yield unto thy Word But grant that I may continue stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the Work of the Lord and by patient continuing in well doing seek for and in the end obtain eternal Life Suffer not my own weakness nor the number or strength of Temptations to turn me from that holy course upon which I have now resolved to enter But grant that I may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of Life to the Honour and Glory of thy Name through Jesus Christ Amen 3. To have a lively Faith in Gods Mercy through Christ A Prayer for the same SEeing O God that it is impossible without Faith to please thee and that whatever I do without Faith is Sin Pour into my Heart this most excellent Grace of Faith for it is thy Gift and not my procurement Let thy Spirit work in my Heart such a Faith as may be acceptable in thy sight and which at this time may be as a Hand to receive a Mouth to eat and a Stomach to digest and turn the Elements of this blessed Sacrament into the Food and Nourishment of my Soul O let me not rest in a dead ineffectual Faith but grant it may be such as may shew it self in good Works inabling me to overcome the World and to conform to the Image of that Christ on whom I believe that so at the last I may receive the end of my Faith even the Salvation of my Soul by the same Jesus Christ Amen 4. With a Thankful remembrance of his Death THou O God expectest no other return for all thy Mercies but Praise and Thanksgiving let me O Lord never defraud thee of that so easie tribute but let my Heart be ever filled with the Sense and my Mouth with the Acknowledgment of thy Mercies It is a joyful and pleasant thing to be thankful O suffer me not I beseech thee to lose my part in that Divine Pleasure especially grant that with humble and sincere Devotion I may now and after with all imaginable Thankfulness celebrate the Memorial which thy Son hath commanded to be made in remembrance of his most blessed Passion and Sacrifice that by the Power thereof now represented before thy Divine Majesty I and all thy whole Church may obtain remission of our Sins and be made Partakers of all other benefits of his most precious Death and Passion Grant that as often as thou vouchsafest me this blessing so often I may thankfully receive it and with an affectionate and devout Heart offer up thanks to thee for the same And grant that I may not only with my Lips but with my Life shew forth thy Praise by consecrating my self to thy Service and walking in Righteousness and Holiness before thee all the days of my Life Amen 5. And to be in Charity with all Men. A Prayer for the same O Mercifull Lord who hast made of one Blood and redeem'd by one ransom all Nations of Men let me never harden my Bowels against any thaâ— partake of the same Nature anâ— Redemption with me but granâ— me an universal Charity toward aâ— Men. Give me O thou Father oâ— Compassions such a tenderness oâ— Heart that I may be deeply aâ—fected with all the Miseries and Calamities outward or inward of my Brethren and diligently imploy all my Abilities for their succour and relief Let thy Spirit of Love enter and dwell in my Heart and cast out thence Malice Envy Hatred and all Uncharitableness make me seek not to please my self but my Neighbour for his good to Edification even as Christ pleased not himself Thou hast taught me O Lord that all my doings without Charity are nothing worth pour into my Heart that most excellent Gift of Charity without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ's sake Amen A SHORT OFFICE OF Private Devotions To be used 1. Before 2. At and 3. After the receiving of the Blessed Sacrament 1. Before Receiving When you enter into the Church I. LOrd I have loved the Habitation of thine House and the place where thine Honour dwelleth II. I will wash mine Hands in Innocency O Lord and so will go to thine Altar When you are kneeling before the Communion Table I. THou art worthy O Lord to receive Glory and Honour and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy Wills sake they are and were created II. Blessing and Glory and Wisdom and Thanks and Honour and Power and Might be unto our God for evermore Amen III. Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come receive my Prayer I. ALmighty Lord who hast of thine infinite Mercy vouchsafed to ordain this dreadful Sacrament for a perpetual memory of that blessed Sacrifice which once thou madest for us upon the Cross grant me with such diligent remembrance and such due reverence to assist at the holy Celebration of so heavenly and wonderful a Mistery that I may be made worthy of thy Grace to obtain the Virtue and Fruits of the same with all the Benefits of thy precious Death and Passion even the remission of all my Sins and the fulness of all thy Graces which I beg for thy only Merits who art my only Saviour God from everlasting World without end Amen II. O Lord our heavenly Father Almighty and everlasting God regard I beseech thee the Devotion of thy humble Servant who does now celebrate the memorial which thy Son our Saviour hath commanded to be made in remembrance of his most blessed Passion and Sacrifice that by the Merits and Power thereof I and all thy whole Church may obtain remission of our Sins and be made Partakers of all other the Benefits of his most precious Death and Passion together with his mighty Resurrection from the Earth and his glorious Ascension into Heaven who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever one God World without end Amen III. BE pleased O God to accept this our bounden Duty and Service and vouchsafe that the Prayers and Supplications together with the remembrance of Christs Passion which we now offer up unto thee may be received into thy heavenly Tabernacle and that thou not weighing our own Merits but looking upon the blessed Sacrifice of our Saviour which was once fully and perfectly made for us all mayest pardon our Offences and replenish us with thy Grace and heavenly Benediction through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Devout Thoughts immediately before the receiving of the blessed Sacrament I. I Will go to the Altar of God even to the God of my Joy and Gladness II. I will offer thanksgiving unto my God and pay my Vows unto the most highest III. O Lamb of God that takest awâ—y the Sins of the World have mercy upon me IV. O Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World grant me thy Peace V. Grant me gracious Lord so to eat the Flesh of thy dear Son and to drink his Blood that my
to seduce me to Sin But besides my renouncing the World thus understood I am also to forsake and withstand its Pomps and Vanities that is all Pleasures Pride and Wealth when they become injurious to Religion and divert or stop me in my Exercise of Piety Which they will certainly do if my Affections towards them are inordinate immoderate or unseasonable And because Worldly Vanities only gratifie my Carnal Part and Sensitive Appetite I am also bound to renounce that which they gratifie I mean the Flesh or my unmortified Corruption which is Enmity against God and doth not only hinder me from doing Good but doth also incline and spur me on to do Evil. For I find that from this unmortified Corruption there springs up in me many inordinate Affections and evil Concupiscences which are called the Lusts of the Flesh By means whereof until they are mortified I am brought to entertain the Temptations of the Devil and to abuse the good things of the World to Sin And though the renouncing of these Lusts of the Flesh together with the Devil and the World be made an Article of my Christianity and a Condition upon which the Priviledges of Baptism are bestowed upon me yet seeing they are my sorest Enemies and continually endeavouring not only my present but my eternal Ruine without any other tie Self-preservation prompts me to withstand them The Second thing promised in my behalf when I was baptized is my Belief of the Doctrine of Christianity summ'd up in the Apostles Creed My Faith of which if it be not more than either barely Historical and Temporary I shall not surpass the very Devil and wicked hypocritical Men in believing for the one believes alway Historically and the other only hypocritically for a time But the Faith I vowed in Baptism is a firm and constant Assent unto the Word of God and Gospel of Man's Salvation and an unshaken Reliance upon the same So that the whole Scripture is the General and the Articles of the Christian Faith summ'd up in the Creed is the Particular Object of my Belief And I look upon this Faith to be so necessary for me and every Christian that I forfeit that Title without it For a Believer is but another Word for Christian But still I know that how necessary soever Faith is to the Salvation of my Soul yet it is not to be got by my own Power for it is the Gift of God and the Gracious Work of the Holy Ghost which doth enable me to assent unto and rely upon the Holy Scriptures But because Faith will not profit to my Justification without Works of Obedience to the Commands of Christ therefore my Sureties undertook that I should keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my Life So that I do acknowledge my self bound to pay Obedience to the whole Will of God revealed in his word And I cannot think my self fit to come to the Lord's Table unless I am resolved to keep God's Law and have regard unto all his Precepts and that too with my whole Heart or sincerely and always without intermission or discontinuance But when I profess this to be my Duty it is not as if I thought I were to be saved by the Tenor of the First Covenant the Condition whereof was perfect Obedience for this I am no way able to perform But because I hope to be saved by the Second Covenant called the Covenant of Grace I think my self bound to perform the Condition thereof namely Obedience or Faith fruitful in good Works which good Works are the genuine Off-spring of my Faith and do flow as naturally from it as Fruits from their Tree and without which my Faith is dead And you have ever taught me to set a peculiar value upon good Works because through means thereof I glorifie God edifie my Neighbour and justifie and declare my Faith before Men. And according to my present Sentiments of Religion I look upon Faith and good Works to make up my whole Duty as a Christian And these I hold are not to be seperated in my Practice because Faith without Works is dead and Works without Faith cannot please God And tho' it is my firm Resolution to observe them both and to believe and do as my Sureties have promised for me yet I know I cannot do so but by the assistance and help of God and therefore I will by diligent and humble Prayer beg a continual supply of Grace to enable me to believe and do all things which at Baptism were stipulated anâ— promised in my Name And will also daily offer up my unfeigned Thanks unto God that hâ—â— hath called me to the knowledgâ— of the Truth that he hatâ— brought me out of my naturaâ— State of Sin that he hath admitted me into the Church and that there he doth vouchsafe me the appointed Means of Holinesâ— and Salvation And I humbly pray God by his preventing Grace to incline my Will by his assisting Grace to give me Strength and by his consummating Grace to bring me actually to perform all those Duties which in Holy Baptism my God-fathers and God-mother under ook in my stead And as you ever minded and made me sensible how greatly I was bound to my Sureties for what they did for me at Baptism so you likewise have let me know the Obligation I had to take up their Bond as soon as I was able and so to discharge them And this I did at Confirmation when I solemnly took upon my self to believe and do all that my Baptismal Sureties had vow'd and promised I should believe and do But now alas being conscious to my self that I have broken my Baptismal Covenant it is my earnest desire to be admitted to the Lord's Table on purpose to renew it But before my admission to that Heavenly Entertainment I am of opinion that I ought to have a competent Understanding of the more eminent Parts of Christianity which you have taught me and they are these Four namely Faith Obedience Prayer and the Sacraments And to you who are to admit me I think my self bound to give an Account of my Knowledge in each of these and to desire your Judgment whether or no it be sufficient in order to my Admission I begin with Faith as thâ— without which all the rest are no only insignificant but sinful which being considered as my Aâ— of Believing I have already said that it signifies my Assent unto and relying upon the Word oâ— God's Truth and Gospel of Man Salvation So that I take the Scriptures to be the general Object oâ— my Faith and the Creed to contaiâ— the main Particulars to be believed by me I mean that Creed which bears the Name of the Apostles as its Compilers and which I suppose to be that Form of sound Words to the Profession whereof Paul exhorts Timothy to keep constant and teach others And because before my Admission to the Holy Communion I think I
ought to be able to recite the Words of the Creed to have a competent Knowledge of their meaning and of the influence each Article ought to have upon my Coversation I will therefore first rehearse the Words thereof and then give you such an Account of their Sense and Influence as I have been taught by you I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried He descended into Hell The third day he rose again from the dead He ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty From thence he shall come to judge both the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the Life everlasting Amen Having thus rehearsed the worâ— of the Creed my next Task is â— give a short plain Declaration â— what I believe in every Article ARTICLE I. I believe in God the Father Aâ—mighty Maker of Heaven anâ— Earth In this Article I have beeâ— taught to believe that there is God and that he is an Eternaâ— Spirit whose Being is of himself and not from any other and thaâ— from him all things have their Being And I further believe Thaâ— this God is but One because he is the Infinite Independent and Omnipotent Cause which can be but One. I believe also That this God is the Eternal Father of Christ and that for his sake he is also my Heavenly Father and that being Almighty he can do for me whatsoever he will I likewise believe That in Six days this God created all things of Nothing by his Word for his Glory and that he still preserveth all things by the same Word of his Power ARTICLE II. And in Iesus Christ his only Son our Lord. In this Second Article of the Creed I have been taught to believe in Jesus Christ and that he is the only Son of God and of the same Divine Essence with him That he is called Jesus because he is the only Saviour of Mankind and that he is called Christ or Messiah which signifies Anointed because he was anointed to the Three Offices of a Prophet Priest and King which Three under the Law were in an especial manner Anointed And I believe That all these Three met in Christ and that as a Prophet he doth instruct his Church outwardly by his Word and inwardly by his Spirit And I believe That as a Priest he made satisfaction unto God for the Sins of Mankind when he once offered up himself upon the Cross and that by the Sacrifice of himself he reconciled God and Man And further I believe That as a Priest he continually makes Intercession for me and all true Christians at the right Hand of his Father in Heaven and doth bless me in turning me from my Iniquities In like manner I believe That Jesus was not only Christ that is Anointed to be a Prophet and a Priest in the sense now declared but that he was also Anointed to be a King And that as such he doth govern and preserve his Church he erects and sets up his Throne in the Hearts of Believers He gives them Grace to subdue every rebellious Lust and habit of Sin that it reign not in them He conquers Satan and restrains his Power He overcomes Death and having received all Authority in Heaven and Earth he rules over all Men and all Creatures and that of his Kingdom there shall be no end So that to him belongs absolute Dominion over all and Obedience is due to him from all ARTICLE III. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary In this Article I profess to believe That when Christ was made of the Seed of David according to the Flesh he was made in all things like to my self excepting Sin For that could affect neither his Humane Soul nor Body because in both he was most Holy as being conceived only by the Operation of the Holy Ghost and born of a spotless Virgin For Christ that he might be our Kinsman and capable to redeem us by paying our Debts in the same Humane Nature in which they were contracted it was necessasary he should be the Seed of the Woman And that he might plainly appear to be that Seed of the Woman which was promised it was likewise necessary he should be born of a Virgin who was of the Lineage and House of David All which I believe from God's Word was accomplished in the Blessed Mother of Christ ARTICLE IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate c. This is an Article that you have often told me I ought well to understand for it respects Christ's Death upon which the whole Hinge of my Salvation turns I find the History of it to be clearly and fully set forth by the Evangelists and as to the knowledge of it St. Paul valued it so highly that he desired to know nothing else but Jesus Christ crucified Now by my believing of the Crucifixion I confess that according to the Prophecies Christ suffered in his Humane Nature both in Soul and Body his Divine Nature being uncapable of suffering And that this hapned at the time when Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governour of Judaea who being addicted to Cruelty and sinful compliance condemned Christ to be crucified And as Moses lifted up the Serpent on the Pole in the Wilderness so was Christ lifted up on the Cross and by a painful ignominious and accursed Death did expiate my sin and redeemed me from all vain Conversation and from the Curse of the Law and gave me an Entrance into Heaven All which unspeakable Benefits are justly to be ascribed to the Blood of Christ because it was of infinite value as being the Blood of that Person who was God as well as Man And as I believe Christ voluntarily laid down his Life and that his Soul was really separated from his Body so I likewise believe that as a dead Man he was buried after the manner of the Jewish Nation namely that he was bound in Grave-clothes with Spices and laid the Grave with an heavy Stone rolled to the mouth of the Sepulcher All which were certain Tokens of his Death as being the usual known Rites of a Jewish Funeral I also believe That Christ being dead his Soul and Body remain'd in a separate condition under the Power of Death and that his Soul was reunited to the Body before it did putrifie in the Grave But as to the various Opinions about his Descent into Hell I think them either too high or too unprofitable for my research And as you have taught me so I believe that Christ's Birth Death and Burial or being under the Dominion of Death were the Three Degrees of his Humiliation answerable to which were the Three Degrees of his
Exaltation namely Resurrection Ascension and Glorification in Heaven ARTICLE V. The third day he rose again from the dead Tho' being a Christian I need no Proof of Christ's rising from the Dead yet to confirm my belief of so eminent an Article God has given me the Testimony of Angels of the Men that guarded the Sepulcher the many Apparitions of Christ after he was risen the Effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles the Miracles done by them in his Name So that I have just ground to believe and profess That the Body of Christ saw no Corruption as did the Bodies of the Patriarchs And because it was impossible he should be holden of the Power of Death I do believe that he did really rise again and that the very same Body and Soul of our Saviour which were separated by Death were by his own Divine Power reunited in his Resurrection And as to the time when he arose I have been taught and do believe That it was the Third day after his Death which hapned to be the First day of the Week Which Day we celebrate in memory of his Resurrection and which has immemorially been called The Lord's Day ARTICLE VI. He ascended into Heaven and sitteth c. I believe That Christ ascended by the same Power he rose And that this was no other Power than that of his own Divinity by which as an High-Priest of good things to come he once ascended visibly and locally into the Heaven of Heavens as the High-Priest once every Year entred into the Holy of Holies And the End of his Ascension was I believe to prepare a place for Believers and to receive them to it that where he is they might be also After Christ's Ascension into Heaven he took his Place at the Right-Hand of God Not that I think God who is a most absolute Spirit hath either Right or Left Hand but that this is spoken after the manner of Men who place those whom they will most honour upon their Right-hand And from Christ's being thus placed in Heaven I collect That he there took up his Abode in a State of Majesty and Power to shew that he was above all Creatures in Heaven and Earth and that he is exalted to be the King of Saints and Judge of Sinners the Prince of our Salvation and High-Priest of our Profession and that in him there was an Union of the Regal Power and Priestly Office when he sat down at the Right-hand of the Father Almighty So that by the former he is perfectly able to subdue all his Enemies and by the latter he doth ever intercede for and eternally save those that are his ARTICLE VII From thence he shall come to judge c. As I believe that Christ redeemed me by his death and passion and that by his Ascension he is become my Advocate and Intercessor with God so I believe that he shall come the second time from Heaven with great Glory to judge the World For besides the particular Judgment that passeth upon every Man immediately upon his Death when the departed Soul is set at God's Tribunal and examined of all its Thoughts Words and Actions I say besides this particular Judgment I believe their shall be a general Judgment when all shall be judged as well the Quick that shall be alive at that day as the Dead who shall then be raised up And that this last Judgment Christ himself as a Supream Judge shall pass the final Sentence and that the Saints as Assessors shall pass their Sentence of Approbation I believe too That I and all Men shall be judged of all things done in the Body whether Good or Evil And that upon the pronouncing of the Sentence the truly penitent shall pass to an Estate of Eternal Happiness and finally the Impenitent to an Estate of Eternal Misery ARTICLE VIII I believe in the Holy Ghost Having briefly declared what my Faith is in God the Father and God the Son I am next to declare what I believe concerning God the Holy Ghost And first I believe That without Faith in the Holy Ghost I cannot believe in God the Father nor in his Son as my Lord. For no Man can call God Father but by the Holy Ghost nor can any Man say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Whom I believe to be the Third Person in the Divine Being and therefore True God And that as he proceedeth from the Father and the Son which I believe he doth he is a Person distinct from both The Spirit in whom I believe is called Holy because in himself he is without all Pollution and sin and because he is the Author of all Holiness in me and all who truly believe in him So that all my Holiness is but a Ray or Effusion of the Holy Ghost which doth furnish my Heart with spiritual and saving Graces by the Work of Sanctification ARTICLE IX I believe the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints After this plain Account given by me of the Articles which concern the Blessed Trinity I will now give the like Account of those that follow which respect such only as truly believe in and obey and Worship the Trinity in Unity and who are here called the Church Which I plainly take to signifie all those whom Christ hath called out of the World to be his peculiar People Over whom he hath a Sovereign Authority in regard of which they willingly and chearfully pay him Homage and obey his Law and Ordinances For by Church I have been taught to understand the Corporation and General Family of all true Believers which Family truly deserves to be called Holy in respect of its Head which is Christ who is Holy in himself and whose Holiness is imputed to all sincere Believers And who through the Grace given to them do labour study and endeavour to be Holy And the Church in this familiar acception I believe is Universal as well as Holy and that there are in all the Quarters of the World those who by Baptism are admitted into it and so made Members of Christ's Mystical Body who are guided by his Spirit nourished by the Word and Sacrament and who are obedient to the Rule and Government of the Bishops and Pastors lawfully called to their Offices And of this Society of Believers which constitute the Church some are in a state of War continually fighting against their own and Christ's Enemies but yet in daily expectation of Triumph and a Crown And these are called the Church Militant which is on Earth And some are in a state of Peace for having fought the good Fight of Faith and finished their Warfare they are entred into their Master's Joy And these make the Church Triumphant which is crowned in Heaven Now these I hold are not two divers Churches but the same Church under a different State and Condition For I believe the Church to be essentially but one And as Christ's Mystical Body the Church
has an Vnion with Him as being the Head of it so I believe there is a Common Vnion among the Members both those that are glorified in Heaven and those that in some degree are sanctified on Earth And this is called the Communion of Saints and is the first Priviledge of the Christian Church And by vertue of this all true Christians communicate in all Offices of Piety and Charity in doing good to one anothers Bodies and Souls And this they do upon the account that they have in common One God one Christ one Spirit one Lord one Faith one Baptism one Hope ARTICLE X. The Forgiveness of Sins As the Communion of Saints genuinely ariseth from the Nature of the Vniversal Church so Pardon of Sins follows from both For none shall have their Sins forgiven but those who live and die in the Communion of the Church For unless I abide in this Ark I shall certainly perish Now Sin as I have been instructed is of two sorts the one Original which is the sin of my Nature the other Actual which is the sin of my Conversation The former I brought with me into the World the latter I commit while I live therein And both these sorts of sin deserve Eternal Death and can only be pardon'd by the Merits of Christ For sin being a Transgression of the Law of God it can only be forgiven by him whose Law it transgresseth For Remission of sins is the second Priviledge of the Church which is preached to all in the Name of Christ and sealed in Baptism wherein I believe my Original Sin is presently pardon'd and that my Actual Sins committed after Baptism shall be pardon'd if I truly repent me of the same Now this my Belief of the Forgiveness of Sins supposes that I believe That God graciously and freely without any Desert on Man's part gave his Son to die for the World and That for the sake of his meritorious Death he remits the Fault absolves from the Guilt and acquits from Punishment all truly penitent and believing Sinners And I do further believe That he imputes to them the Obedience of his own Son and his Righteousness and by means thereof accounts them just in his sight I believe That all who are justified and thus acquitted have Holiness in some degree according to the Condition of this Life Which Holiness tho' it cannot altogether discharge them from sin yet it doth not suffer it to reign over them So that a justified Person is not under its Dominion nor yields himself a Vassal to it but resists its Commands and makes it die daily And for the greater security of the Forgiveness of sins God hath committed to his Ministers an indispensible Power and Charge to preach Faith and Repentance as the Condition of this Forgiveness He hath likewise appointed them to pray and intercede and also to baptize for the Forgiveness of sins and to administer the Lord's Supper in memory of that Blood which was shed for the Remission of Sins And indeed all that God hath left in the Hand and Power of his Ministers especially tends to make Men capable of receiving what they believe namely the Remission of sins ARTICLE XI The Resurrection of the Body It was the Hope of the Fathers under the Old Testament as well as it is of Christians under the New That there shall be a Resurrection both of the Just and Unjust And if it were otherwise Christians of all Men would be most miserable and all that I have learn'd and you have taught me concerning Christianity would be in vain But I firmly and truly believe That my Mortal Body shall be raised from the Corruption of the Grave by Vertue of the Resurrection of Christ And this my Belief is founded upon the Power and good Pleasure of God who both can and will raise from the dead the very same Body that died ARTICLE XII The Life everlasting The Enjoyment of Everlasting Life is the last Christian Privilege and that which crowns the rest And I have learned to understand by this Life the Enjoyment of all true Happiness in Soul and Body For I believe that the Faculties of the Souls of just Persons shall be perfectly enlightned and sanctified and that their Bodies shall live after the manner of Spirits and be exceedingly glorified And opposite to this Life everlasting I believe there is an everlasting Death which is the Portion of the Wicked And that as Life everlasting consists in the Fruition so I believe everlasting Death consists in the Loss of God's Presence and all other Comforts and is the enduring of the sting of Conscience and Torments of Hell for ever But as my believing all the Articles of the Christian Faith as they are summ'd up in that which is called the Apostles Creed supposes that I am to learn not only the Words but likewise the Sense of the Creed so it also implies that I should live like them that do believe for otherwise my consenting to the Truth of the Articles will stand me in no stead And therefore not medling with remote and learned Inferences I will draw such from each Article as are near and familiar short and edifying As for Example From my believing that God created me I infer I am bound to be obedient and subject to him By my believing that Christ redeemed me I think it my Duty to yield up my self to him as his Purchase and to be wholly disposed by him and employed only in his Service My believing Christ's Conception by the Holy Ghost and his Birth of the Virgin should make me diligent to fit my Heart for the Holy Ghost to overshadow and for Christ to be born in it My belief of Christ's Crucifixion should teach me to crucifie the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts and to destroy the Body of sin My belief of his Death and Burial should make me content to die for the sake of Truth being assured that if I suffer for Christ I shall also reign with him It should also keep me from being disheartned by Death seeing that Christ by dying hath taken away the Stinâ— of Death which is Sin and maâ— it an Entrance into Life My bâ—lieving the Resurrection of Chrisâ— should make me actually rise froâ— Sin to a New Life and utterlâ— to forsake my Sins as Christ diâ— the Grave to which after â— was once risen from it he returned no more My believinâ— Christ's Ascension and sitting â— the Right-hand of God shoulâ— teach me to set my Affections oâ— things above and not on thing on the Earth The believing Judgment to come should makâ— me careful so to walk as that may not be condemned in iâ— My believing the Holy Catholick Church and Communion oâ— Saints should render me mightâ— circumspect to preserve Charity which is the Bond of Peace and to avoid all things destructive oâ— Catholick Unity The Remission of sins which I believe should make me highly to esteem all those Ways and Means which
are not to imagine that the Son of God came only to gaze upon the Miseries and to condole the Wretchedness of that Nature he had taken or to pass by us as the Priest and Levite did the wounded Traveller but with the good Samaritan he bound up our Sores and provided us of all those means of recovery whereof we were utterly destitute and put us in a right way of being and continuing healthy And this he did VIII First By making known unto you and as many as believe on him the whole Will of God assuring all such as fail not to do it that they shall meet with â— most gracious acceptance and bountiful reward During the time of Christ's troublesome Pilgrimage upon Earth you know it was one chief part of his Employment to give such Commands and Counsels as by their own inward goodness were sufficient to approve themselves to mans rational nature His Doctrine wore no Veil nor was it wrapt up in Types and Shadows but both in its Perspicuity and Justice Christ shew'd himself to be the Son of Righteousness Mal. 4.2 He would not suffer his Gospel like Moses Law to consist in Carnal but Spiritual Observances not in cleansing the Pollutions of the Body but in purifying the Affections of the Soul And by giving a Law proper to this end he proved himself to be a true Prophet whose work is not only to foretel what shall be hereafter though in this strictest sense of the word Christ was so far forth a Prophet as was needful for his Church but to instruct what men are to do to expound signifie and make known the mind and good pleasure of God And this he did in his Sermons especially in that on the Mount wherein he hath shewn upon what terms eternal Blessedness is to be had under the Gospel He also revealed some Commands of God which were not before so expresly revealed and expounding such as were so obscurely revealed in the Old Testament that men thought not themselves fully obliged to obey them IX And as a Prophet too or soveraign Institutor of the Church Christ appointed Ceremonies and Discipline or Sacraments and Ecclesiastical Censures All which he delivered either in Parables or plain Propositions To which you are to give a willing and full Assent a chearful and ready Obedience not despising or neglecting the use of whatever he hath thought fit to prescribe And if you cannot at first sight so clearly comprehend some Mysteries of the Gospel your Reason which in it self is proud and carnal must be subject to Faith which can easily wade through those depths which to Reason are unpassable Above all give diligent attention to Christ as your great Prophet being ready and desirous to be duly inform'd of that Will of God which he came to reveal X. And as the first Mercy of the second Covenant was to have Christ to be a Prophet in the sense now mentioned so another benefit therof was to have him to be your Priest You meet in Scripture with two Orders of Priesthood viz. one of Aaron and another of Melchizedeck The Office of the Aaronical Priesthood consisted chiefly in Sacrificing not Excluding Blessing of the People Gen. 14.18 But the Office of the Melchizedechian Priesthood was principally to bless not denying but that it had also a liberty to sacrifice Christ was a Priest according to both these Orders XI And first he was a Priest according to the Order of Aaron by virtue whereof he offer'd up himself upon the Cross and by that Sacrifice of himself once offer'd he compleated the whole Work of Satisfaction for Sin and put an end to all the old legal Sacrifices which had indeed an Eye to this Satisfaction but were not able to accomplish it To satisfie God for our sins not only that one of Adam but all the sins of all Mankind that truly repent and amend and by this means to obtain for man Forgiveness of sins the Favour of God and Redemption from Hell and eternal Damnation which was the punishment due to sin And all this he did by his death So that if you truly and heartily repent of and forsake your sins you shall receive the benefits of that Sacrifice of Christ which he offer'd as a Priest and your sins though never so many and heinous shall be forgiven you and you shall be saved from those everlasting Punishments which are due for them XII Secondly Christ is a Priest according to the Order of Melchizedeck and though he did not enter upon this till after he was risen from the dead yet it shall not end until the Consummation of all things His Aaronical Preisthood expired with himself upon the Cross but he remains a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedeck And as the Office of this Priesthood consisted in Blessing and praying for the People as you may collect from Gen. 14.18 it belongs also unto Christ God having sent him to bless you as St. Peter speaks Acts 3.26 And the following words declare that this Blessing consists in turning every one from his iniquity And those excellent means used by Christ for this end which ought to be reckon'd for the greatest Blessings are 1. A Succession of Priests an Holy Order of men whom he continually employs by their Ministry to work in mens hearts a sincere Obedience to the Gospel 2. A giving to all humble Christians strength to enable them to overcome sin 3. His interceding with God for his Servants that they may continue in well doing And as he did this last while he was upon Earth praying that his Disciples Faith might not fail so he still pursues the same Office of praying for the Church now that he is ascended up into Heaven where sitting at the right hand of God he makes request for us Rom. 8.34 And it is your duty as a Christian to comply with Christ herein and to be willing to be thus blessed by him in being turned from your sins and not to resist his Prayers and Intercessions not to render all his Blessings the means of Repentance void and fruitless by your wilful continuance in iniquity But when you shall use these Blessings to the end they are designed by your Saviour and shall cease to do evil and learn to do good not expecting Forgiveness or Salvation upon other terms than Christ has propounded them when you shall be careful to run diligently the Race Jesus has set before you then may you expect to receive rhe Prize even a Crown that fades not which God the righteous Judge shall set upon your Temples not for your own but the Merits of your High-Priest who according to the Order of Aaron offer'd himself a Sacrifice and according to the Order of Melchizedeck blesses and prays for you XIII And as the second Mercy of the second Covenant is thus to have Christ for your Priest so the third is to have him for your King And he exerciseth this Supream Office by reigning in
in Christ that you now seek to be at peace with God and to have your Sins cleansed with the Blood of that Spotless Holy Lamb which takes away the Sins of the World LXV You are secondly to look upon the Sacrament as a Medicine and Cordial for sick and weak Souls and that our Lord is pleased to invite none to his Supper but those who are weary and heavy laden with the burden of their Sins He calls you not because of your Merits but of his Goodness not that you are a worthy Guest but that he is a gracious Entertainer And though you are not prepared according to the Holiness of the Mistery yet God in Christ will accept of the good intentions of your Heart He will make this blessed Sacrament a means to quiet your Conscience to increase your Faith to enliven your Charity to amend your Life and to assure you that you are in the number of those who at the last shall be called to the Table of the Lamb. LXVI You are thirdly to consider that when reconciled and converted unto God you still remain a man and that there is no Repentance so great as that it entirely destroys all sin And therefore in the greatest assurance of your condition have always in mind that advice of the Apostle 1 Cor. 10.12 Let him that thinks be stands take heed lest he fall And when you find you are fallen presently raise up your self again by faithful Repentance The more you are advanced and confirmed in Holiness the more you will distrust your self and be watchful against Temptations After holy resolutions and transports of Zeal and Devotion it often happens that men commit great sins because the Conscience is apt to be less wary as thinking it self secure like the besieged who after a brave Sally grow negligent and by contemning the Enemy they have repulsed are surprized through their own carelesness Conscience may but Satan can never sleep nor fail to take advantage of your Security LXVII Some Sins are quickly felt like a Scorpion they leave a sting behind them which inevitably would prove mortal if not speedily cured by Repentance And there are other sins which are not so soon felt growing upon us unperceived but they leave a weight upon the Soul which makes it move slowly to Piety and good Works lessening the sentiments of Religion and withdrawing the Heart from God You ought therefore often to visit the state of your Conscience and to call your self to an account to the end you may find out and cleanse that filthiness which sticks to it through the Corruption of the World and your own For the Conscience resembles Iron thaâ— grows canker'd and rusty if iâ— be not frequently dressed The unclean Spirit will not dwell in a man if the house be not swept that is empty and garnished much less will the Spirit of Purity stay in the heart which is not neat from the ordure of Iniquity and furnished with Religion If you then are studious to purge your Heart by Repentance God will delight to dwell there and take pleasure in the lodging LXVIII And your Repentance must return daily because it will then take your sins in their fresh circumstances and so the better correspond to their aggravations It will also keep you from running too far in Arrears which ever makes the payment both difficult and unpleasant Above all your daily repenting will render this Duty easie to be perform'd when you come to the Lords Table LXIX No man saith our Church ought to come to the Holy Communion but with a full trust in Gods mercy and with a quiet Conscience And if you cannot quiet your Conscience with those excellent Rules there laid down by the Church but that you require farther counsel and comfort then she adviseth you to repair to some discreet and learned Minister of Gods Holy Word that you may receive the benefit of Absolution together with Ghostly counsel and advice to the quieting of your Conscience and avoiding of all scruple and doubtfulness LXX And this Advice you have good reason to embrace not onely when you come to the Sacrament but at all other times when you have any material doubting concerning the state of your Soul for through a neglect thereof Time may either cause your doubts to fester or what is worse you may be tempted to make use of deceitful Remedies and give up your self to those idle and desperate courses which may not onely stifle your present doubts but harden you against all doubting for the future LXXI In the resolution and satisfying of your doubts both upon your coming to the Sacrament and at all other times I would advise you not to become your own Casuist nor to rely upon your own Judgment for your Soul if truly humbled will be apt to deal severely and to pass a very hard Sentence upon its Condition And if it be not truly humbled it will be ready to handle your Scruple too softly and to give too favourable a Construction of your state and so instead of searching skin over the Wound LXXII Be your Scruples what they will they ought to be satisfied before you come to the Supper of the Lord or else you will plunge your self into more Scruples by your Negligence to have those satisfied which you have already Beware too you suffer not Scruples to keep you from the Sacrament for if a groundless Scruple occasion your absence from the Communion then is your absence also groundless and consequently sinful But if your Scruple be material and weighty you ought to be the more diligent to have it satisfied for though it may indeed justly stay you from the Sacrament till it be satisfied yet so long as you suffer it to keep you thence you deprive your Soul of the benefits of that heavenly Ordinance Delay not then to have your Scruples solidly satisfied by some discreet Minister To whom you are to make your case plain without disguise or reservation that the Guide of Souls having a full discovery of it may be the better able to help you to a satisfactory Resolution LXXIII And because boldness herein may prove as dangerous as distrust the Confident have need to advise with the holy Guide as well as the Doubting and both had best to rely upon more equal and impartial Judgments than their own For men are generally inclin'd to side with a too good Opinion of themselves which makes it dangerous to trust our own Verdict in the great concernment of our Soul and even necessary more than once to consult with a Spiritual Guide to the end we may receive from him such directions as may through God keep us from splitting upon either of those opposite Rocks too great Confidence or too great Distrust LXXIV Nor can I imagine ought should render you backward to make known your Doubts unless it be an improvident surmise that the ripping up of them will discover your Nakedness and expose you to shame with
sinful Body may be made clean by his Body and my Soul washed through his most precious Blood At the receiving of the Bread LOrd I am not worthy thaâ— thou shouldest come undeâ— my Roof but speak the Word and my Soul shall be healed Adding with the Priest THE Body of our Lord Jesuâ— Christ which was given foâ— me preserve my Body and Soâ— unto everlasting Life Amen At the receiving of the Cup. WHat Reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the Benefits that he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. Adding with the Priest THE Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for me preserve my Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life Amen Immediately after your receiving of the Sacrament say OH my God thou art true and holy Oh my Soul thou art blessed and happy Oh the depth of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! how incomprehensible are his Judgments and his ways past finding out Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name which saveth thy Life from Destruction and feedeth thee with the Bread of Heaven Glory be to God on high and in Earth Peace good Will towards men I praise thee I worship thee O Lord and I magnifie thy Name for ever who hast vouchsafed to fill my Soul with Gladness and to feed me with the heavenly Mysteries of Christs sacred Body and Blood I humbly beseech thee that from henceforth I may walk in all good Works and serve thee in holiness and pureness of living to the Honour of thy Name Amen Meditations whilst others are Communicating HAppy are those Servants whom when their Lord cometh he shall find thus doing Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you If any one defile the Temple of God him will God destroy Behold thou art made whole sin no more lest a worse thing happen unto thee Be ye followers of God as dear Children and walk in love even as Christ loved us and gave himself an Offering and a Sacrifice of a sweet savour unto God for us As you go from before the Communion Table this Doxology TO thee O King eternal the immortal invisible and only wise God be all Honour and Glory now and for evermore Amen A Thanksgiving after the receiving of the Communion to be said at Home THou O my God hast comforted my Soul thou hast strengthned and refreshed me with thy Blessings and rejoyced my Heart with the tokens of thy Love O how sweet are thy comforts how ravishing are the Effects of thy Goodness toward them that fear thee Wonderfuâ— vouchsafement Thou hast treated a vile wretched Sinner at thâ— own Table and fed me with thâ— Bread that came down from Heaven Wherein am I better than those to whom thou dost not grant this Favour It is not it is not for my Merits but because thou wilt be glorified in doing good to the most unworthy thou hast this day made me a happy Example of this thy free Grace and Bounty Vouchsafe me this favour also O my God that through the whole course of my Life I may give thee Praise and Glory and that the due sense of thy Mercies may make me unfeignedly thankful and that my thankfulness may appear in my care to walk before thee in Holiness Sobriety and Righteousness all the days of my Life Amen FINIS Books Printed for W. 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TO THE Right Reverend Father in God SETH Lord Bishop of SARUM My LORD YOur Name is here prefixed to the Ensuing Discourse neither for Charm nor Amuâ— to save it from the Rude and Censorious for it doth not at all â—gard what Entertainment it meets â—ith at such hands But it assumes â—is Honour upon the Account of â—s Author who having the Happiâ—ess to be one of your Diocesan Clergy thinks all he can perform in that Relation ought to be devoted to your Lordship as a sincere Testimony of his bounden acknowledging your Paternal