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
his sorrowes He did not dye for sins that we might live in them but that we might dye to them His Death is a very forcible argument against the life of our lusts and a great motive to obedience We little regard our dying Lord if we at once remember his Death and break his Lawes 2. Again our Lord at his Death gave us a very great example of forgiveness of enemies and therefore when we remember his death we have very great reason to forgive our offending brother Our blessed Lord met with great enemies and such as had the greatest reason to be his friends He that eat of his bread lift up his heel against him He was betrayed by his own Disciple delivered to death by him that pronounced him innocent scourged and mocked by a rude and heady multitude He is numbred among Transgressors who had committed no sin He was hanged on the Tree who had never tasted the forbidden Fruit. He was put to death by those whom he came to seek and to save He had done them many kindnesses whilst he was among them He healed their sick fed their hungry restored their blind dispossessed their Daemoniacks and raised their dead He offended none of their Laws He paid Caesar his Tribute took care the Priest should have his Offering observed their customs went to their Festivals and was so far from profaning their Temple that he shewed a great zeal for defending it from common uses There could be nothing said against his Doctrine nothing against his Life His enemies that bare witness against him could not agree and it was infinitely plain that he was innocent And yet his Countrymen thirst after his blood and prefer a Murderer before him They want patience when our Lord wanted none They cry out Crucifie him crucifie him And what does our Lord do he cryes out too but not for Vengeance but for Mercy Father forgive them for they know not what they do Luk. 23.34 Certainly then we should be ashamed to remember these things with malice in our hearts well may we forgive our enemies when our Lord hath forgiven his We must not dare to remember the Death of Christ and to remember our Neighbours unkindness together We may not think of revenge when our Lord shewed so much mercy We cannot rightly remember Christs Death when we do not imitate his example He taught us what we should do by what he did himself We shall look very unlike our Lord if we retain our malice and ill-will 3. If we consider that Christs Death was not only for sins but also for our sins we shall still find a greater obligation upon us to forgive one another God gave his Son to dye than which there cannot be a greater miracle of Love and if God so loved us we also ought to love one another 1 Joh. 4.11 It was for us our Saviour laid down his life and who are we Had we deserved this love were we his friends that he was at this pains and cost No surely but we were sinners and enemies and yet he laid down his life for us Rom. 5.8 10. If then Christ dyed for his enemies we ought to forgive ours and then especially we are obliged to do it when we pretend to remember the Death of Christ How can we now pull our brother by the throat for a few pence when our Lord hath forgiven us so many Talents We are very ungrateful for our Lords kindness if we are unkind to one another Did we but consider Gods mercies to us we should think our selves obliged to be merciful to one another And methinks it should be easie for us to forgive our Neighbour if we did but consider how very much we need Gods forgiveness and how far we are from deserving it If our Lords eye have been so good to us why should ours be evil to one another what miserable wretches should we be if Gods mercies to us had not been greater than ours is to one another He hath forgiven us our great scores let us not retain then our grudges to our brother For shame then let us purge out this leaven of malice when we keep this Feast Let us shew our selves kind to each other when we do remember the kindness of our Blessed Saviour Besides our brothers offences against us are small in respect to ours against God We offend against an infinite Majesty we transgress the Eternal Laws of Reason How coldly do we pray to him for the greatest Blessings How insensible are we of his many mercies How very stupid and incorrigible under his severest judgments How void of the love of him who hath loved us so much If he should mark iniquities how should we be able to stand We are not able to answer for one of a thousand But yet we hope for Mercy upon our Repentance and our Faith We expect pardon from God for all these amisses And had we not this hope we should be of all men the most miserable We have then very great reason to be reconciled to our brother when we stand in so great need that God should be reconciled unto us and when we hope for the pardon of our sins from God which we do from Christs death and at this time when we do commemorate it we have a sufficient motive to forgive our brother Especially our Saviour having said If you forgive men their trespasses your Heavenly Father will aso forgive you But if ye forgive not men their Trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses Mat. 6.14 15. 2. Another great end of this Sacrament is that Christians may be knit together in the strictest bond of Love and Charity It is as I shewed you before a Feast of Love It was designed to bring us together and to make us all of one heart And a very effectual instrument it is were it rightly understood and used to that end and purpose It would soon make us one again It would bring together those who now are separated from one another When Communions were frequent in the Church Christians loved one another and kept together But when they became more seldom selemnized then the feuds among the professors of Christianity grew also For indeed this Sacrament was intended to maintain us in Love and Charity And therefore if we do not heartily forgive our brother we do destroy also this end of its Institution It is very indecent to see men at odds that eat and drink at the same common Table But it is a great wickedness to come to this Holy Table with malice and ill-will to our brother in our hearts We must not keep this feast of love with the leaven of malice VVe cannot partake of this Sacrament but we must profess a kindness to our brother and if we mean it not we are like Judas that gave his Master good words when he was ready to betray him and shall be miserable as he was into whom the Devil and the morsel entered at
our offences if we do not from our hearts forgive our brother his Our hearts must be perfectly cleared of all the leaven of malice before we can as we ought keep this Feast CHAP. XII I Come now to shew how we must behave our selves after we have been partakers of this Table of our Lord. And that I shall do in the following Severals 1. Let us out of gratitude for so great a favour from Gods hands shew mercy to the poor This the Jews did upon a festival Jom Toff c. 1 and they give particular rules about it It well becomes us when God hath vouchsafed to entertain us at his Table to entertain the poor at ours We can make no amends to God for his mercy to us but yet we may shew our gratitude by shewing mercy to our poor brethren who bear his image God hath substituted them to receive our grateful acknowledgements This we shall cheerfully do if we have upon our minds a lively sense of the mercies of God to us and of our unworthiness of the least of them We read to this purpose what the first Christians did That they brake their bread i. e. received the Lords Supper from house to house and did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart or liberality praising God and having favour with all the people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. Dr. Hammond in loc or as it hath been thought those words do import exercising mercy and shewing kindness to those that wanted We shall do well to imitate this example and when God shews us so much mercy let us not be without compassion to one another For verily if our hearts be hardened against our poor brother we have great reason to think our selves void of the love of God 2. Let us use an after examination Let us presently reflect and consider what was amiss in us when we were waiting upon our Lord and humble our selves for it forthwith Otherwise it is to be feared we shall soon relapse to our wonts and be so far from being better that we shall be much worse If we do not rebuke our selves quickly we shall soon return to our vain Conversation again 3. Let us by all means sequester our selves from our worldly divertisements and concerns and employ our time in prayer and praises It is very advisable that we should be alone that we should for some time separate our selves from our worldly employments and spend our time in our private devotions Our Saviour after he had kept this Supper with his Disciples and sung an Hymn or Psalm of Praise after it with-draws from his Disciples and betakes himself to prayer unto God And this he does three several times The world will be very ready to thrust in upon us and to make us forget our vows and good resolutions we shall be in great danger if we be not very cautelous And therefore we must pertinaciously resolve to watch over our hearts and when our Souls are clean we must be greatly careful that we be not defiled again We must do here as Physicians advise us to do when we use their prescriptions we must also take care that we use them cum regimine we must not take cold nor commit any other error which will make their rules become ineffectual When our house is swept and garnished we must take care that an unclean Spirit do not re-enter lest our latter end be worse than our be ginning 4. Let us be very careful that we do not relapse and fall back into an evil course of life Certain it is that it stands us in hand to use our utmost care to this purpose We must do as the Spouse did when she had found him whom her Soul loved she held him and would not let him go Cant. 3.4 We must not only receive our Lord Jesus but we must also walk in him We must for the time to come devote our selves to the service of our Lord. We must set our selves upon the obedience of all his precepts and upon the mortifying all our evil and corrupt affections We must inure our selves to the works of Religion and the labours of a pious life We must use our selves to bear the Cross to forgive injuries to bridle our anger to cross our carnal desires and appetites and contradict the cravings of the Animal life If we presently return to our sins again we shew that we have but played the part of hypocrites and dissemblers and shall pay dear for our hypocrisie Our condition will be very sad if we now return to our vomit Let us therefore renew our purposes of a new life and be greatly careful that we return no more to folly We may reason thus with our selves when we are retired into our Closets I have now once more renewed my Covenant with God I have promised him solemnly that I will be his servant I have to bind my self the faster taken the body and blood of my Lord. I am now fast bound to be constant and faithful to him Sure I am that God with whom I have had to do is a God that will not be mocked I may deceive others him I cannot deceive What a wretched creature shall I be if I should now prove false What cords will hold me if I break this How can I think that God will ever trust me or how can I ever trust my self if I now relapse The blood of Christ will call for vengeance against me if I now run on in my former courses My sins were great before but now they will be aggravated Wo is me if I now run on in my excess of folly Shall I suffer any corrupt speech to proceed out of that mouth which hath received my Lord Shall I abuse my body to intemperance which my Lord hath entered into How shall I ever look my Lord in the face if I should now betray him or deny him Good God look upon thy servant and whatever plagues I meet with in this world suffer me not to forsake thee Have pity upon me O God and let me not start aside from thy precepts Let me die rather than I should deny thee Suffer me not so far to dishonour thy name and wrong my own Soul Let thy grace be sufficient for me do thou give me power that I may keep thy statutes at all times Thus may we reason with our selves when we come to our Closets after we have received the Body and Blood of our Lord. And we shall find it very needful to awaken our selves to a new obedience as we would avoid the greatest indignation of Heaven For certain it is if we willfully return to our follies again we shall bring great wrath upon our selves And though perhaps we may not be punished with sickness and sudden death as the Corinthians were for the abuse of this Sacrament 1 Cor. 11.30 yet are there more dismal plagues than these which will overtake us such are hardness of heart blindness of mind
was in remembrance of their Deliverance from Egypt but our Sacrament is in remembrance of a greater deliverance by the death of Jesus who was our Passover that was sacrificed for us If they did not escape how shall we escape We may indeed escape the Magistrates sword but not Gods anger We may avoid the censures of our Superiours but we shall not avoid the wrath of the Almighty We are greatly mistaken if we think we may safely omit this duty or that we take a secure course to avoid the danger of unworthy Communicating when we chuse not to Communicate at all We do in so doing but run out of one danger into another The Jew that kept the Passover and eat leavened bread was under the curse of the Law and so was he that did not keep the Feast at all There is a great danger on either side we run upon our ruin on which hand soever we err Indeed the Apostle tells us the danger of our unworthy partaking of this Sacrament He tells us that the unworthy Communicant eats and drinks damnation to himself and that for this cause many are weak and sickly and many sleep 1 Cor. 11.29 30. This makes us afraid and well indeed it may awaken us But then we should consider also the danger of not partaking at all This is that we are not much aware of And perhaps one reason is because we do not find the Apostle tell us of the danger of not partaking at all even when he does tell us the danger of not receiving as we ought But it is very easie to tell the reason why the Apostle does not speak of that And the reason is this because the first Christians did not only eat of this bread and drink of this cup but they did it frequently also The Corinthians did Communicate but they did it not as they ought This the Apostle had a fair occasion to reprove them for and he does it and also shews them the danger of what they did They did not as we do wholly neglect to partake of the Sacrament but they were too negligent in their Preparation for it too careless and remiss in so holy and solemn a service The first Christians Communicated frequently they did not so easily forget the Precept and the dear Love of their dying Lord as we do But then so it was that what was so frequently done was not done so devoutly as it should have been and the Lords-Table was esteemed too common and they did not eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup with that difference and discrimination which well became so great a service This is a thing too incident to our frail nature that we are too indevout in those services and offices of Religion which do frequently entertain us This was the fault of these Corinthians they were not guilty of a neglect of the duty it self but did not perform it as became them and the excellent service which they did perform CHAP. XIV By what hath been said it appears to be our duty and our interest also to partake of this Sacrament of the Lords Supper what it is that keeps us back it is not easie to say Certain it is that the Law is not repealed nor yet does the reason of it cease There is the same precept and as great a reason to enforce it and our needs are as great and the danger of its neglect as great also as ever And we are very weak if we do imagine that when he that does partake of this Sacrament amiss makes himself obnoxious to Gods wrath he shall escape that does not partake at all But yet because we are very apt to make excuses when we are invited to this Feast and please our selves too that we do it justly I shall severally consider those common and popular pretences which we make use of in this case And Object 1. First some men say when they are invited that they are not worthy And this is thought a just excuse because the Apostle tells us that he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself 1 Cor. 11.29 Answ In answer to this it is necessary we should know what is meant by not being worthy which is pretended here as an excuse why we do not partake of this Sacrament If by it we mean that we do not deserve to be entertained at Gods Table what we say indeed is a great truth but yet it is not pertinent nor is it such a worthiness which is required of us But if by not being worthy we mean that we are not fit and rightly prepared to partake of this holy Table of our Lord then we may not indeed partake but then this will not be a just excuse it will not clear us and absolve us from our duty Certain it is that that worthiness which we must come with does not imply our merit or desert but it only imports such a fitness and preparation of Soul as is required and God will accept For though indeed the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worthy does sometimes import desert or merit Thus the labourer is worthy of his hire i. e. he deserves his wages yet it does not alwayes signifie so nor yet in this case we are speaking of The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we translate meet 1 Cor. 16.4.2 Thes 1.3 we are obliged to walk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worthy of God i. e. becoming our profession of him and the Mercies we receive from him 1 Thes 2.12 And we must walk worthy of our vocation Eph. 4.1 Aye and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worthy of the Gospel or as it becometh the Gospel as we well translate it Phil. 1.27 And he does receive this Sacrament worthily who does it as is required and with a clean and pure heart For otherwise this command of partaking of this Sacrament were unpracticable If none might receive it but they who deserved this Heavenly Food we might not approach who are unworthy of the common mercies which we do enjoy Now it is a very great error to affirm that our Lord hath commanded us to do what is impossible to be done And we have the least reason to affirm it of this service that it is not practicable For certainly this is one of the easier Precepts of the Gospel And though we should think our Saviour required a very hard task of us when he bids us deny our selves and take up our Cross and follow him yet we cannot think so when he only bids to do this in remembrance of him This is a service of praise and thanksgiving and such services are not burdensome to those who have not forfeited their gratitude and ingenuity And did we love our dearest Lord as we should do or as he loved us we should not think much of any thing that he should require at our hands much less should we boggle at so easie and reasonable a service as this is It was great folly in Naaman
acknowledged him in all his Offices not only as our Priest but as our only Prophet and our King And did not only profess a belief of the Christian Faith but solemnly promise Obedience to the commands of God in opposition to the Devil the World and Flesh This we did when we were Baptized we made a most solemn vow to become the Servants of Christ and did receive a Sacrament upon it Budaeus in Pandect As amongst the Romans the Soldiers that were listed took and Oath which was called a Sacrament of Fidelity after which they could not revolt without a great shame and making themselves liable to the severest penalty So have we done we have taken this Sacrament of Fidelity and by that have most solemnly obliged our selves to be the faithful Servants and Soldiers of Christ unto our lives end So that I may well tell the man that is Baptized Quod maximum vinculum est ad bonam mentem promisistivirum bonum Sacramento rogatus es Senec Ep. 37. that he is fast bound and obliged to become a good man by his own promise and Sacrament of fidelity But then because our infirmities are many and we are apt to forget our promise to God and because Gods mercies are great and he is not willing we should perish he hath ordained another Sacrament that we might not want a blessed opportunity to bewail our back-slidings and to renew our Covenant Gods Mercy is so great that he does not only bring us into his Family by Baptism but feed and preserve us there by this Sacrament of our Lords Supper He would have us saved and therefore hath ordained this Sacrament that we might be put upon a most serious Repentance for our past sins and effectual purposes of a new life for the time to come God would have us fasten the first bond with a more firm and sure knot Our Souls are like Clocks or Watches which though they be set right and wound up yet stand in need quickly of being set right and wound up again This is that gracious opportunity that God hath given us of setting all things right and amending the great disorders of our souls We are now to renew that Covenant which we made in Baptism which because we have failed in God hath ordained this Sacrament to restore us and set us right We are now to lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees And make straight paths for our feet lest that which is lame be turned out of the way but that it may rather be healed Now that this sacrament was ordained for this end that we might renew our Covenant which we made with God in Baptism will appear if we consider the following severals 1. The very eating and drinking at Gods Table is a faederal rite they that eat together are supposed to be Friends It was a token of friendship of old as the Scriptures will teach us Mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted which did eat of my bread hath lift up his heel against me Psal 41.9 And thus the men of thy peace and of thy bread are the same with confederates Obad. v. 7. vid. vers Syriac in locum When the Relatives of Job who had kept from him during his affliction came to renew their friendship and express their kindness to him the Text says They did eat bread with him in his house Job 42.11 And certainly it was a sign of great kindness among the Children of Job that his Sons feasted in their houses and called for their sisters to eat and drink with them Diogen Laert. in vit Pythag. Greg. Gyrald in Pythag. Symbol Job 1.4 It is a known Precept of Pythagoras that we should not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that we should not break off our friendship which by eating Bread together we made a shew of For that is supposed to be his meaning when he requires that we should not break or divide the Bread of Friends that we should not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That we should not separate and divide that bond of kindness which holds friends together But eating Bread together was not only alwayes esteemed a token of kindness and friendship and confederacy but it was also anciently a rite that was used when men made or renewed a Covenant with one another This will also appear from the Holy Scriptures when the Gibeonites came to make a League with Israel they brought Bread with them as well as bottles of Wine The Bread they brought seemed to be designed for their Covenant which they intended to make with the men of Israel of whom it is said that when they consented to their demands that they took of their Victuals and asked not Counsel at the Mouth of the Lord Josh 9.14 That is they made a Covenant with them and did not first ask counsel of God for certainly those words they took of their victuals can have no other sense in this place And so the Chaldee Paraphrast seems to understand them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for he renders them thus They hearkened unto their words i. e. They consented to enter into Covenant with the Gibeonites and in token of that they took of their Victuals which was a sign of their friendship to them Kimchi in Josh 9.14 So that the Gibeonites might be confident now that they were received into favour because the Israelites had taken of their victuals and had by that Ceremony declared themselves willing to make a League with them And it follows immediately upon this that Joshua made peace with them and made a league with them c. v. 15. So that it seems to be very plain that those words they took of their victuals do import no less than that the Israelites yielded to the request of the Men of Gibeon and intended to take them into favour And the Giheonites might as well conclude so much from their so doing as the Wife of Manoah did infer Gods favour to be towards her and her Husband because he had received their burnt-offering and their meat-offering If says she the Lord were pleased to kill us he would not have received a burnt-offering and a meat-offering at our hands Judg. 13.23 Again when Isaac makes a Covenant with Abimelech the Text tells us that he made a feast and they did eat and drink Abravenel in loc Fol. 93. Col. 3. And then it is presently added that they sware one to another Gen. 26.30 31. And when Jacob makes a Covenant with Laban it is expresly said that he called his brethren to eat bread Gen. 31.54 Eating of Bread together was so sure a sign of accord and a mutual kindness that when Ishmael with the men that were with him came to Mizpah with an intention to kill Gedaliah that they might not be suspected of any such design they did eat bread with him in Mizpah Jer. 41.2 And as eating together was a federal rite and a token of kindness and friendship
so not vouchsafing to eat together hath been also taken for an argument of estrangedness and a great difference Thus we read that the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews for that is an abomination to the Egyptians Gen. 43.32 And the Apostle when he would have the sincere Christian not so much as to countenance the debaucht and lewd Professor of Religion he will not permit him so much as to eat with him 1 Cor. 5.11 By what hath been said it does appear that eating and drinking together hath been a mark of kindness and hath been used when Covenants and Agreements have been made between men Now when we partake of the Lords Supper we have fellowship with God himself 1 Cor. 10.20 21. We eat at his Table and do become his guests But because we can have no fellowship with him when we walk in darkness 1 Joh. 1.6 therefore we cannot partake aright of this Supper of our Lord unless we put away the evil of our doings unless we put on the Wedding-Garment and renew that Covenant which we did once make with God and which we have so greatly broken 2. That this Sacrament was ordained for a renewal of our Covenant with God appears from the words of our Saviour when he did first institute and appoint it When he gave his Disciples the Cup he adds This is my blood of the New Testament or Covenant as that word signifies which is shed for many for the remission of sins Mat. 26.28 For the better understanding of which words we may remember that it was an antient custom in the World Tacit. Annal. l. 12. when men entered into Covenant with one another that they did it by shedding of Blood they did slay a beast and pour out its Blood and thus they did ferire faeduâ— strike a Covenant with one another In token I suppose that he that should fail of performing his part of the Covenant which they entered into should perish as the beast did which was slain before them Nor was this a custom among the Gentiles only but also a custom that God made use of among the Jews his own people For so we read that when God gave his Law to that people and that Law had been read in the audience of the people and the people had promised obedience to that Law that they entered into Covenant by blood For it is added that Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said behold the Blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words Exod. 24.8 This was the blood of that Covenant which God made with that people To these words our Saviour may be thought to allude when he was ready to lay down his Life and shed his Blood for our Remission he gives his Disciples the Cup and tells them This is my Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins That blood which Moses sprinkled was the blood of beasts but this is the blood of Jesus that was the blood of a Covenant but of the old but this is the blood of the new and better Covenant That was shed for the Jews only but this is shed for many for Jew and Gentile for all that believe The blood of the Law of Moses did not expiate for all sins but this blood is shed for the Remission of sins yea of those sins which could not be remitted by the Laws of Moses For by Jesus we have the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses Act. 13.39 So that as the Blood which Moses sprinkled was the blood of that Covenant which the Jews entered into so is the blood of Jesus which he shed for us the blood of the New Covenant and he that drinks of this blood renews his Covenant and doth most solemnly take upon himself the observation of the Lawes of Christ When Moses had read the Law to the people and they had promised Obedience then does he sprinkle them with the blood of the Covenant and by that federal rite they are received into Covenant with God And so when our Blessed Saviour had taught his Disciples the will of his Heavenly Father and was ready to shed his blood for our remission he ordains this Sacrament of his blood which when we do partake of as we should lays a strict obligation upon us to obedience of the Laws of God which are made known to us in the Gospel When we drink of this Cup we renew our Covenant with God and do most solemnly bind our selves to a faithful and sincere Obedience we do as it were take a Sacramental Oath of Allegiance and if we be treacherous and false we are perjured persons and make our selves guilty of the blood of Jesus II. Another end of this Sacrament is that we should remember the love of our Lord Jesus Christ in laying down his life for us This do in remembrance of me Luk. 22.19 As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the Lords death till he come 1 Cor. 11.26 The Jewish Passover was appointed for a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt Exod. 12.14 And this Christian Passover was instituted for a memorial but of a greater deliverance than from the bondage of Egypt of our Redemption from sin and death So great a mercy as the deliverance out of Egypt might not be forgotten much less may this Redemption which our Lord hath wrought And as the Passover was commanded that they might not forget their freedom from Egypt so is this Sacrament appointed that we might never forget a greater freedom which our Lord hath purchased for us from the tyranny of sin and the bitterness of death There was a mercy in that deliverance but in this a miracle of mercy God in that shewed his love to his people but in this there are all the dimensions of love here 's breadth and length and depth and height here 's a love which passeth knowledge Eph. 3.18 19. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends Joh. 15.13 But our Saviours love hath out-stript this and exceeded it greatly for he died for his enemies And God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us Rom. 5.8 Our Books tell us many stories of the great love that one friend hath shewed another Lucian Toxarseu de Amicitia but none of them tell us of such a kindness to enemies as what our Saviour shewed in his Death Here 's a love that out-strips not only all the Laws but all the examples of friendship nay a love that surpasses the love of Women Our Saviour became poor that we might be rich he died that we might live he became a son of man that we might be made the sons of God and left his
glory that he might shew us the way to it And by his sufferings and death hath become the Author of Eternal salvation unto all them that obey him Heb. 5.9 Indeed God wrought many deliverances for his people the Jews by the hands of his servants Moses and Joshuah and the Judges and Kings of Israel but all these together did not work so great a deliverance as our Blessed Saviour did when he made his soul an offering for sin when he despised the Cross and the shame of it and wrought an Eternal Redemption for us They delivered Gods People from their ill Neighbours our Saviour hath delivered us from our sins and from the evil men our selves They delivered them from Tyrants he hath delivered us from the power of the devil and from an eternal slavery They saved their bodies from slavery and bondage Our Saviour saves our souls from sin and death They fought for their people our Saviour suffered and dyed They delivered them for a time our Saviour for ever They saved the Jews but our Lord is the Saviour of mankind Jacob in his last words to his sons tells them what shall befal them in the last dayes and when he comes to Dan he tells him â—e shall be a serpent by the way an Adder in the path that biteth the horse heels so that his rider shall fall backward Gen. 49.17 This the Jews understand to be foretold of that great deliverance which Sampson of this Tribe of Dan should be an instrument of who wrought a great deliverance of his people from the Philistines V. Targ. Hierosol Jonath in locum But then Jacob presently adds in the next words I have waited for thy salvation O Lord v. 18. The meaning of which words according to the same Jews is this as if Jacob when he had foreseen the deliverances which should be wrought by Gideon and Sampson had said thus I do not expect the deliverance of Gideon and Sampson which will be but a temporal deliverance but thy salvation O Lord is that which I expect for thine is an eternal salvation They were indeed deliverers of Gods people but none of them could do that which our Saviour does who saves his people from their sins Mat. 1.21 And blâ—sseth us in turning away every one of us from our iniquities Acts 3.26 So great a salvation hath our Saviour wrought for us so great a love hath he shewed in laying down his life for us that it ought never to be forgotten as long as the World endures And that it might never be forgotten our Saviour hath appointed the Sacrament of the Lords Supper to be a standing memorial of his great love in dying for us Do this says he in remembrance of me We are indeed ready to receive mercies and also very ready to forget that they are bestowed upon us And therefore God hath taken this care that we might never forget them He did so with the Jews who were a very unthankful people and very prone to forget him that had done so many kindnesses for them Lest that people should forget their Creator God appointed the Sabbath-day to be observed in memory of the Creation of the World Exod. 20.11 When he brought the Israelites out of Egypt he ordains the Passe-over in memory of that deliverance Exod. 12. And besides that he obliges them severely to observe that feast and frequently by his servants puts them in mind of that deliverance and over and above appoints the Sabbath-day also which was at first commanded upon another score as a weekly remembrancer of that great deliverance Deut. 5.15 But he that delivered them out of Egypt did also carry them through the Wilderness and in memory of that mercy in redeeming them from the travels and pilgrimage of the desert he appoints an Anniversary feast viz. the feast of Tabernacles Lev. 23.43 Other Festivals there were and divers memorials of the mercies of God shewed to that people and to their fathers They who were so apt to forget Gods mercies were provided with such services as should put them fairly in mind of them God hath done thus mercifully with us also He hath not only given his Son to die for us than which there cannot be a greater mercy but he hath ordained this Sacrament as a perpetual memorial of so great a love And as among the Jews those services which God required were very proper remembrancers and monitors of the mercies they had received so it is in the case that is before us Their Sabbath which did succeed their six days labour put them in mind of Gods creating the World and ceasing from those works Their Pass-over brought to their mind the mercies of God in their Redemption from Egypt Their feast of Tabernacles plainly shewed them the estate of their Fathers in the Wilderness And so the Sacrament of the Lords Supper does after a lively manner represent unto us the Death of our Blessed Saviour He died indeed a great while since and at a place far remote from us there could be but few that were eye-witnesses of what was then and there done but few in proportion with those that would be concerned in his death And therefore God out of his great mercy to us hath ordained this service that what we could not see done at first we might see repeated in the Sacrament afterwards Here we have Christ crucifyed represented to us The Bread and Wine put us in mind of his Body and Blood And when we see the Bread broken and the Wine poured forth we are taught to remember the Passion of our Lord how his body was broken and bruised and his blood was shed for us God would have us lift up our hearts from these symbols and signs to that which is signified and represented by them And if we do so we may by our Faith see Christ crucified before our eyes And that which was done so long ago and so far off will be anew represented unto us The Apostle tells his Galatians that before their eyes Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth and crucified among them Gal. 3.1 Yet certain it is that Jesus Christ was crucifyed at Jerusalem a place very far remote from the Country of the Galatians But yet he that was crucified at Jerusalem may well be said to have been evidently set forth before the eyes of the Galatians Vers Syriac and crucified among them also i. e. Jesus Christ crucified was as it were painted and most lively represented unto them They did not see him indeed hanging on the Cross at Jerusalem but yet by the preaching of the Gospel and celebration of this Sacrament they might behold Christ crucified and that which was done at so great a distance would by these means become as if it had been done before their eyes But it is not a bare historical remembrance that will serve our turn neither It is no hard thing to be able to remember the history of the passion of our
once VVe shall find Death here if we do not cleanse our hearts from malice and ill-will More might be said to shew what reason we have to forgive our brother before we partake of this Sacrament but I shall say no more only adding the words of our Saviour Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee leave there thy gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift Mat. 5.23 24. CHAP. X. I Should now proceed to shew how we are to behave our selves when we do Communicate when we have first examined the state and condition of our Souls But yet before I do proceed to that because we may stand in need of some farther supplies before we do actually Communicate I shall not omit to add something for our assistance that way 1. Perhaps a man after the perusal of what hath been said before may not be able to determine whether he be fit to receive or not And in case he doubt of himself it may be asked what he is to do in that case If he proceed under his doubt he may involve himself in a farther perplexity and if he do not receive he may fear that he neglects his duty towards God in letting slip so excellent an opportunity of becoming better and omitting so great a precept of the Gospel In this case then it is very adviseable that he should make use of a Spiritual guide for his farther direction This will be his safest course certainly and well it would be if this course were taken more frequently than it is It might prevent many of those miscarriages which men now fall into It is of great advantage to the Souls of men not to conceal their doubts and scruples The hiding of them tends to their great trouble if not many times to their eternal ruin God hath provided us with the Ministers of his Word to conduct and guide us in the way to Heaven This is the great end for which they are sent and we ought accordingly to make use of them We do very readily consult the Physician and the Lawyer where our Lives or Estates are in any danger And certainly were our Souls as precious to us as our Bodies and our Wealth we should as readily take advice for them as we do for these Our way to Heaven would not be so perplexed would we use the means which the mercy of God hath provided for us Now certain it is that God gave Apostles Prophets Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministery for the edifying of the body of Christ Ephes 4.11 12. If we love our Souls we shall do well to shew our utmost care of them which we cannot be said to do if we suffer our doubts to remain and do not use those appointments which God hath so plentifully furnished us withal 2. We must be careful that when we examine our selves we take accounts of our selves for those amisses which are not punishable by any Laws of men We are not to absolve and acquit our selves because the severest Laws of Men cannot censure us We do greatly amiss when yet the best Laws of Men cannot punish us for doing so We ought to consider how we spend our time to examine whether we spend it either idly or unprofitably We are also to enquire how we spend our Estates whether in works of mercy and necessity or upon vain and gawdy things We are to remember that we must hereafter account for every talent which we have received of our Lord and though we may so live that the best Laws of men cannot condemn us nor yet the best men justly censure us yet however we may be liable to a greater and more impartial Judg. We are at such a time to examine and search into all the secrets of our hearts We must indeed be favourable in our judgement of others but it becomes us very severely to judge our selves And we must not only abstain from evil but from all appearance of it not only from things that are in themselves evil but that are of evil report Such things as these are frequenting of Taverns very gawdy and fantastick attire great merriments and jollities costly feasts and entertainments spending beyond our income and revenue as well as above our rank Spending great portions of our time in Drollery and mirth setting off our beauty with artifice and curiosity an extraordinary niceness in our dress and a great forwardness in following the mode and fashion Such things as these are must come under our Examination for it is very much to be feared that in them we do transgress and that our hearts may go astray from God Indeed we are by no means to condemn one another we may not too hastily judge our brother in this case but yet it will well become us to examine our own hearts and to be very jealous and suspitious of our selves 3. In making a Judgement of our selves we ought not only to consider what we are when we are drest up for the Solemnity but what we are in our ordinary conversation There are few men so profane but they will put on a demure countenance and a fair outside when they are going to the Table of the Lord But we are not to measure our selves by that but to consider what we are at other times The best way to judg of our selves is to do it by what we are in our ordinary conversation There is a Mechanical Religion and that is when our devotion is raised by the ringing of a Bell the return of a Solemnity or else the menaces of death but when these things are over we return to our old wonts and are but what we were before When a Sacrament draws nigh we look like Saints we abstain from our grosser sins we put up some cold prayers to God we are for a day or two before very reserved and sober and we fast it may be upon the vespers of the Festival and carry our selves very reverently when we do communicate But yet all this while our hearts are not changed and our lives are the same or worse than they were before And therefore we are not to judge of our selves by such fits and pangs of devotion but by the general course and tenour of our lives Were we to chuse the picture of a friend or wife that I may use a Simile of one of our Divines upon this argument if we would have a true picture we would have it drawn as she uses to look in the ordinary management of her huswifery not as she looked when she was dressed up with all the advantages and tricks of Art We must do so by our selves let us if we would take a just estimate reflect what we ordinarily are The worst of men at some times seem to be very good There are but
a reprobate sense and a seared Conscience These are indeed deaf strokes and such as make not a noise and strike not our senses but yet if we consider the effect and consequence of them they are more formidable and dismal than the raging pestilence or the loudest claps of thunder Let us then resolve as we love our Souls or fear the wrath of God to sin no more lest the worst of things come upon us But let us thus judge that Christ died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again 2 Cor. 5.15 The Body and Blood of Christ will not save us whiles we continue in our sins Nor may we think that this Sacrament will secure us if we return to our follies I shall end this particular with the words of Syracides He that washeth himself after the touching of a dead body if he touch it again what availeth his washing So is it with a man that fasteth for his sins and goeth again and doth the same who will hear his prayer or what doth his humbling profit him Ecclus. 34.25 26. CHAP. XIII HAving shewed you how you must fit your selves for this Sacrament I shall now also let you know the necessity that lies upon us after this Preparation to partake of it And that I shall do in the following severals 1. This duty stands upon the same authority which the other precepts of Christianity do He that commands us to Pray to search the Scriptures to hear Gods Word and to take heed how we hear hath as plainly commanded us to do this We are no more left at liberty here than we are in the other precepts of Christianity And certainly it is an argument of great insincerity to pick and chuse which of Christs commands we will obey Besides by breaking one command we make our selves guilty of all because we do despise the authority on which the rest stand For whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all For he that said do not commit Adultery said also do not kill Now if thou commit no Adultery yet if thou kill thou art become a transgressor of the Law Jam. 2.10 11. I am sure the command is very plain and evident Do this Luk. 22.19 1 Cor. 11.24 25. and verse 28. Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. To examine our selves is a confest duty and therefore by a just consequence so it is to eat of this Bread and Drink of this Cup. That duty is relative to this If we do that we are bound to do this also And though we should neglect that yet will not that excuse our neglect of this any more than one fault is a just excuse for the committing of another I doubt not but that we do divers things and think our selves obliged to do them also from the Laws of Christ for which we have no such clear command from the Laws of Christ as we have for this And therefore certainly if we do not this it is not for want of plain Scripture that requires it but for some other cause best known to God and our own Consciences But in the mean time we may be ashamed to call Christ Lord Lord and he may justly upbraid us for it when we refuse to do whatsoever he commands us Luk. 6.46 Let us not for shame call our selves Christians when we will not obey the Laws of Christ Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you Joh. 15.14 It is not a partial obedience to the Laws of Christ will be sufficient to make us the genuine Disciples of our Lord and Saviour If we would be thought to belong to him we must obey him in all his commands Unless we do so we cannot be secure For though we do some of those duties which Christ hath commanded yet if we do neglect him in others we are not such Christians as we ought to be There are those indeed who think themselves obliged by the Moral precepts of the Gospel and are in great measure careful that they transgress not those Laws which are indeed the Laws of Nature as well as the Laws of Christ but yet these men neglect this institution of Christ and are not much concerned in the mean time and that because they do not transgress the Law of Nature though they do transgress the positive Law of Christ But these men ought to consider that the Law of Nature is not the adaequate and full rule of their Conscience They must also attend to the Divine Revelation and to the institutions of Christ This precept of partaking of the Communion is peculiarly the Law of Christ And to do this is the mark and badg of Christians By doing it we shew whose followers we are And we are particularly obliged to do it as we do profess our selves Christians And the same Authority that obliges us to the observance of any other Law of Christ does oblige us to do this also And therefore if we think our selves bound to any Christian duties we judge very much amiss if we think our selves unconcerned in this 2. This duty is built upon as great a reason if we consider the end of its institution as any other of the same nature is I say as great a reason I shall not need to say a greater It was appointed in remembrance of the death of Christ that miracle of mercy and love As often as ye eat this bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lords death till he come 1 Cor. 11.26 It is to keep in mind our Lords death for which this Sacrament was appointed this methinks we should be ready to do who expect such benefits from his death and know that he died that we might live We easily fulfil the desires of a dying friend But if our friend died in our quarrel and defence we know not how to forget him and he that does forget such a friend is reputed justly a most ungrateful wretch How then can we forget the dear love of our dying Lord We keep in memory our Temporal victories and deliverances and we think we do well in it also How much greater reason have we to keep in mind this deliverance from eternal death and slavery This is never to be forgotten certainly but ought to be kept in memory as long as this world endures But then our dying Saviour who might have required of us some more burdensome service if he had pleased hath commanded us to do this to do it in remembrance of him he would have us remember his love to us and he lets us know how he would have us remember his love Do this in remembrance of me 3. 'T is a duty the practice whereof is as advantageous to our Souls if we consider our own necessities as any whatsoever We have need of such helps and viands in our
least spark of goodness you will find it shine and glow and spread it self to your infinite joy and contentment of heart Among all the various degrees and conditions of Christian people there will none be found that come hither with sincere affection to do this in remembrance of their Saviour but may go away rejoycing loaded with many Divine benefits Heads of Self-Examination by which we may be directed to find out what sins we are particularly to repent of either before the Sacrament or at any other time which we set apart for Repentance and Humiliation of our selves Wherein are laid before us the several duties we owe to God our Neighbour and our Selves To God FAith or belief of his Word A well grounded Hope in his Mercy Love and Fear of Him above all Trust in him Submission to Him Honour to His Holy Name Word Appointments Thankfulness Worship Repentance To our Neighbour in General Justice which requires a doing by him in all respects as we would be done by and forbids all injury whether it be by drawing him into Sin endangering his Life depriving him of his Peace invading his Bed his Goods or good Name and forbids all Envy and Malice and Covetous desires of what belongs to Him and Charity by which we wish well to him and are disposed to assist and help him In Particular To our Superiors Reverence and hearty Obdience and Submission to our Equals unfained Friendship and Kindness To our Inferiors Gentleness Mercy and a great care of their Souls To our Selves Humility Meekness Consideration Content Diligence and Watchfulness over our Selves Chastity or purity of Heart and Life Temperance in Eating and Drinking Moderation in our Sleep or Rest and Recreations and in our Garb and Expences Hy these Heads we may examine our selves And we must particularly confess wherein we have failed and we must not onl confess the sin but the circumstances of aggravation with which it was attended Of which see the first chapter of this Book And as we must confess with shame and sorrow so we must come to the Sacrament with express resolutions to forsake these sins for the time to come A Prayer before the Sacrament O Most Glorious and for ever Blessed Lord God Thou art and there is none like unto thee in Heaven or in Earth thy Wisdom is infinite thy Power irresistible and thou art of purer eyes than to behold the least iniquity with approbation It is of thy unspeakable Mercy that I am not long ago consumed I blush and am ashamed when I lift up my eyes unto thy Divine Majesty I do in all humble reverence prostrate my self before thee and implore thy gracious favour in the name and Mediation of Jesus Christ the Righteous who ever lives to make intercession for those who come unto God by him I do acknowledge thy many mercies towards me I received my being and my breath from thee I have ever since I came into being been sustained by thee Thou hast preserved mine eyes from tears my feet from falling and my Soul from death My Life and Health my Liberty and all the comforts of my life are intirely owing to thy gracious goodness and bounty But above all thou art to be acknowledged for thine inestimable Love in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ for the means of Grace and hope of Glory Thou hast given thy Son to dye for me revealed thy gentle and holy Laws to direct and guide me promised thy Spirit to assist me propounded Eternal Life to encourage my endeavours I have been received into thy Church by Baptism and promised and professed obedience to thy holy Laws But notwithstanding all these obligations to sincere and universal obedience I have many wayes offended against thy Divine Majesty I have not honoured thee as my Creator nor loved thee as my Father nor obeyed thee as my Soveraign Lord and Master And whereas I have been very sensible of the kindness shewed my by my fellow Creatures I have had but very little sense of the innumerable and underserved favours which thou hast heaped upon me from time to time I have sinned against thee in thought word and deed I have sinned greatly and deserve the death which by my wickedness I have pursued I am guilty after the clearest light and knowledge Here make a particular confession of sin after the most indearing mercies and favours after the most solemn Vows and promises of obedience and the most awakening Judgments I have sinned under sufficient means of Grace and after many experiences of the evil of departing from thee I have contemned and despised thy divine Majesty and suffered my self by an easie and small temptation to be drawn away from thee the fountain of my Life and Happiness and the great lover of Souls O Lord look down from heaven with an eye of pity and compassion upon me a wretched sinner I am less then the least of thy mercies and am vile in my own eyes I beg thy pardon and forgiveness for Christ his sake who came into the World to seek and save that which was lost In a deep sense of the wickedness of my former life and the hainous nature of my offences I approach unto thy Divine Majesty with full purpose of amendment of Life I trust in thy mercy O Lord through Christ Jesus and do with all possible thankfulness keep in memory his precious death And being very sensible how much I stand in need of thy mercy and forgiveness of all my sins and the circumstances of aggravation which have attended them I do declare that I do forgive all my Enemies and that I come before thee with sincere and universal Charity to all mankind Search me O Lord and try my heart and lead me into the way Everlasting I am coming to thy Holy Table to renew the Covenant with thee which I have broken I am unworthy of the Crumbs which fall from thence But most gracious Lord look upon me in Christ Jesus Help me that I may attend upon thee without distraction Work in me all those holy and heavenly dispositions which may render me fit for this service Grant that I may come before thee with lowly thoughts of my self and the most raised apprehensions of thy love in Christ Jesus strengthen my weak Faith perfect my Repentance confirm my resolutions of amendment and enlarge my Charity grant that I may receive Christ Jesus my Lord and that I may walk in him That I may partake of the benefits of his death and of the fruits of his intercession at thy right hand I most humbly beseech thee not only to pardon all my past sins and to speak peace to my Soul but that thou wouldest renew my nature and write thy laws upon my heart Englighten my dark mind rectifie my crooked will sanctifie my depraved affections and purifie all the thoughts and intentions of my Heart and grant that for the time to come I may forsake
every evil way and purifie my self as thou art pure Keep me O Lord for the time to come from every thing that is hurtful to me and displeasing to thee From the excesses both of care and fear from snares and great perplexities from carnal desires and brutish inclinations from covetousness and hatred from envy and pride from vanity and dissimulation murmuring and discontent And make me stedfast in justice and charity in humility and meekness in purity of heart and heavenly mindedness and sincere devotion And to these Holy ends vouch safe me the presence of thy Spirit and power of thy grace and endue me with heavenly Wisdom and all this I beg for the sake and in the Mediation of Jesus Christ Our Father which art c. Ejaculations to be used at the Lords Supper THE Lord hath done great things for me whereof I am glad If thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Much more then being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him For if when we were Enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son Much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his Life At the Receiving of the Bread THou hast said O Blessed Jesus I am the living Bread which came down from heaven If any man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever Be it unto thy Servant according to thy Word in which thou hast caused me to trust Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my Life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever Many O Lord my God are thy wonderful works which thou hast done and thy thoughts which are to us ward They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee If I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbred I am thine O Lord I devote my self to thee O save thy Servant who trusteth in thee I have enclined my heart to perform thy statutes alway even unto the end Depart from me ye evil doers for I will keep the Commandments of my God At the Receiving of the Cup. O Blessed Saviour let thy Blood purge my Conscience from dead works to serve the living God Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own Blood I will not henceforth live unto my self but unto him who dyed for me and rose again Blessed be the Lord my God who only doeth wondrous things And blessed be his glorious name for ever and let the whole Earth be filled with his Glory Amen and Amen After Receiving BLessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead To an inheritance uncorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Perfect that which concerneth me and forsake not the work of thine own hands I intreat thy favour with my whole heart Be merciful unto me according to thy word I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous Judgements O hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not A Prayer after the Receiving the Sacrament BLessed be thy glorious name O Lord for all thy unspeakable mercies to me and to all the World I adore and magnifie thee for thy great goodness in giving thy Son to dye for me and making me partaker of his most pretious Body and Blood O Lord what is man that thou thus regardest him And what am I a vile and wretched sinner that thou shouldst be thus favourable to me Thou hast been pleased to admit me to renew that Covenant with thee which I had broken and to give me assurance of thy readiness to pardon so vile and great a sinner as I have been I have received the pledges of thy love and been admitted to thy holy Table I have there devoted my self again unto thee my Soul and Body all my powers and faculties I have vowed obedience to thee and after the most solemn manner consecrated my self to thy service Thou art a God that knowest the heart and art not to be mocked I tremble when I consider thy infinite power wisdom and holiness Let these thoughts beget in my Soul a great fear of thy Holy name a great care to do thy will Grant I may not for the future turn the grace of thee my God into wantonness and that I may not receive the Grace of God in vain There is nothing hid from thee Thou knowest my weakness and infirmities and the temptations with which I am assaulted and to which I have too often yielded I am surrounded with snares and my spiritual Enemies are powerful and active O Lord help thy Servant and grant that I may both resist and vanquish them by the aid of thy Holy Spirit Keep the possession of my Soul which I have unfeignedly surrendred up unto thee Unite my heart O Lord to fear thy name and grant that I may spend the remainder of my time in obedience to thee and in acts of Charity to my brethren Create a clean heart O Lord and renew a right Spirit within me Forsake me not O Lord if thou leave me I perish Guide me by thy Counsel and at last receive me to thy glory I do greatly desire the Salvation of mankind and humbly commend to thee this Church and Kingdom the Kings Majesty and all our Superiors in Church and State humbly intreating thee to direct and guide them all into those holy wayes that are pleasing to thee and beneficial to those who are under their charge and influence And work in the minds of all Christians an unfeigned Charity a peaceable temper patience and exemplary meekness and all the other fruits of thy Holy Spirit And grant me thy heavenly grace that I may so use things temporal that I may not miss of thy Eternal Bliss for the sake of Jesus Christ my onely Mediator and Advocate Amen A Morning Prayer for a Family O Almighty and Eternal Lord God the great Creator of Heaven and Earth and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ look down from Heaven with pity and compassion upon thy servants who humbly cast ourselves down before thee in a great sense of thy mercies and our own misery There is an infinite distance between Thy Glorious
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