are about We had need use our utmost care that we may attend upon God without distraction else will our hearts before we are aware slide into vain or impertinent entertainments And when they are once let loose we shall not so very easily recollect them and bring them back They will soon run into the ends of the earth and if we be not watchful and resolute they will leave nothing but our bodies for so great a service as this Our hearts are treacherous and our thoughts are like the servant of the Prophet who secretly run after the Syrian for a talent of Silver and two changes of raiment without the leave of his master and if we call them not in they 'l contract a more dismal leprosie than that servant did We cannot let them gad abroad without a great loss at such a time as this We may be assured they will fare as Dinah did they will return defiled home And therefore let us be sure to set a strict watch upon our selves lest our spiritual enemies steal away our hearts at such a time as this Let us lift them up to God and there let them be kept whiles we worship his holy name 2. When you approach to the Table of the Lord endeavour to raise up your heart to the greatest thankfulness to Almighty God for his undeserved love to thee O consider how gracious thy Lord is unto thee a wretched sinner That he should not only give thee his Son to die but also give thee his flesh to eat Not only receive thee to pardon but also entertain thee at his own Table as his guest and friend Say within thy self Lord what am I that thou shouldest not only shew me pity but do me so great a favour to receive me as thy friend What a love is this that thou art pleased to shew to my Soul when there are so many that have not heard of these thy mercies so many that have foregone them I may well wonder that thy mercy lets me live that I have bread to eat or thy air to breathe in and yet thou art pleased to give me Angels food and to feed me with bread from Heaven I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies but then this miracle of love may well overwhelm me Who has ever heard of such a love of so great a condescension Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name Let me never forget so great a mercy never be ungrateful after such a condescension of Heaven What shall I render unto the Lord for such an unspeakable love as this that he should spread me a Table and fill my Cup who am unworthy of the crumbs that fall from his Table Oh the height and depth the length and breadth of this love which passeth knowledge It well becomes us thus to raise up our hearts to all thankfulness to God when we do approach to this Feast For we do here commemorate the greatest mercy that was ever shewed to Mankind And it requires of us the greatest praise and thanksgiving This is a service of praise and therefore it is called the Eucharist And certainly if we think our selves obliged to commemorate our Benefactors and Friends which we frequently do we must think our selves much more obliged with all thankfulness to remember the love of our dearest Lord who dyed that we might live 3. VVhen we see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out let us meditate at once upon the Passion of our Lord and the hainous nature of our sins that put him to that pain Think you saw your dearest Saviour hang upon the Cross that you were eye-witnesses of the shame and sorrow that he underwent O think you saw the blood that he shed running down his Body that you saw the Spear and the Nails that pierced his Hands his Feet and Side Call to mind the Agony that he was in the sorrowes that he underwent Have some pity and regard to thy bleeding Lord pass not by but see and behold that there is no sorrow like to his sorrow Thy heart is very hard sure if thou dost not now relent Thou art very devoid of pity if thou hast no compassion for thy bleeding Lord. But then remember what it was that brought upon him all this sorrow and shame that thou seest him in Not any fault of his own but thy sins were the cause of it They nailed him to his Cross they pierced his Side they Crowned him with Thorns and gave him Gall and Vinegar to drink they did him the despight and the affronts which he endured They were the Judas the Pilate the false Witnesses the chief Priests that contrived and accomplished his sorrowes 'T was thy Covetousness that betraid him thy unbelief and wickedness that brought him to his Cross and caused him to cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Raise up then a great indignation against thy sins as thou hast any love or pity for thy dying Lord. Say thus to thine own heart Shall I not be ashamed of those sins which put my Lord to so much shame shall I not mourn for those sins which put him to so much pain may not they well break my heart which have so deeply wounded and pierced my blessed Saviour If he dyed for sin well may I be ashamed to live in it If my sins made him cry out and bow the head how shall I then give them any entertainment Well may they be heavy on me which were so great a burden to my Lord. How have I made a sport of that vile wretch as I am which made my Saviour sweat drops of blood Did my Saviour suffer such pains that he might destroy sin and have not I harboured it I have taken part with the most implacable enemies of my dying Lord. Alass I have not considered the sorrowes of my Saviour but like a vile wretch I have Crucified him afresh I have trampled on his Blood and done him open despight and shame Methinks I see him hang on the Cross and methinks I hear him cry out to me and bid me see whether there were ever such a sorrow and also that I should not be ungrateful to forget his love What an hard heart have I had that have had no more regard to him Oh that mine eyes were a fountain of tears that I might mourn for my sins that have Crucified my Lord. Sure my heart is very hard if I do not mourn now for mine iniquities when I behold my bleeding and dying Saviour I have tears for other things have I none for my sins none for my Lord I have sometimes wept when I have thought of a dying Friend Have I no tears for my dying Saviour who dies that I may live O my God smite this rocky heart of mine that I may weep when I look upon him whom I have Crucified Look upon me my Lord as thou didst once upon thy Disciple who denied thee
search for leaven against the Passover Pesach c. 1. S. 1. that they should do it by the light of a Candle We had not need be in the dark when we go about such a work as this is and we had need have a clearer light than that of our own Consciences is The Law of God is an unerring rule by this we must try and search our selves And therefore we had need know this Law or else we shall not be able to judge our selves by it and consequently very unfit to approach unto the Table of our Lord. By this Law we may find out what we have done amiss This glass will discover our spots And though we may think our selves very innocent yet upon our trial we shall find many things amiss For the Commandment is exceeding broad we are very apt to say with the man in the Gospel all these things have we kept from our youth up Matth. 19.20 But we consider not how far the Law of God extends and reaches We are commanded to have no other gods before the Lord our God We perhaps are ready to think that we do not break this Law till we fall down and worship some new Deity But we are much deceived in this For by this precept we are obliged to love God above all things to pray to him fear him trust in him give him thanks and in all things to prefer him above all the things of this present World And therefore if we find our selves devoid of the love of God or which is all one full of the love of this World and of our sins if we find we love or fear or trust in any thing more than in him that we do not give him hearty thanks for his mercies nor yet heartily pray for his grace and assistance we may certainly conclude that we are offenders against the Law of God We are commanded that we should not kill Now not only he that sheds his brothers blood but he that hates him and censures him is guilty of a breach of this Law He that hates his brother is a murderer 1 Joh. 3.15 Again when we are forbidden Adultery we are guilty when we look on a Woman to lust after her For the Law as was said afore is exceeding broad It does not only oblige the outward but the inward man It does not only forbid us to do but also to think any evil When it commands a duty it must be supposed to require all those things which are the means that lead us to it And when it forbids a sin it must be thought to forbid whatever would induce us to it We have reason to think our selves guilty not only when we do directly break the letter of the Law but when we transgress against the inward and spiritual meaning of it We are guilty not only when we commit a sin our selves but when we make others to sin nay when we do not reprove and hinder others when we can There are many wayes by which we become transgressors And there is no better way to find out our iniquity than by comparing our lives with the Law of God If those men did but carefully do this who now pride themselves as better than their neighbours they might find very foul spots where as now they think all their wayes clean This would shew them those faults which their pride and lust will not now let them see Our Conscience is many times but an imperfect light and is always so when 't is not enlightned from the Law of God 'T is that Rule by which we are to measure our selves And therefore if we would find our sin let us take this light to direct and guide us in our search 3. We must be very particular in this search That we are sinners we may easily find but we must not satisfie our selves in this but must find out our particular sins which we are guilty of For if in order to our pardon we must confess and forsake our sins we had need find them out if we do not do this it is not like we should confess them and forsake them For how can we be thought to confess and forsake those sins which we are ignorant of And if we do not this what hopes can we have of pardon Indeed where we cannot by our utmost search find out every sin we may yet hope for pardon if we humbly and penitently beg it with the Psalmist who prays to God to cleanse him from his secret faults Psal 19.12 But this we may hope when we cannot find out our particular sin when we can do that we must know it is our duty to do it in order to our confession and our parton In which the Reader may be assisted by the heads of self-examination at the close of the Book called the Whole duty of Man And a thing very advisable it is that we should have ready by us at such times as this a most particular Catalogue of our sins and that we do in our private prayers as particularly confess them to God It is very easie and common to confess our selves sinners to God but there is a great cheat in that general confession and if we would have pardon we must be more particular 4. We must not only make a particular search after our sins but we must also well consider of the degrees and aggravations of them For all sins are not alike There are many circumstances that do encrease our guilt and therefore if we would not hide our fault we must search after these things Now there are several things which do greatly enhance our guilt and make our sins more exceeding sinful that give them a deeper dye and stain Now every sin is a transgression against the Law of God but yet there are some sins which are more hainous than others 1. As for example when our sin is such as is not only against the Law of God but against our own Conscience also when we know the Law and our Conscience does make a faithful report of it and yet we will commit it He that knows his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes This is no small aggravation of our guilt when we rebel against the light This rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft We have no manner of excuse left us in this case and therefore ought to humble our selves greatly under such sins as these are 2. Again when we are vincibly and culpably ignorant and bribe or blind our Consciences our guilt is also greatly aggravated Perhaps we will not know our duty that we may not be though obliged to do it Or we have certain arts to bribe our Consciences or have found out ways to stop their sentence This is a most hainous aggravation of our guilt and comes up very near to that which was named last He is not only a very wicked servant that refuses to do what he hears his Master command him but he
Majesty and us thy Creatures the work of thy hands Between thy infinite power and our weakness thy Wisdom and our Folly thy Eternal Being and our Mortal Frame But Lord we have set our selves at a greater distance from thee by our sin and wickedness We do humbly acknowledge the corruption of our nature and the many rebellions of our lives We have sinned against Heaven and before thee in thought word and deed We have been prophane Contemners of thy Majesty and of thy Holy Laws We have also sinned against our Brother and our own Souls by omitting what we ought to have done and committing what we ought not We have rebelled against light despised thy Mercies and thy Judgments broken our own vows and promises neglected thy means of grace and opportunities of becoming better Our iniquities are multiplyed and our sins are very great We confess them O Lord with shame and with sorrow with detestation and loathing We are vile in our own eyes as we have rendred our selves vile in thine We pray thee to be merciful unto us in the free pardon of our sins for the sake of thy Dear Son and our alone Saviour Jesus Christ who came not to call the righteous but sinners to Repentance And we pray thee to renew our natures and to write thy Laws upon our hearts Help us to live righteously soberly and Godly in this present World Make us humble and meek patient and contented and work in us all the graces of thy Holy Spirit Preserve in us a sense of our dependance upon thee and of our great Obligations to thee Help us that we may love thee with all our heart and that we may universally obey and cheerfully submit to thy holy will Save and defend us from all sin and danger from malice and ill will from covetousness and sensuality from pride and vanity and from all the deceits of the world the crafts of the Devil and lusts of the Flesh Direct us O Lord in all our difficulties supply our wants support us under our troubles enable us against our temptations prosper our honest endeavours and above all things purifie and cleanse our thoughts Prepare us for death and judgment and let the thoughts thereof awaken us to a great care and study to approve our selves unto thee in well doing Bless thy whole Church these Kingdoms to which we belong And bless with thy choicest Blessings our Sovereign Lord the King Defend him against all his enemies Let his dayes be many and his Reign prosperous Bless him in his Royal Relations in his Counsellors and his Counsels Bless all the Governours and Teachers of thy Church grant them such a measure of thy Grace and Divine Wisdom that they may by their Doctrine and by their examples gain many souls unto thee Help all that are in trouble sorrow need sickness or any other adversity Give them patience under their troubles a sanctified use of them and in thy good time a deliverance from them Be merciful to our Friends and forgive our Enemies and accept or our humble acknowledgment for thy preservations of us this last night and for all thy mercies to us And we pray thee to take us into thy protection this day and to keep us in perfect peace and all we beg for the sake of Jesus Christ who hath taught us to say Our Father c. An Evening Prayer for a Family MOst gratious and merciful Lord God from whom descendeth every good and perfect gift and our most merciful Father in Jesus Christ we offer up to thy Divine Majesty our unfeigned Praise and Thanksgiving for all thy mercies towards us Thou didst make us at first and hast ever since sustained the work of thine own hands Thou hast given us thy Son to dye for us and hast admitted us into thy Church and given us assurance of pardon upon our Repentance and sincere obedience of thy holy precepts Thou art pleased to lengthen out to us the time of Repentance and to move us to it by thy word and by thy Spirit by thy mercies and thy judgments Out of a deep sense of thy mercies and our own unworthiness we appear before thee at this time We are ashamed of our vile ingratitude We have sinned O Lord and done very wickedly Be merciful unto us O Lord and pardon us for Jesus Christ his sake Instruct us O Lord in all the particulars of our duty and give us true wisdom who hast promised to give wisdom and upbraidest not Be with us under every Tryal and temptation and suffer us not to be tempted above what we shall be able Take care we pray thee of our affairs and more and more direct us into thy truth Defend us against all our Enemies but especially against our spiritual ones Suffer us not to be drawn away from thee by the blandishments of the world by carnal desires the cunning of the Devil or the deceitfulness of sin Work in us thy good will and pleasure and discharge our minds of all things that are displeasing to thee of all ill will and discontent wrath and bitterness pride and vain conceits of our selves and render us charitable holy pure in heart patient and Heavenly minded Be with us at the hour of death dispose us for it and deliver us from the slavish fear of it and make us all willing and fit to dye when ever thou shalt call us hence Bless O Lord all the race of Mankind let the world be filled with the knowledge of thee and thy Son Christ as the waters cover the Sea Be gracious to thy whole Church and especially to that part of it planted in these Kingdoms Bless the Kings Majesty and let his Crown flourish upon his Head and let no weapon formed against him prosper Bless all his Relations and teach his Senators wisdom And bless all that are to govern and teach thy Church make them successful in their labours and grant they may consider the account they must one day give Pity the sick and weak the poor and needy the Widowes and Fatherless and all that mourn or are broken in heart Be merciful unto them according to their several necessities Bless our Friends and grant us Grace to forgive our enemies as heartily as we do desire forgiveness of thee our Heavenly Father We pray thee to defend us this night from every thing that is evil and do more for us than we can ask or think for Jesus Christ his sake in whose name and words we continue to Pray Our Father c. FINIS