O Lord help thou my unbelief I believe that the blessed Jesus laid down his life for me and acknowledge with all possible thankfulness his inexpressible kindness in so doing I believe that he gave himself for me and all Mankind that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works therefore will I I endeavour to manifest my Faith by my works I believe that there is none other name under Heaven given among Men whereby they must be saved but the name of the Lord Jesus therefore in his name only I implore thy mercy increase of Faith here and of Glory hereafter Amen For Charity O Lord who hast taught us that all our doings without Charity are nothing worth send thy Holy Ghost and pour into my heart that most excellent gift of Charity the very bond of peace and of all Virtues without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee More especially now when I am going to commemorate the unspeakable love of my blessed Saviour in dying for me let me not be destitute of love towards my Brethren O let my readiness to forgive others their trespasses fit me for thy forgiveness of mine let me not be an enemy to any man lest I be thy enemy too but give me that Charity which covereth a multitude of Sins that Charity by which all Men may know me to be Christs Disciple which shall dispose me to be of a meek patient long suffering forgiving temper like him and to do good to all men as he did that Charity which shall never fail but shall go along with us into and make us fit Inhabitants for that City of Love the new Jerusalem Grant this O merciful Father for the sake of thy Son Christ Jesus through whose love alone we are encouraged to present these our requests to thee Amen A Prayer to be said in the morning before we communicate after our usual Prayers O Most gracious and ever merciful Lord God who art always wont to give more than we either desire or deserve accept I beseech thee my most humble and hearty thanks for thy great mercy in bringing me to the light of this day and thereby giving me an opportunity of meeting my dear Redeemer at his holy Table of testifying my love and gratitude to him and of communicating in all the blessed effects of his love towards me of renewing to him my Baptismal Vow of Faith and Obedience and of receiving from him fresh confirmations of the benefits made over to me in my Baptism even remission of sins grace and eternal life O that I may be careful duly to improve this happy opportunity now before me that I may eat and drink so worthily as to eat and drink my own Salvation that my sins which are many and great more especially all such as have been committed knowingly and wilfully such as Here mention those wilful sins if there are any such which thou knowest thy self to have been guilty of may be forgiven me and that henceforward whither I live I may live unto thee or whither I dye I may dye unto thee that so living or dying I may be ever thine And the same mercies which I beg for my self I beg likewise for all my fellow Christians more particularly those who shall this day any where partake in the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ O let not one of their precious Souls perish who seem to be so near to the Kingdom of Heaven but do thou by thy Grace so assist and direct strengthen and support them now and evermore in doing thy will and working out their own Salvation that in the end they may obtain everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Prayer to be said after that which we commonly say at our first coming into the Church GRant O blessed Jesu that the nearer I draw to thy Table the nearer I may likewise draw to thee in purity of heart and affections in strength and liveliness of Faith in fervency and extensiveness of Charity That so being of the same mind which was in thee and thinking believing and doing as becometh thy Disciple I may be meet to be partaker of those pledges of thy favour which thou now offerest at thy holy Table to all thy faithful Servants and of those Joys in another world which thou in thy mercy hast prepared for them Amen Just before we receive HEar those Prayers O Lord which have been offer'd up by thy Congregation and for the sake of thy well beloved Son Jesus Christ suffer us to draw nigh unto thee and to hope for thy mercy In his name alone it is that I a most vile wretch and miserable Sinner am bold to call thee Father and to intreat thy favour and forgiveness O let his merits answer for my unworthiness let his death preserve me from dying let his Body and Blood preserve my Body and Soul unto everlasting life Amen Immediately after receiving the Bread O Merciful Lord Grant I beseech thee that by virtue of thy dear Son's Body given for me and represented to me by this Bread I may become acceptable in thy sight obtain thy pardon and peace thy grace and assistance thy everlasting happiness and glory And do thou O Lord so fill my heart with thankfulness for the inestimable benefits of my Saviour's death and passion that I may be ready to do any thing even to lay down my life for him and that loving nothing more than him he may vouchsafe to think me worthy of him and to crown me with eternal Glory in his Kingdom Amen Immediately after receiving the Wine I Thank thee from the bottom of my heart O gracious God that thou hast redeemed us to thy self by the blood of thy Son O let me evermore bear in mind thy inexpressible kindness and condescension in so doing and shew forth my sense of them in a sincere universal and constant obedience to thee That so the Lord Jesus may be indeed the Author of Salvation to me and I being wash'd and cleans'd from all my sins in his Blood may appear pure and spotless before thee and be admitted to partake of those rivers of pleasure which are at thy right hand for evermore Amen When you return to your Seat GRant O blessed Lord that I and all those who meet together this day under pretence of commemorating thy death may so effectually remember it as for ever after to hate those sins which were the occasion of it so effectually remember it as constantly to love and adore thee for it so effectually remember it as to use our utmost endeavours to imitate and transcribe it so effectually remember it as to remember that we are thine bought with the price of thy Blood and are therefore bound to serve thee with our Bodies and Spirits which are thine Amen A Prayer to be used the evening after communicating with our other Devotions ACcept O Blessed Lord accept my
obliged to in behalf of him who has done more to engage our Love and deserve our thanks than all the Friends that we ever had in the world put together Base and ungrateful wretches then must we needs be if when he only desires any thing of us we do not make hast to fulfil his desire but most especially base and ungrateful if when he desires of us only that we would meet together now and then to commemorate all his kindness towards us we refuse to hear or regard him as tho he were unworthy our remembrance Fifthly This is a command to do a thing vastly for our own good So that we must be Fools as well as Rebels if we omit to do it Of how much advantage the receiving the Lords Supper is to every faithful Christian you have already seen and from thence may judge how much it is your interest to receive it And certainly where your duty and your interest are so closely link'd together it must be a strange Spirit of contradiction and rebellion or at least a strange degree of carelessness and supineness that can make you forget or neglect your duty You must have a mighty mind certainly to quarrel with our Saviour who will rather forego your own interest then obey his commands Sixthly This is a command in which the honour of God and our Saviour are in a very extraordinary manner concern'd and which therefore we ought to be most particularly careful to observe For since the Holy Supper was instituted on purpose for the solemn commemoration of the great loving kindness of God and our Saviour in Redeeming us and for showing forth to the World their great Power Wisdom and Goodness 〈◊〉 the Redemption of us and likewise the new Title â—…ey hereby acquired to our service and obedience â—…e cannot possibly do any thing more for their hoâ—our than to attend this solemn commemoration â—nd join with our fellow Christians in acknowledging â—ll Glory service and obedience to God who hath â—av'd us not according to our works but according to his â—wn purpose and grace and hath bought us with a price â—nd likewise to our Lord Jesus Christ who was slain and â—as redeemed us to God by his blood And the refusing to â—o this looks as if we did not really believe Christiaâ—ity but counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith we â—re sanctified an unholy thing And how high an affront â—his must needs be to God and our Saviour your own â—earts will tell you Seventhly This is a command which tends mightily to â—rocure and promote love and unity amongst Christians as has â—een before prov'd and upon that account challengeth a very particular regard and respect from us Every member of a Society is in an extraordinary manâ—er obliged to pay a most exact obedience to those Laws which do more immediately concern the well-â—eing of that Society of which he professeth himself â— member and consequently every Christian must â—ye under more than ordinary obligations to obey â—his command of Christ concerning his Supper because the good of the Christian Church in general is very much concerned in it It was design'd and is very fit to unite and bind the members of Christs Church closer and closer together and so to strengâ—hen the main body and those who will not joyn â—n this design plainly betray the trust repos'd in them and as far as they are able defraud all their fellow-members of those blessings of love peace mutual â—riendship c. which must have been the natural effects of their obedience in this point Lastly This is a command which we are often put in mind of We hear of our obligations to it both from the Desk and from the Pulpit we read of them in the Church Catechism and have a sensible remembrance of them every now and then at the Communion Table We are frequently exhorted intreated and in the name of Christ commanded to attend his Holy Supper we are told of the great danger of neglecting it and both the mercies and terrors of the Lord are made use of to draw and compel us to it And now if after all this we still continue obstinate and undutiful what can we expect but a punishment answerable to our obstinacy a punishment that shall no more relent than we have done but being deaf to all our prayers and crys for mercy shall with the same continued torments prey upon us and be to us the sad remembrancers of our fatal obstinacy to all eternity CHAP. II. Of Preparation for the Lord's Supper IN discoursing on this head it will be convenient from the very beginning to distinguish betwixt necessary preparation without which no man ought to come to the Lords Supper and such as is only expedient or adviseable under certain circumstances it being plain from experience that for want of this distinction men have been strangely confounded in their notions about this matter To the necessary preparation no doubt those words of St Paul refer'd Corinth 11.28 Let a man examine try or prove himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup because this is laid down at large as a general rule to all Christians and it is here plainly supposed that no man ought to to eat of that bread and drink of that cup who has not first examined himself Examined himself as to what Our Church tells us in few words whither he repents him truly of his former sins stedfastly purposing to lead a new life has a lively faith in Gods mercy through Christ with a thankful remembrance of his death and is in charity with all Men. In which words three things are propounded as necessary qualifications for the worthy receiving the Lords Supper First a sincere and compleat Repentance which shall not only look backwards with unfeigned sorrow for our sins past but likewise forward with stedfast purposes of leading a new life for the time to come Secondly a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ such a firm and hearty persuasion and assurance of God's having redeem'd us from sin and death by the death of Christ and of his having made him our Lord and Master and promis'd eternal life to us upon condition of our obedience to him as shall work in us a readiness of mind to serve and obey him in all things and more especially shall dispose us to commemorate his death with the highest gratitude and most affectionate Thanksgiving Lastly An universal Love and Charity which shall extend to all men even our very enemies and make us not only forgive all their trespasses against us but likewise bless them pray for them and in one word do them all the good we can Now that every of these is really a necessary qualification for the worthy receiving the Lords Supper will most evidently appear by considering them a little apart And First as to Repentance it is plain even from reason that without this we must needs be unfit to joyn
in any of Gods Ordinances it being downright Hypocrisie and a meer mocking of God to declare ourselves his Servants by communicating in these outward Rites of his Religion when yet at the same time we are not inwardly disposed at all to serve him in the most important parts of our duty living Righteously soberly and godlily in thiâ— present world And therefore we find the Scriptures â—…nstantly representing God as one that abhorreth and abominateth the service of the wicked and resents their prayess and sacrifices their incense and solemn meeting as abomination and iniquity Much less can a wicked man be fit to join in this holy Ordinance of the Lord's Supper for the end of this being to lament and bewail those sins which were the occasion of our blessed Lord's death and to rejoice in that victory which our Lord by his death obtain'd over sin he must certainly be a very unfit man to do this who still taketh part with sin sheweth a favour and liking to it and instead of being Servant to Christ is indeed the Servant of sin Besides we know the Lord's Supper is a covenanting ordinance wherein we are to engage our selves to the service of Christ and God upon supposition of such our engagement is to make over to us all the benefits of Christ's death and passion remission of Sins Grace to enable us to live according to the Rules of the Gospel and eternal Salvation upon our so living But now the wicked man is utterly unqualified for both parts of this Covenant For how shall he engage himself to the service of Christ who is not resolv'd to forsake his Sins Or what Title can he possibly have to the benefits of Christ's death who will not perform that obedience which is a necessary condition of his coming at them so that such a person can have nothing to do at the Lord's Supper he is not concern'd in the business of it and therefore if he does come to it must be look'd upon as an intruder and one that purposely designeth to provoke and affront God Unto the wicked God saith what hast thou to do to declare my statutes or that thou shouldst take my Covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest to be reform'd and castest my words behind thee Secondly As to Faith without this the Scripture tells us it is impossible to please God For he that cometh to God he that draweth near to him in any of his ordinances must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him God is not to be put off with outward professions and pretences 〈◊〉 be worshipp'd only with our Lips while our hearts are far from him but he is a God of the Heart a searcher of our Reins and a tryer of our most inward thoughts and therefore it will be better for us not to worship him at all than not to worship him in earnest never to pretend by any outward signs to believe in him than not to believe as we pretend And indeed can any thing possibly be more absurd and ridiculous as well as blasphemous and provoking than for those to pretend to commemorate Christ's dying for us who do not believe one tittle of it For those to acknowledge him the Saviour of the World the Lord and Judge of it who say in their hearts it is no such thing This is certainly either to question God's Omniscience or his regard to sincerity or else to defy his Power and therefore sure we cannot think this an acceptable service to him Besides are not all the Blessings of the Gospel which we hope to have confirm'd to us in the Lord's Supper promised to Believers only or can we think that the inestimable benefits of Christ's death are to be had at so cheap a rate that there is no need either of believing any thing of them or so much as being thankful for them no certainly the Gospel is the power of God unto Salvation unto every one that believeth and to none else to him that believeth with a lively Faith not a Faith without works which St. James tells us is dead and aboundeth therein with thanksgiving To what purpose then but to aggravate his condemnation shall that man dare to come to the Lord's Supper in expectation of the Blessings of the Gospel who is so far from abounding in Faith with Thanksgiving that he has neither Faith nor Thanksgiving Lastly As to Charity this is upon many accounts a necessary qualification for our worthy receiving the Lord's Supper For First It cannot be supposed that any man can be fit to commemorate the great Love and kindness of our blessed Lord in dying for us who is not so far affected with it as to endeavour all he can to transcribe and imitate it How great things soever we may say in commendation of it how much soever we may in words extol it we shall not be accepted of God it we in our Actions blaspheme it And it is in truth no less than to call our Saviour Fool in dying for us when we were his Enemies to think that we are not obliged to love forgive and help one another Either his Love to us had no good grounds and reasons for it or if it had and we think so we ought to shew that we do so by letting the same grounds and reasons influence our Love Secondly Without Charity one of the great ends of our meeting at the Lord's Supper will be defeated which is to propagate Love and Charity amongst Christians Thirdly Without this the Scripture assures us all our Services all our Gifts and Graces will stand for nothing in the sight of God Though we speak with the Tongues of Men and of Angels and have not Charity we are become as sounding Brass or a tinkling Cymbal And though we have the Gift of Prophecy and understand all Mysteries and all Knowledge and though we have all Faith so that we could remove Mountains and have not Charity we are nothing Fourthly Without this we are uncapable of receiving any benefit from the Lord's Supper for remission of sins which must first be obtain'd before we can hope for any other mercy from God is promised only to the charitable If ye forgive men their Trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you but if you forgive not men their Trespasses neither will your Father forgive your Trespasses Lastly Our blessed Lord has commanded us not to dare to bring any ill will or enmity along with us when we come to his Supper nay farther if we are come to it and find that we have unawares brought any to go away and lay them aside before we presume to partake of it 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 Thus much is I think sufficient to prove
unfeign'd thanks for thy great mercy in admitting me this day to the sweet and comfortable communion of the Body and Blood of Christ and for all those benefits which I there receiv'd Enable me for the future to live worthy of them to make good all the promises and vows I there made and to continue stedfast in that Repentance Faith and Charity which I there profess'd Marvellous was thy love in sending thy Son to dye for us and particularly great has it been towards me in that it has caus'd me to be born in a Christian Country where I had early and easy opportunities of knowing the Christian Religion and that too in its utmost purity and simplicity and have long been protected and maintain'd in the free and undisturb'd exercise of it Oh that my behaviour may prove answerable to these mercies that I may use all these happy opportunities which many other poor Souls want as one that is truly sensible of the advantage of them that I may grow in Grace and the knowledge of Christ Jesus and abound in every good word and work to the praise and glory of God I know O Lord that if we sin wilfully after that we have receiv'd the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins but a certain looking for of judgment and fiery indignation O let me constantly carry this in my thoughts and seriously reflect upon it that so I may not be of them who draw back unto perdition but of them that believe to the saving of the Soul I pray likewise that all my fellow Christians may sincerely perform that covenant which they have this day made to thee that they may cease to do evil and learn to do well that they may be strong in the faith of Christ and love one another as he hath lov'd them that so thy honour may be effectually promoted the Salvation of all men farther'd thy Sons Kingdom enlarg'd and his coming hastened to the inexpressible comfort and eternal joy of all those who having sincerely obey'd the Gospel of Christ here shall evermore rejoyce in the blessed fruits and rewards of their Obedience in Heaven Grant this O merciful Father for the sake of thy well-beloved Son Christ Jesus to whom with thy self and thy Eternally blessed Spirit three persons but one God be all Honour and Glory Might Majesty and Dominion from this time henceforth and for evermore Amen The End Books Printed for Thomas Speed over against Jonathan's Coffee-House in Exchange Alley in Cornhil 1700. THE Duties of the Closet Being an earnest Exhortation to private Devotion Part 1. the second Edition Price 1 s. 6 d. The Great Duty of Communicating Explain'd and Enforc'd the Objections against it answered and the necessary Preparation for it stated With Devotions to be us'd Before At and After the Lord's Supper By the Author of The Duties of the Closet Price 3 d. but 20 s. a hundred to those who give them away A Sermon Preach'd before the King at White-hall November 5. 1696. On Job Ch. 5. Ver. 12. The second Edition Price 6 d. A Sermon Preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor and Aldermen at Guild-Hall Chappel On Sunday the 11th of April 1697. On Prov. 14. ver 34. Price 6 d. Christianity best propagated by the good lives of Christians A Sermon preach'd before the Gentlemen Educated at Merchant Taylors School at St Mary le Bow January 16 1699. On Matth. 5. ver 16. Price 6 d. These by Sir William Dawes Baronet D. D. and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty A Sermon at the Funeral of Mrs. Elizabeth Fisher Sister to the Honourable Sir Will. Dawes Bar. D. D. And Wife to the Reverend Dr. Peter Fisher Preach'd at Bennington in Hertfordshire June the 2d 1698. By William Milner Vicar of Shephal in Hertfordshire Price 6 d. Of the Happiness of the Saints in Heaven A Sermon preach'd before the Queen at White-Hall October 12 1690. By Will. Beveridge D. D. Rector of St. Peter Cornhil The fourth Edition Price 6 d. Conversation in Heaven in two parts Part I Being Devotions consisting of Meditations and Prayerâ— on several Considerable Subjects in practical Divinity Written for the raising the decay'd Spirit oâ— Piety Part II. Being Sacramental Devotions consisting of Meditations and Prayers Preparatory unto a worthy Receiving of the Holy Communion As also Meditationâ— and Prayers suited to every Part of Administring and Receiving it By Lawrence Smith L. L. D. Rectoâ— of South-Warmborough in Hampshire The third Edition Corrected with Additions A Sermon at the Funeral of the Reverend Mr Thomas Grey late Vicar of Deadham in Essex preach'd in the Parish Church of Deadham Feb. 2d 92. With a short account of his life by Joseph Powel M. A. Rector of St Mary on the Wall in Colchester quarto Price 6 d. The death of Good Josiah Lamented A Sermon occasioned by the death of our late most Gracious Soveraign Queen Mary of ever blessed memory preached at Balsham in Cambridgshire March 3d 95 By Joseph Powel M. A. Rector of Balsham Quarto Price 6 d. The necessity of a present Repentance A Sermon preach'd before the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen March 10. By Will. Bramston Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty Quarto Price 6 d. Religion the only Happiness A Poem in a Letter to a Friend Quarto Price 6 d. Poems on several Divine Subjects and other occasions Written by a young Lady 80 Price 2 s. All sorts of Bibles Testaments Common Prayers Singing Psalms and most sorts of English Books as also Blank Receipts for the Collectors of the Kingâ— Taxes and Trophy Tax are sold by Thomas Speed FINIS