have enriched thee with infinite Treasures Temporal Profit Honour Ease and Pleasure have but gently knocked at the Door and thou hast listen'd and heard and run to open to them See where thy Love and thy Treasure lies Christ hath stood without knocking and calling Open to me my Sister my Spouse for my Locks are wet with Dew But how loth hast thou been to rise from thy Bed of State or from thy Couch of Luxury to let in that Heavenly Friend Were it not just when thy Prayers knock at Heaven Gate that he should fling them back into thy Face and say As thou wouldst not hear when I called so shalt thou call and I will not hear 12. And she shall shew you a large Upper Room furnished there make ready AND O my Soul hath not thy Lord shewn thee very often a large Upper Room even Heaven it self where the Supper of the Lamb is to be kept and to which thou hast been invited Yet how hast thou preferred this Dunghil Earth before it How contemptible have those Everlasting Mansions been in thine Eyes How hast thou hugged thy Plenty here below and how contentedly hast thou lived without any Assurance that the Eternal Riches shall fall to thy share How little hath that Heaven affected thee How little have thy Affections been stirred with the Thoughts of it How often hast thou looked upon that glorious Place without any Longings to be there or to feast there with thy great Redeemer 13. And they went and found as he had said to them and made ready the Passover THis is the Property of God that he cannot lye If he saith or fore-tells things they must necessarily come to pass Yet how hast thou lived O my Soul as if thy God were false to his Word Thou hast lived in Sin and yet hast believed that God would receive thee at last into Glory Thou hast embraced Follies which he hath protested shall exclude thee from the Kingdom of Heaven and yet hast fancied that thou shalt be happy What is this but to make God a Lyar and to hope that he will not be so good as his Word When thou hast hoped for Heaven without Holiness for a Crown without Conquest for an Everlasting Reward without bearing the Heat and Burthen of the Day and for the same Felicity the Son of God enjoys without imitating him in his Meekness Patience Humility and Charity Hast not thou plainly flattered thy self that God would break his Word and act contrary to his Promises and Threatnings 14. And when the Hour was come he sate down and the Twelve Apostles with him SEE how the great Saviour of the World disdains not to sit down at the Table with a Company of Fisher-men Yet how scornfully O my Soul hast thou looked sometimes upon thy Neighbour What high Thoughts
with all manner of Felicities But seeing that even this would not prevail there is but one thing more said he that can be tryed And seeing there is in Man not only a Fear and Desire but a Principle of Love too than which nothing is stronger to draw and incline his Will to Action Accordingly he came himself and appeared in Flesh and carried himself so lovingly toward the Sinner and proceeded to so great an excess of Charity as to lay down his Life to save him And therefore he that after this continues hard and impenitent saith the Father will not turn to him nor offer his Heart and Love to him deserves most justly to hear this unwelcome voice O man what could I have done more for thee to gain thy Love and affection than I have done Indeed what can we desire he should do more for us What can we desire more after his spilling his Blood and enduring for us more than any Man ever did There is no greater Testimony of Love If he had had a better thing than his Blood he would have bestowed it upon us But Love cannot go beyond this and therefore when Christ just at the moment of his Death cry'd It is finished We are not only to understand by that saying That the Shadows of the Old Testament the Desires of the Patriarchs the Figures and Prophecies which went before of him were at an end and accomplish'd or that the malice of the Jews the sury of the Devil the captivity of Sin and the reconciliation of the World were finish'd and consummate but the meaning withal is that all the Arts and Methods and Stratagems of Love had now received their accomplishment and that beyond this there was nothing could be supposed capable to allure or entice Men to express their Love and Affection to their God and that beyond this he knew of nothing else that could draw or gain their Affection than to be made Man and to die for them And if God be come to the utmost bounds of condescension in this attempt and prevails not judge O Sinner judge whether thou art not most deservedly cast into Eternal Darkness II. There is a great difference betwixt bare reading of Christ's Passion and meditating of it The former makes little or no impression the later touches and affects The former is no more than looking on the Wine but the other is drinking of it He that reads may have his Thoughts all that while in the Indies upon his Business or the affairs of his Calling and when he comes from reading may be able to give but a very small account of his pains except it be some general Notions and an imperfect draught and that 's no better than taking up water in a Sieve which runs out as fast as it is put in But Meditation fixes the Thoughts and takes notice of the weight and importance of the History This examines the end and designs of the various passages This takes a view of every circumstance and finds there are greater Mysteries in the particulars than at first sight appear'd This finds out new Mines and makes that shining Gold which was but Oar before I have heard of some ill Men that have been able to rehearse the whole New Testament word for word but he that meditates but upon one Verse of the Book shall receive greater advantages by it than the other by repetition of the whole Bible But all Persons have not Heads and Understandings fitted for Meditation and therefore those that have not must either make some short Remarks or Reflections upon what they read according to the Directions and Method before laid down or make use of the Conceptions and Meditations of other Men which may possibly affect them as much as Thoughts of their own However by applying the Meditations they read and reading them attentively they make them their own and though they sharpen their Shears and Coulters at other Men's Shops yet that 's no hindrance to their Spiritual profit and Edification nay some are of that temper that they like other Mens contemplations better than their own partly out of a natural mistrust of their own Abilities partly out of respect to the Names and Persons of Learned and pious Men. But what-ever Meditations are made use of in this Case seriousness must give them Life and an intent to quicken our Souls and inward Man must be the impulsive Cause and from hence the Thoughtful Christian may expect very Blessed Effects and Consequences Yet III. When I urge this Meditating on Christ's Death and Passion by way of Preparation and draw out this Meditation to so great prolixity for fear of being misunderstood I must add these following Rules and Cautions 1. It is chiefly intended for such as have time and leisure from whom God justly expects more than of those who are forced to employ their time early and late in hard labour for a livelyhood not but that the way to Bliss is one and both Rich and Poor must observe the same substantial Duties upon which the future Reward is promised and both are obliged to be Just and Sober and Temperate and Meek and Humble and Kind and Tender-hearted and lovers of God and devout but as the Rich have more time and leisure so God expects they should exceed the other in Goodness and employ that time which the other are forced to bestow in the sweat of their Face upon Contemplations of Nobler Objects whereby they may become shining and burning Lights and by their Example supply the use of Books to the poorer sort who in their Actions may compendiously view their own Duty and be incouraged to follow their good example with Humility and Godly Fear 2. This prolix Meditation may lawfully be forborn upon urgent occasions when a person either is to receive the Holy Communion on his sick Bed or is on a suddain call'd out to communicate with a Person who is sick In these Cases shorter Reflections and Ejaculations coming from an Heart set and fix'd upon the Love and Will of God are acceptable because upon such occasions Christ's Rule holds I will have Mercy more than Sacrifice 3. Nor is it necessary to tye our selves to the length of it As to this we may use Liberty and Discretion must guide every Christian who know best what he is able to bear and what not Sometimes only a few Verses of the afore mentioned Chapters may be pitch'd upon for our Minds to expatiate upon sometimes a greater and larger Field may be set before us and whereas from the variety of managing our Directions being sometimes short sometimes prolix this scruple is apt to arise that this is a sign of weariness and inconstancy and unsteddiness in God's Service that scruple must be removed by consideration of Christ's and the Apostles example the former praying sometime all night and sometime using only some few Ejaculations to his Heavenly Father the other sometimes exercising themselves in Devotion till