complaint of a sad and miserable Sinner I have searched into the secret recesses of my Soul there I find nothing but Horror and a barren Wilderness a neglected Conscience overgrown with Sins and cares beset with fears and sore Amazement I tremble when I remember that sad Truth If the Righteous scarcely be saved where shall the Wicked and Ungodly appear I know O Lord that all my secret impurities shall be laid open at thy dreadfull Judgment O just and dear God! how shall I appear who shall plead for me who am loaden with Impurities Vanity Ingratitude Malice and the Terrors of an affrightning Conscience Wilt not thou answer for me O Jesus thou art my Judge and my Advocate thou art to pass Sentence upon me for those Sins for which thou diest O reserve not my Sins to be punished in the life to come for then I die Eternally but bring me in this World to a severe Repentance Behold I am in thy hand grant I may so Weep and be contrite for my Sins that in the hour of my Death I may find Mercy and in the day of Judgment be freed from the Terrors of thy Wrath and the Sentence of the Wicked Thou hast spared me all this while and not taken me off in the midst of my Sins which is an unspeakable Mercy for if thou had dealt with me according to my Deserts I had been now at this instant sealed up to an Eternity of Torments hopelesly miserably fearing the Revelation of thy day with an insupportable Amazement But now under the sweet influences of thy mercy I am praying to thee confessing my sins with Sorrow for my ingratitude but with a full hope in thy Mercy O my dear God let thy Grace speedily work that in me for which thou so long hast spared me even a true Faith and Holy Life establish in me a great contrition for my Sins lead me on to an humble Confession and let thy Grace make me bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance O Blessed Jesu who liveth and reigns ever one God world without end Amen I hate all evil ways O Lord But thy Law will I Love O God with shame I confess that other Lords besides thee have hitherto had Dominion over me Miserable Wretch that I am that I should begin so early to offend my Creator and sin so much in so short a time Lord I fear I never yet throughly considered how evil and bitter a thing it is to depart from thee O make me every day more and more sensible of the Error of my ways and of my own infinit Vileness Miserable Wretch that I am that ever I should commit those sins which expose me to all the vials of thy Wrath to all the curses of thy Law to all thy judgments Temporal or Spiritual in this life and to all the Horrors and Despair and Torments of the Damned in the life to come Miserable wretch that I am that ever I should transgress that Law of thine O God which is so Just Holy and Good perfect and so condescending to my Infirmities and in keeping of which there are so great so unconceivable rewards O Blessed Saviour how can I ever sufficiently lament the guilt of my Sins which was so great that nothing but thy own inestimable Blood could expiate O Blessed Spirit instil true penitential sorrow into my Soul make my Head Waters and my Eyes Fountains of Tears or do thou supply the want of them with Sighs and Groans unutterable But alass I know all the Tears I can possibly shed can never wash away the least of my Sins 't is thy Blood only Lord that can do it O Heavenly Father in the defect of my own Tears I offer thee the Blood of thy own well beloved Son for his sake have mercy upon me I have been in the snare of the Devil and been led Captive by him and sin hath reigned in my Mortal Body and I have obeyed it in the lust thereof but from henceforth I resolve to serve none but thee and from this very moment I utterly forsake all my sins and turn to thee I do from my heart renew my Baptismal Vow I do for ever renounce the Devil and all his Works and the Vanities of this World which may pervert me from thy Service and all the sinfull Lust of the Flesh O my God I do steadfastly believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith I will keep thy Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my life All this I am bound to do and believe and by thy help so I will and I heartily thank thee O Father who hast called me to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ my Saviour and I humbly pray thee for his sake to give me Grace to continue in the same to my lives end O Lord God I have Sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy Righteous Judgments but alass I 'm not able of my self to do nothing that is Good not so much as to think one good thought and I no sooner shall rise from my Knees but I fear I shall be tempted to those very sins I have now so solemnly renounced and those Temptations will certainly overcome me unless thou Lord do'st reasonably interpose thy Grace to with-hold me but I can do all things through the strengthning me do thou then O Blessed Saviour perfect thy strength in my weakness for in thee only is my trust O my God thou hast promised to give thy Holy Spirit to those that ask it Behold Lord I do Humbly I do Earnestly ask thy Holy Spirit now of thee O fullfil thy gracious Promises to me O vouchsafe me that Holy Spirit I pray for to purifie my corrupt Nature to strengthen my Weakness to comfort me in Troubles to support me in Discouragements to succor me in Temptations and to asist me in all the part of my Duty Thou O searcher of hearts knowest the sins I 'm most inclined to here name them herein will lie my greatest danger of Back-sliding but O my God I beg a double portion of thy Spirit and invisible aid against them hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my Foot-steps slip not O work in me that victorious Faith by which I may overcome the World the Devil and my own corrupt Nature My help standeth in thee O great Creator of Heaven and Earth and I commit my Soul to thy keeping O thou that art Faithful as well as Almighty keep that safe which is committed to thy Trust watch over me that I may not be beguiled by the deceitfulness of Sin or betrayed by my own treacherous heart or surprised by my Ghostly Enemies and give me grace to Watch and Pray incessantly my self least I enter into Temptation O Heavenly Father for thine own infinit Mercy sake for thy Truth and Promise sake for all the Merits and Sufferings of the Son of thy Love in whom thou art always well pleased pardon all
how miserable my end must be when the Heavens are not pure in thy sight and the very Angels are charged with folly there is no Holiness O Lord if thou with-draw thy Hand no Wisdom profits if thy Government ceases when thou leavest us we perish we are unstable and unsecure unless secured and confirmed by thee we fly to thee for help and yet depart from thy Commandments O how meanly do I deserve to be thought of how little and inconsiderable is the good I do how innumerable how intollerable are the Evils I have done many good things have I received from thee but I have abus'd them thou hast given me Grace but I have turned it into Wantonness thou didst create in me a hope of Glory but I have lost my Confidence Wherefore behold O Lord I come unto thee thou mightest indeed justly censure the approach of such a polluted Creature to be a daring presumption but I beseech the condemn not the action but behold the motives which drew me hither even my own miseries and thy mercies I increase the number of my sins what shall I do to thee O thou preserver of Men Who shall raise me up when I shall fall before thy dreadful Judgment Seat I will lay my Face in the Dust and confess my self to be nothing Pitty my Shame O God bind up my Wounds remove those sins that so easily overcome me and unite me to my Saviour Jesus O help me to supply in Humility what I want in worthiness let my mean and just opinion of my self my bended Knees and broken Heart shew that I durst not have adventured so nigh if thy mercy had not held out the Golden Scepter O then dear Jesus be a Jesus to me and let this Sacrament be a savor of life and thy Body the Bread of life thy Blood the purifier of my sinful life O send me not empty away for I shall faint and die I cannot live without thee O let vertue come from thee and heal my Sickness do thou appear to my Soul in these holy Mysteries enlighten my Darkness turn me from all vain imaginations and illusions of the Enemy all perversness of Will all Violence and Inordinate Passions sensual Desires Lust and Malice Gluttony Pride Envy and Detraction let not sin reign in my mortal Body nor the Divel lead my Will captive nor the World abuse my understanding nor debauch my Conversation O grant I may receive these Divine Mysteries for the amendment of my Life and for a defensative against all my sins for the increase of Vertue and the perfection of the Spirit this I beg O merciful God for the sake of thy Eternal Son my crucified Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Amen Here rising up read as Follows AND as they were Eating Jesus took Bread and gave thanks and blessed it and brea kt it and gave it to his Disciples and said Take Eat this is my Body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me likewise also he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it for this Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for you and for many for the Remission of sins and they all drank of it Verily I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of the Fruit of the Vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God my Father I adore thee O Blessed Jesus for instituting this Holy Sacrament O let thy Divinity thus stampt on it strike into my Soul a holy awe in approaching it O create in me a Heaven disposition to celebrate so Heavenly an Institution and for thy Mercies sake pardon all my stupid forgetfulness and ingratitude hitherto do now create in me such a thankful and lively remembrance of thy dying love that may excite me to give up my self intirely to thee as thou didst give up thy self on the Cross for me Kneeling say A Prayer BEhold O sacred and undivided Trinity an unworthy wretched weak and wounded Soul oppressed with an intollerable weight of Misery terrified with the consideration of thy inscrutable Judgments confounded with the memory of her base ingratitude and encompassed with sorrow I have with the prodigal wasted that portion of Grace thou didst bestow upon me and therefore do infinitly want a supply out of thy Treasury but O Lord how shall such a wretch as I dare to approach this Holy Table how shall this spiritual Manna this Food of Angels be given to one Who has chosen to feed on Huscks with Wine nay to one who has so often trampled upon these precious things either carelesly neglecting or unworthily receiving these holy Mysteries O LOrd my horrible guiltiness makes me not dare to stay away for where shall my polluted Soul be washed if not in this Fountain which thou hast opened for sin and uncleanness hither therefore I come and thou hast promised him that cometh thou wilt in no wise cast out this is O Lord the Blood of the New Testament grant me so to receive it that it may be for the remission of my sins and though I have so often and so wretchedly broken my part of that Covenant whereof the Sacrament is a seal yet be thou graciously pleased to make good thine be merciful to my unrighteousness and remember my sins no more and not only so but place thy Laws in my Mind and write them in my Heart and by the power of thy Grace dispose my Soul to such a sincere and constant Obedience that I may never again provoke thee Lord grant that in these holy Mysteries I may not only commemorate but effectually receive my blessed Saviour and all the benefits of his Passion and to that end give me such a preparation of Soul as may qualifie me for it give me a deep sense of my sins and unworthiness that being weary and heavy leaden I may be capable of his refreshings Raise up my dull and earthly mind from groveling here below and inspire it with holy Zeal that I may with spiritual affections approach this spiritual Feast and let O Lord that infinite love of Christ in dying for so wretched a sinner inflame my frozen and benumed Soul and kindle in me that sacred fire of love to him and that so vehement that no water may quench no floods drown it such as may burn up all my dross and not leave one unmortified Lust within me and such as may also extend it self to all whom thou hast given me command to love even my Enemies as well as Friends O Lord I beseech thee cloath me with the Wedding Garment and make me though of my self a most unworthy yet by thy mercy an acceptable guest at thy Holy Table that I may not eat and drink my own Condemnation but may have my Pardon sealed my Weakness repair'd my Corruptions subdued and my Soul so inseperably united to thee that no temptation may be ever able to dissolve the
my Wickedness and be sorry for my Sins I will pour out my Prayers in the bitterness of my Spirit and therefore now Lord call my Sins to my Remembrance and when thou hast so done blot them out of thy Remembrance and Pardon me A Confession of Sin O Thou great Judge of Heaven and Earth before whose glorious Majesty even the good Angels who never sinned fall prostrate and tremble with what debasement and dread ought I to appear before thy awful Presence who am but Dust and Ashes and which is infinitely worse a miserable Sinner Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity with the least approbation the way of the wicked and the sacrifice of the wicked is an Abomination unto thee Wo is me then O Lord Wo is me for I have inclined unto Wickedness but for the sake of thy well-beloved Son cast not out my prayer nor turn thy mercy from me Miserable wretch that I am I have gone astray from the very Womb I was shapen in Wickedness and in Sin did my Mother Conceive me Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean What is Man then O God that he should be Clean or he that is born of a Woman that he should be Righteous Thou Lord puttest no trust in thy Saints The Heavens are nor clean in thy sight and the very Angels thou chargest with folly How much more abominable than am I who daily drink iniquity like Water Lord Pity cleanse forgive and save me for thy mercies sake I know O God that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for when I would do Good Evil is present with me and I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind bringing me into Captivity to the Law of Sin Lord have mercy on me and deliver me from this body of Death from this tyranny of Sin Alass my whole Nature is corrupt infinitely prone to all Evil and a verse to all that is Good my Understanding is full of Ignorance and error my will perverse my Memory tenacious of all things that may pollute me but forgetful of my Duty my Passions are inordinate my Senses the inlets to all impurity I have abused all my faculties and am unclean unclean Lord pity cleanse forgive and save me for thy mercies sake O Lord God how have I through my whole life violated the sollemn Vow I made to thee at Baptism by eagerly persuing the Vanities of this Wicked World by early yeilding to the Temptation of the Devil by greedily indulging my own carnal Desires and Lust by a fruitless and dead faith and by a disobedience to thy holy Will and Commandments Father I have Sin'd against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son I have Sin'd O Lord God I have Sin'd against Thee By c. Here make your confession of Sins against God and then add O Jesu Lamb of God Son of the Father let thy Blood cleanse me from these sins O pity forgive and save me for thy mercies sake I have sin'd O Lord God I have sin'd against thee and my own self By c. Here confess your sins against your Self and then add O Jesu Lamb of God c. I have sin'd O Lord God I have sin'd against thee and my Neighbor By c. Here confess your sins against your Neighbor and then add O Jesu Lamb of God c. O Lord God my wickedness is exceeding great and my iniquities are infinite they are more in number than the hairs of my head and my heart would fail me but that I know thy mercies are greater than my sins Have mercy upon me therefore O God according to the multitude of thy mercies do away my Offences Who alas can tell how oft he Offends Oh cleanse thou me from my secret faults from all my sins of Ignorance or Infirmity or Omission or which I have not observed or which I have forgot Lord lay none of them to my charge Father forgive me Lord Jesus have mercy upon me O remember not the sins and offences of my Youth but receive me O heavenly Father into the Arms of thy Fatherly compassion and forgive me all my Transgressions for the merits of Jesus thy Son and my Saviour Amen O Lord God of Mercy and Pardon give me a just remembrance and sad apprehension of my sins teach me to bewail them with as great indignation and bitterness as I have committed them with complacency and delight Let my Prayer and Confession come into thy presence and obtain mercy and pardon for me Let not thy Justice and Severity so remember my sins as to forget thy own mercy and though I deserve to be condemned yet thou canst not lose that glorious attribute whence flows comfort to us and hopes of being saved Spare me therefore O merciful God for to give pardon to a sinner that confesses his faults and begs remission is not impossible to thy Power nor disproportionate to thy Justice nor unusual to thy mercy Blessed Jesu acknowledge in me whatsoever is thine cleanse me from whatsoever is amiss Have pitty on me now in the time of mercy and condemn me not when thou comest to judgment for what profit is there in my Blood Thou delightest not in the death of a Sinner but in his Conversion is joy in Heaven and when thou hast delivered me from my sins and saved my Soul I shall praise and magnifie thy Name to all Eternity O Jesu God be merciful to me a miserable Sinner O Lord who art the God that hearest prayers and alone has power finally to forgive sin I beseech the mercifully hear and graciously answer these my Petitions for pardon I am a sinner and deserve punishment but O Lord remove my guilt and spare me who do now confess with shame and sorrow my sins unto thee that I whose Conscience by sin is accused so justly now before thee by thy merciful pardon may be absolved from my Guilt for the sake and through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. By thine Agony and bloody Sweat by thy Cross and Passion by thy precious Death and Burial Good Lord deliver O Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World Have mercy upon O Christ hear me Lord have mercy upon me Christ have c. Lord have mercy c. Our Father which art c. A Prayer O most gracious God who out of thy boundless Compassion to thy Creatures art never wanting in any means that may draw them to thy self I the unworthiest of thy Servants desire to give Glory to thee in a hearty acknowledgement that thou hast afforded me all the methods that might either force or allure me to Obedience but I have resisted that goodness of thine which should have lead me to Repentance Thy compassion has been affronted by my continuance in sin and thy forbearance only serv'd to harden me in Iniquity I have lived to provoke thy
Holiness and Righteousness all the days of our Life Amen The Priest proceeds now to a more immediate invitation and to show us that we ought to think highly of these things calls only those who have such quallifications as he just before told us was absolutely necessary and that we might not come rashly puts it to us again ye that do truly Repent c. But to heighten our esteem and make us more in earnest with our selves let us imagine we hear Christ himself inviting us for 't is the Minister in his stead calling us to Repentance Confession and Humility of Soul these are the Garments wherewith we ought to be cloathed and he that comes without them does but mock God and we have heard the dreadful effect of that presumption 't is provoking him to plague us with Diseases and sundry kinds of Death we kindle God's wrath against us and his indignation will last to Eternity But that the Terrors of the Lord might fright away none but the impenitent the Church assures us all they who come with Faith and Repentance may take the Holy Sacrament to their comfort and accordingly exhorts them to draw near to testifie their sincerity by an humble Confession and to remove all suspicion of Hypocrisy commands that it be done upon our Knees with contrition They who hope for Pardon can expect it upon no other Terms therefore we ought to be very circumspect that we don't call upon God with our Lips when our Hearts is far from him the Sacrifice of such Fools only work their Destruction Don't let us look upon it as matter of form only that we are to tell God Almighty a sad story of our selves and yet in such a manner as if we were not concern'd for the Sin nor God for the punishment of it But when we come to that part of the Confession acknowledging our Offences by Thought Word and Deed let us reflect on some of those Transgressions we have repeated most and have most cause to repent of let us think of them with sorrow and detestation with a resolution to forsake them and a passionate desire to be freed from the Evil of them let our Hearts go along with our Prayers and they are such as will inform us of our condition and being affectionately repeated will teach us to be humble and contrite and that will render us capable of the pardon which follows to be pronounced by the Priest 'T is impossible to prescribe Rules for our thoughts in the time of Absolution we have a hundred Idea's at once in our Minds the Soul is full with Transport Rejoycing and Humilliation we have so much to say that we are confounded in our selves we know not how to bless God enough are affraid of our wickedness and astonished at his goodness there is no re-presenting the Passions of a Soul in this Religious Agony nor how prevailing the confused sighs of a ravish'd sinner are to our merciful God They who are most sensible of their sins can best tell what a boundless joy arises at the thoughts of their forgiveness But lest we should have any mistrust because of our sins the Church has collected some comfortable assurances from the Gospel for 't is no wonder we receive our Pardon doubting and trembling we have need of infallible Authority to perswade us of the truth of these things when our fear had so cast us down that we almost were brought to believe that God had utterly forsaken us we can now cry with chearfulness blessed be God that has not so turned his mercy from us but has sent his Son Jesus Christ to call us to Repentance therefore when we hear the Priest say Come unto me c. Let us humbly say I come unto thee O Jesus ease me of my Burthen so God loved the World c. I believe Lord save me or I perish this is a true saying c. Mercy sweet Jesus I am a miserable sinner If any man sin O thou great advocate of my Soul I bless thee and all that is within me shall praise thy Holy Name Certainly our affections are so moved that we shall be zealous to lift up our hearts with joy and gladness and now confess 't is meet and right to give thanks to which purpose let us summons our strongest affections that we may with Angels and Arch-angels magnifie the glorious Name of God most High If it be upon any particular Feast as Christmas or Easter there is greater reason to strain our selves to the highest Note to give thanks for those particular Blessings We are now approaching nearer to these Holy Mysteries and must express the greater Reverence and before we tast how gracious the Lord is confess our unworthiness to receive him into our Habitation This we can't do in better Words than the Church has provided for us therefore we are to joyn heartily in the following form and beg that our sinful Bodies may be made clean by his Body that being so prepared our Souls may be made fit to receive the Lord of Glory After this excellent Prayer is over let us look towards the Holy Table and whilst the Priest is ordering the Elements Meditate and be astonished at the transcending love of Christ let us lose our selves in contemplation of that Divine Mystery that Heaven should so condescend to Earth and Man be united to God that God should take upon him our Flesh die for us upon Earth and nourish us now he is in Heaven Let us represent to our Faith the intollerable sufferings of our dying Lord his whole Passion upon Mount Calvary and the Agonies of that unknown Sorrow there Imagine we behold him stretch'd upon the Cross and see the Blood issuing from his wounded side Behold him grapling with the fury of an incensed God and all the furies of the Powers of Darkness and this to redeem us from the Horrors of Hell which were due to us for Sin and Wickedness Sure the consideration of these things will create an odiousness of sin which was so great that nothing but the Blood of God could expiate we shall be sensible of our unworthiness and adore withall the forces of our Soul that love surpassing knowledge and beg of our crucified Redeemer to inspire us with holy Zeal that our now softned Souls may Eccho Hallelujahs and all that is within us may sing Eternally to God the Father who contrived this glorious Redemption to God the Son who effected it and to God the Holy Ghost who gives us the benefit thereof Let us now return with the Priest and earnestly beg of our merciful God that the Elements may really become what they represent After we have performed that with Devotion let us leave the rest to God and the Priest and rising from our Knees at the Consecration look toward the Holy Table devoutly attending every Word and Action for all is Mystery and deserves a particular Meditation let us imagine we hear our Saviour consecrating and that
we like his Disciples at the last Supper are waiting to be fed with the Bread from Heaven when we hear the Priest saying Who in the same Night he was betrayed took Bread c. Let us adore that inexpressible love of our Saviour which was working our Salvation when his cursed Enemies were contriving his Crucifixion let us bless the goodness of God and admire the Humillity of our Saviour that would be represented by no richer preparation than Bread Here is no costly sacrifice to exhault our Treasure That we may bestow upon those that want it the poor which we have always with us but for the representation of himself he chuses what is necessary for our sustinance to show us that his Body is as necessary to the strengthning of our Souls as Bread for the support of our Life And when he had given thanks he brea kt it c. O blessed Jesus doest thou give thanks for my Redemption behold I joyn my praises to thine and bless thee with all my Soul O shew thy acceptance of my praises by hallowing these Elements to the purposes they are designed Saying Take Eat this is my Body which is given for you c. Here let us reflect upon the passion of our Saviour and imagine we see him in that unspeakable Passion offering up his pious Soul upon the Cross Do this in remembrance of me O Jesus let me never be so ungrateful as to forget thee likewise also after Supper He took the Cup and when he had given thanks c. Our Saviour was not content to give us his Body alone but to pour out his Blood for us and has chosen Wine for the Commemoration of that inestimable mercy O let our Souls thirst after this Cup of Salvation and when the Minister holds it out to bless it let us call upon the Name of the Lord He gave it to them saying Drink ye all of this c. Do this in remembrance of me This is the time to Exercise our Faith and therefore let us believe they really are to us what they represent and say a hearty Amen for it is unto us according to our Faith if we believe 't is unto us the Blood of Christ indeed that no doubting nor infidelity may unhallow these sanctified Elements to any of our Souls Let us say A Prayer after Consecration LOrd it is done as thou hast commanded and I doubt not but the Mystery is rightly accomplished I am perswaded that here is that which my Soul longeth after a crucified Saviour communicating himself to poor penitent Sinners O let me be reckoned among that Number and then I shall assuredly receive thee Holy Jesus Amen O Holy Saviour I behold thee stretch'd upon the Cross with thy Arms spread ready to embrace all Mankind Glory be to thee O Lord Jesus Lamb of God Son of the Father who didst offer thy self a sacrifie to take away the sins of the whole World Lord have mercy upon me and take away mine also When the Minister is a Communicating let us humbly desire that God would hear his Prayer The Lord hear thee and remember all thy Offerings and Sacrifices grant thee thy Hearts desire and fullfil all thy mind The Lord perform all thy Petitions which thou hast made at this time for thy self for us and all Persons Amen We have nothing to do now but compose our selves for the acts of holy Communion remembering we are to feast with God by Silence and Heavenly Contemplation let us reflect upon the mercies of God in this Sacrament and when we have by Faith beheld the Glory of the Lord confess our unworthiness to appear before him and acknowledge his goodness which gives us the opportunity of adoring his inexpressible Love While others are Communicating O How dreadful is this place Seemeth it a small thing unto thee O my Soul to be feasted with God waited on by Angels fed with the Body of Jesus and refreshed with the Cup of that saving Blood which hath attoned for the Sins of the World What meaneth this secret that so poor a Wretch and sinful a Rebel should receive so mighty a Favour and be received to so near Embraces How can I approach to these terrible Mysteries till I have pulled back the Vail and worshipped him that feeds my Body to convey Grace to my Soul and make that stoop to the Eye of sence which Angels cannot behold with open Faces Here is represented the Almighty Love of an infinite Being here the God of Gods appears all Bloody to fright thee from thy sins here the All-merciful Saviour of the World is as it were crucified before thine Eyes that contemplating the horrid Aggonies of the Cross and remembring the cause of his cruel Sufferings thou mayst mourn for thy ingratitude that brought him to the torments of that inexpressible Passion here the Holy Jesus appears loaded with all the Blessings of Heaven here the everlasting Trinity seems to use his utmost endeavour to perswade thee into a Heavenly Conversation To thy Holy Altar O Dear Redeemer I am coming to renew my Baptizmal Vow to enter into a Solemn Covenant with God and faithfully to promise thee to resign my self intirely to thee to fall out with thee no more to be faithful to thee to vindicate thy Glory to live up to those Laws which thou hast sealed with thy own Blood To this end I eat of thy Bread and Drink of thy Wine and so seal my Covenant with thee Quicken me O Lord and make me more earnest and zealous in thy Service and as thou hast sent thy Son to bring me to thy self do thou likewise send thy Holy Spirit to sanctifie me for thy self and then I who of my self can scarce move unto thy Altar by the assistance of thy Grace may run the ways of thy Commandments Having declared the reasons of our approaching this Holy Table and beg'd God's blessing upon us let us Meditate after this manner Thou O my God hast prepared a Table for me and hast promised whosoever eateth thereof shall never Hunger and drinketh shall never Thirst This consideration alone is sufficient to furnish us with matter for Contemplation The mercy of God in preparing this Sacred Feast the benefits we receive from it and the time in which it was institued when he was surrounded with the Horrors of Death and began to feel the weight of our Transgressions are enough to put us in a confusion and constrain us at once to humble our selves even into our first nothing for abusing such goodness and then adore that amazing constancy of our Lord that in the greatest of his Agony could endure yet more for our sakes and resign himself to the Cross notwithstanding the contradiction of sinners O let us consider this price with which we were bought and glorifie God in our Bodies and Spirits which are his therefore bowing our bodies before the Lord let us consider the wonder of his love BEhold what kind of love
Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. Lord if thou wilt thou canst cleanse me O touch me and say I will be thou clean Oh let this Blood of thine purge my Conscience from dead Works to serve thee the ever living God It will not suffice me dearest Saviour to receive thee in part only for I must be wholly thine and blessed be thy Name that thou hast already given me thy holy Body to cleanse my Nature and now thou art preparing thy precious Blood to wash away my Guilt my sins have poured out every drop thereof wherefore thou presentest it to me by it self to shew how truly thou didst suffer Death for me and now O my Redeemer thou hast said this Cup is the Communion of thy Blood and thy truth is unquestionable thy power infinite and thy love was such as thou gavest thy hearts blood for me I will receive it therefore as the everlasting Covenant the Seal of all the promises of thy holy Gospel I have indeed drunk iniquity like Water and therefore am unfit to tast this Water of Life and yet shall perish without it for I 'me all over defiled and this is the fountain which thou hast opened to cleanse us I am scorched with the Flames of lust and unruly passion and this is the Cup which thou hast provided to cool and refresh us What value is sufficient for me to put upon this immortal Cordial How can I reverence it enough since the God of Heaven esteemed it a price sufficient for millions of perishing Mankind My Soul longeth after it Lord let me taste and my Soul shall live let me wash in this laver before I come to thy great Tribunal so shall I be whiter than snow Let us repeat after the Minister the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ c. After the Cup. IT is finished blessed be the Name of our gracious God Blessing Glory Praise and Honour Love Obedience Dominion and Thanksgiving be to thee O sacred Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost Amen Well come O my good Jesus now dismiss thy Servant in Peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation If we have time before we return to our Pews let us add HOw chearing is this Cup to me blessed Jesus which was so dreadful unto thee it was thy Agonies and thy Wounds which afforded me this Wine of Joy Thou didst find how bitter it was when thou wert appeasing an offended God but I taste how sweet it is now that thou hast made him a tender and reconciled Father I receive this Cup O Saviour as a new pledge of thy dearest Love and since thou doest here give me a right to that great Expiation which thou hast made I do most humbly commemorate the same before the Father of Heaven as the full satisfaction for my innumerable Debts and I will remember the dolors of thy Cross with a brisker sense than ever because thou hast made me drink of thy Blood and given me thy Soul thy Life and thy Spirit and since thou hast thus joyned me to thy self O let nothing seperate that which thou hast so graciously joyned together Amen They who have advanced thus far in their Duty and been refreshed at the Table of God will easily acknowledge Thanksgiving to be the least tribute they can pay and won't be satisfied that they have given praises at the Altar but are willing to offer this sacrifice every opportunity therefore let us at our return to our Seats be ready to acknowledge the loving kindness of the Lord. PRaise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his Holy Name was it not enough that thou shouldst suffer so much for me but thou wilt also give all the purchase of those sufferings to me thy loving kindness is truly admirable thou hast taken my sins on thy self and communicated thy Righteousness to my Soul Lord while I believe and consider the benefits of thy Passion I am revived and fill'd with an unwonted Vigour my Conscience does accuse me of many and grievious sins but I do here most humbly and thankfully set forth this perfect sin offering before thy Divine Majesty I know thou cannot except against it I believe it is sufficient to attone thine Anger Blessed Jesus how is my Soul refreshed that is again restored to thy Father's love let Heaven and Earth praise thee for this glorious Sacrifice and I will bless thee while I have any being I have receiv'd thy immaculate Body and it shall cleanse my sinful Body and teach me by the vertue of so rare an Example to relieve my poor Brethren for whom thou hast died and to conquer my Enemies by charity for thus thou hast done to me and both my lips and life shall set forth thy praise for now I begin to find the Mercy Peace Comfort and Grace which flow from the Death of Christ wherefore I will love thee Holy Jesus more than I can express and since thou hast given thy self thy Merits and Graces to me and seal'd a new Covenant with me in thy Blood I here bind my self by this sacred Cup to be sincerely thine I have sworn and am steadfastly purposed to keep thy Righteous Judgments O let me never unhallow that Body or defile that Soul in which the Lord Jesus delights to dwell in let no Oaths or Lying prophane those Lips no Obscenity or Intemperance pollute that Mouth by which these holy Symbols have passed but let thy Mercy keep me in this happy Temper till I have accomplished all my Resolutions Amen Or This ALL is thine Dear Saviour dispose of all that is here of Body and Soul of life and lodging according to thy Divine Will and Pleasure I intend O Lord strengthen me in this very Hour I intend O sweet Saviour a Total Reformation of my Life and Manners an intire Mortification of my Corporal Senses an absolute change in my whole Man grant therefore O good Jesus that at each word of my Mouth at each glance of my Eye at each morsel I Eat at each member I Move at each action Inward or Outward I undertake I may perform all according to thy holy Will and Pleasure I will therefore expect from thee O Heavenly Father the exact Remembrance from thee my Redeemer the perfect Knowledge from thee O Holy Spirit a true Repentance from thee O Sacred Trinity the entire Absolution and Plenary indulgence from all my iniquities Amen We have been informed that this is the great Feast of Love and are now commemorating that inexpressible love of our Saviour and since his Blood was shed for the sins of the whole World let our Charity extend it self to the uttermost parts of the Earth but more especially the Holy Catholick Church therefore the time we spare from our Devotions let us bestow in good desires to those present sending up a hearty Amen to the Prayers for our Brethren let it rejoyce our Souls to see so many of the Servants of God
Cries Is there then no Help and must I perish for Ever wherefore hast thou made all Men for Naught Why did thy Exuburant love express it self to lost Mankind by such a woundrous Miracle Why dist thou empty thy self and come down among us become Poor endure Hardship Cold and Hunger and run through a Sea of Blood But to attone those Crimes from which Men nor Angels were able to set us Free to afford us that Mercy which the justice of God would not allow of Oh my God hast thou only excepted me wilt thou be so severe with me who have most need of the satisfaction of my Saviour which was offer'd for a Sinful World I am inexpressibly Miserable and want to be sensible of my Condition and will infinite Mercy refuse what the love of God came on purpose to do Can my Sins come near the dimensions of thy Mercy I own to my Confusion I am as great a Sinner as a mortal Man can be but 't is neither beyond thy Power nor unsual to thy Mercy to relieve such a matchless Object of Distress I confess I 'm not a penitent Sinner but thou canst make me one and though I want an humble and contrite Spirit yet thou canst enable me to offer up a Sacrifice that thou wilt not Despise Oh my abused Jesus I fly to thee thou mayst indeed censure the Approach but 't is thy Love thy Mercy and my own Unworthiness which drives me to thee thou knowest I 'm more unworthy then I think my self but was I yet worse I firmly believe thy Blood can cleanse me and that the merit of thy Cross and Passion can cover my imperfections Oh Holy Spirit of God inspire me with the humblest Soul and devoutest Affections that I may apply my self to the Father of Mercies and be made a fit Object for the God of comfort to relieve O God the Father O God the Son O God the Holy Ghost O Blessed Trinity have mercy upon me a miserable Sinner We may reasonably suppose that a Man who has devoted himself to Wickedness at the unburthening his Conscience must entertain some such thoughts as these 'T is natural he should be devided betwixt Hope and Fear the more he is sensible of his Sins the greater his Astonishment His Humiliation and mean Opinion of himself can't be two severe if he keeps from Despaire for after all we can neither sufficiently know the evil of Sin nor lament for committing it The more we consider the greater will be our Aversion and when we have arriv'd to such a sense of Sin as will beget in us a hatred to it we may with more security promise an Amendment But before we proceed to that let us by the help of some Catalogue of Sin examine our Condition more fully for the Heart is deceitful and the Memory willing to forget what it is affraid to consider Having laid before us such a Scheme let us then beg of God to enable us in this work that we main't deceive our Souls Let us upon our Knees consider that we are now to Examine our selves of those things which we are to Answer at the Day of Judgment if we don't Confess and Repent shall be miserable for ever and that 't is much better that we condemn our selves than leave it to the Tribunal of a just God therefore believing we are in the presence of God as we certainly are at all times but God is more especially present when we are upon Religious Duties let us say Oh my God! hear the Voice of my humble Petition now I cry unto thee and lift up my Hands to thy mercy Seat Behold Lord now I am about to search into my own Heart but alass my Heart is Deceitful and desperately Wicked how can I know it Thou therefore that searchest the Heart and triest the Reins discover to me all the evil and deceits of my own Heart that I may Confess Bewail and forsake them and obtain mercy Lord hear me Lord help me for the merits of Jesus my Saviour Amen Oh my Soul Thou art now in the presence of the Great Judge of Heaven and Earth before whose dreadful Tribunal thou must certainly appear at the day of Judgment to give a strict Account of all thy Actions of every idle Word and every evil Thought and thy own Conscience will then be thine Accuser Think O my Soul think if thou canst what unimaginable Horrors will seize an impenitent Sinner when the last Trump calls him out of his Grave and Devils begin to drag him to God's Judgment Seat What wou'd such a Wretch give to purchase one such opportunity of Repentance as God now in great mercy gives thee if ever thou hopest to escape those Horrors O my Soul make thy Peace with God judge thy self here least thou be Condemned hereafter Let us now proceed to ask our selves whether we are Guilty or not when we find our selves Guilty let us set it down upon a Paper and say Lord have Mercy on me and forgive me this sin To those we have not consented let us humbly praise God and say Glory be to thee O Lord for preserving me from this Sin O continue thy Goodness and give me Grace to resist it to my lives end After we have ranslak'd our Breast and laid before us the dismal scene of our Folly we shall certainly be moved at our Transgressions and our Repentance will be usher'd in with Sighs and Groans to testifie our Abhorrence or Tears to show our Trouble It is possible with both together and when God sees us thus Relenting and Trembling Weeping and Blushing for our Offences he may be moved through the intercession of our Saviour to hear our humble Petitions for such a Sacrifice he is pleased with and a Heart thus broken God will not dispise Therefore let us now humble our selves and with all possible Penitence confess our selves to God in the following form Righteousness O Lord belongs unto thee but unto me confusion of Face the Vainest the Vilest the sinfullest of all the Children of Men. Lord I am vile in my own Eyes and desire to be more vile because my sins have made me vile in thine I am not worthy of the Air I breath of the Earth I tread upon or the Sun that shines upon me much less worthy to lift up Hands or Eyes to Heaven for thou hast said that no unclean thing shall come within thy sight how then shall I appear who am so miserably defil'd If the Man according to thine own Heart cou'd say that he was a Worm and no Man Lord what am I If Abraham who had the Honour to be called thy Friend cou'd say that he was but Dust and Ashes O God what am I O my God thou maidst me of nothing and thou seest how I have spoiled this Work of thine I have made my self worse than nothing for I am still in my Sins and know not what to do but this I will do I will confess
my Sins and Failings and receive me into thy favour for the sake of him who has taught me to call the Father and when I pray to say Our Father which art c. The following Form to be added when we have some assurances that our Hearts are steadfast towards God O the God of my life and the unexhausted Fountain of mercy which can never be drawn dry I have now by the assistance of thy Holy Spirit gone through though with weak and trembling steps the whole exercise of Repentance for I have confessed my Sins and thou hast promised upon my Confession of them not to impute them to me I have gone one step farther I have repented of my Sins and thou hast promised upon my Repentance thou wilt remember them no more and because thy Holy Word hath taught me that a new life is the only Repentance I have this day in thy sight and in the presence of all the Angels that attend thee in the conversion of a sinner made my firm resolution never to fall again into the Sins I have repented of and now O God the Father of Heaven who canst not be thought so cruel as to make me only to destroy me Have mercy upon me O God the Son who knowing thy Father's Will didst make it thy business to come into the World to save me Have Mercy c. O God the Holy Ghost who to the same end didst sanctifie me in my Baptism and hast so often since breathed Holy thoughts into my Soul Have mercy c. O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trintiy whom in three persons I adore as my one and only true God Have mercy on me Hear me O Lord. Help me O Lord. Save me or else I perish Lord carest thou not that I perish Thou that wouldest have all men to be saved Thou who wouldest have none to perish And wilt thou now shew thine anger against a Worm against a Vapour that vanishes before thee O remember how short my time is and deliver not my Soul into the power of Hell for what profit is there in my Blood no let me live in thy sight let me live O my God that my Soul may praise thee O remember for whose sake it was that thou camest from the Bosom of thy Father Remember for whom it was that thou enduredst the agony of the Cross and shed thy precious Blood Was it not for the Sins of the whole World and hast thou particularly excepted me Can I imagine thou diest for Sinners of a lower kind and left such as I without Remedy O how easie is it to thee to forgive for 't is thy Nature how proper is it for thee to save for it is thy Name how suitable is it to thy only end of coming into the World for it was thy business and when I consider that I am chief of Sinners may I not urge the Father and say shall the very chief of thy business be left undone Mercy Mercy Good Lord. I ask not of thee any longer the things of this World but thy pardoning Mercy O that I could hear thee say as thou didst to him in the Gospel My Son be of good chear thy sins are forgiven thee O that I could never sin against thee more never purposely deliberately willfully sin against thee more and for those sins of daily Incursion those over familiar corruptions of my Nature which thou hast not yet given me strength enough to conquer Lord either subdue them by degrees or lay them not to my Charge but wherein soever my Conscience most accuseth me therein O my God be thou most merciful unto me Save me O Lord as a brand snatch out of the Fire Receive me O my Jesus as a sheep that has wandred but now is return'd to the Great Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul Let this day O my God be noted in thy Book do not thou forget my Prayers nor suffer me to forget my Resolutions though I am weak though I am unworthy though I am unprofitable yet I am thy Servant and here upon my bended Knees I humbly beg of thee that I may live and die so Lord hear my Prayers and let my cry come unto thee Lord pardon my Prayers and let not my coldness and wandrings and infinite unworthiness turn them into Sin Lord hear my Prayer and let my cry come unto thee O Lord Jesu Christ Son of the Eternal God interpose thy holy Death thy Cross and Passion between thy Judgment and my Soul now and in the hour of my death granting unto me Grace and Mercy to all faithfull people pardon and peace to the Church unity and amity to all Sinners especially those I have led into Sin Repentance and Amendment to us all life and Glory everlasting who livest and reignest ever one God World without end Amen O Lord bless me and keep me O Lord Make thy face to shine upon me O Lord lift up the light of thy countenance upon me and give me peace for ever Amen Having performed this Office with due sincerity let us reflect upon what we have been doing 't is possible the result of our Thoughts may terminate in a mixture of fear and joy But we ought not to let either passion prevail more than is justly necessary don 't let our fear depress and cast us into such a Melancholy as may suggest God won't be reconciled and if we have been dull in the performance of these things that God has rejected us The Devil knows how fatal this course is to redeem us from his Power he is very busie to prevent our repentance and abuse our imaginations with allusions perhaps our own disuse of prayer has rendred us uncapable of a due attention 't is impossible to become immediately good from being very wicked or that we should pray with the same steadfastness as they who are accustomed to this duty We are therefore to strive to the uttermost where we fail to be sorry ask God's Pardon and Grace to do better for the future and in a little time we shall prevail to our satisfaction On the other side don't let our joy puff us up and because we have shed a few Tears said so many Prayers Fasted and given Alms that we are now become perfect and need no more Repentance we have but set the first step to this great work of our Salvation were we sure we had fully conquered sin and shou'd not suffer our selves to be deceived any more Yet this negative part of Christianity is not sufficient 't is not enough that we cease to do Evil but learn to do Well we are now to begin our course and as we have many things to unlearn so there are abundance to learn without which we shall never see the Face of God What they are the Scripture will inform us 't is from thence we are to learn our perfection for he hath shewed thee O man what is Good to do Justice to love Mercy and to walk humbly
with thy God we are to attend the House of Prayer frequent the Sacrament and be holy in all manner of Conversation If we want to be informed in any thing let us have recourse to our Pastor that he may satisfie our Consciences I would advice that our Confession be made to some discreet Minister for 't is a great sign of our Repentance when we are thus willing to take shame to our selves besides 't will be a greater restraint-upon us We shall be affraid to join in the next Temptation when we know we must confess it 't is the depravedness of our Nature to be affraid rather of Men than God We are not scrupulous to do those things in private which we cou'd not do before Men 't is seldom that Companions in Wickedness will suffer one another to be Witnesses of their shame so easie is it to be affraid to confess what we don't blush to commit but this I leave to every Man's Conscience but let him have a care he don't deceive his own Soul We shall be tortured to little purpose to put our selves upon mock Repentances and when our Confessions come willfully short of our sins we willfully exclude our selves from the Favour and Mercy of God 't will be a sad remembrance at the last day to think 't was in our power to be Happy that we were not far from the Kingdom of Heaven and yet must fall short of the Glory of God To prevent which let us deal Faithfully with our Souls when we think we stand be careful we don't fall and having begun our course to continue to our lives end that we may be saved When we come abroad into the World there is a necessity we set a watch over ourselves we must expect to be attack'd if we can bear the first assault the rest will fall by degrees and every Temptation be less powerful when we are first tempted let us remember that this is the very thing that has cost us so much trouble which we vow'd to resist which is our mortal Enemy and which will set us at a greater variance with God How can we do this thing and sin against Heaven Let us Remember this is the first Tryal if we submit how can we think to prevail another time the next Temptation may have a better appearance There may be a Thousand things to render it more taking and so by degrees we shall be brought to our old state and the last condition will be worse than the first We must not allow our selves in the Commission of any one known sin we must resist the beginning we must not suffer our selves to think upon old Habits but with abhorrence for 't is not only a sin but will endanger us to fall back If we take pleasure in their remembrance the Devil wont fail to excite our delight by adding some new relish to make them more acceptable if we would shun the danger we must avoid the occasion and then need not fear being led into Temptation But there is a greater motive yet we must remember we are but beginning and to look back at the first step is such a piece of folly that every body must be ashamed of Sure none can be so unreasonable to desire it should be reckoned among their good Deeds that they only thought of Repentance if we are truly sensible of our sins we shall be very desirous to get rid of them We are taught there is no way but by coming to Christ they that come unto him must do the Will of his Father to those he gives power to become the Sons of God the Children of God are manifest they that do wickedness are not of God Let us endeavour therefore to add to our Repentance Obedience that acceptable Sacrifice and be forward in all the duties of Christianity that so we may approve our selves in well doing for 't is the will of the Lord that we add to our Faith Vertue and when we have tryed our selves that we can resist Temptation and are ready to Good Works let us then prepare to meet the Lord at his Holy Table that we may receive Grace and Strength to walk in the same all the days of our lives This is the great duty of the New Law and there needs no arguments to bring those to the Sacrifice who are sensible of their necessities or are desirous of growing better Our Church has taken care to instruct every Christian how he may become a worthy Receiver by telling him first what he ought to Believe and then what he ought to Practice I shall content my self with the method of the Church in both these Cases and recommend it to those who are desirous to be inform'd Bread and Wine is what the Lord has commanded to be received and the Church has told us that they signifie the Body and Blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken by the Faithful and the benefits are the strengthning and refreshing of our Souls This is what we are positively to believe and when we can give our intire assent let us according to the Direction of the Church examine our selves whether we repent truly of our former sins steadfastly purposing to lead a new Life have a lively Faith in God's mercy through Jesus Christ with a thankful Remembrance of his Death and be in Charity with all Men. This is in short the Duty of every Communicant and no Man who would come to the Lord's Supper worthily can leave out any of these things instead of a great many Arguments I must press the observance of them 'T is the misfortune of a great many to think they have discharged their Duty if they can use so much Self-denial as to refrain from their usual excess a week before the Sacrament say the Morning and Evening Devotion and bring themselves to confess they are sorry for what upon a little Examination they find a miss This they think is Repentance enough and because their Book finds no more work for them set down well satisfied with their performance They seem willing to compound the matter with God Almighty confess themselves Bank-rupt and desire to be set free for paying half Tribute They have their set times for Devotion are content to be Fools for three Weeks and then set down to make up the Month the other week and confess their Folly Thus for one weeks Pennance think God is obliged to be reconciled and because they have the impudence to wipe their Mouth conclude God will think they have done no ill but we can't deceive God where 't is to be had he will exact the uttermost Farthing let our Consciences be our Judges and our Guides Use Books only as helps to Devotion for 't is impossible for a Book to be writ to suit every Man's occasion there is something particular to every one of us that another perhaps never thought of and 't is not likely such a one is capable to prescribe a Remedy before hand
inhumanly defile his Face with Spittle After the Horrid Pomp of this Solemnity was over they divested him of this Dignity and proceeded to treat him like a Slave and that his Death might appear more dreadful they usher it in with all its Terrors with Stripes and Scourges and all the Torments their malice could Inflict Thus bruised and wounded with the weight of our Transgression he ascends the last steps of his Passion and without the least Reluctance stretches out his Arms to be fix'd on the most painful instrument of Death where O my Soul behold the Son of Man lifted up O dearest God who wast Wounded Despised Crucified and Crowned with Thorns and for my sins wert Nailed to the Cross I beseech thee by the Merits of them all O sweetest Jesus to pardon my Offences His Death was now a hastning on and their Diversion near to a Conclusion they were resolved to make the best use of their time and make their ingratitude last as long as his life they rail on Him treat him with all the marks of Infamy and continue their Revilings to his dying Minute Their Madness Folly and Aggrevations reached Heaven put the World into disorder and turned the Day into Night but could not move his Soul he saw their Madness felt the weight of their Offences and only prayed for their Forgiveness he pittied their Misery and when they endeavor'd to pull the Vengenace of his Blood upon their Heads he was sheding it as Sacrifice for their Wickedness But when the Majesty of Heaven grew Angry and exerted his Fury and laid on him the iniquities of us all he trembled at his Wrath cou'd not bear the direction of the Deity and groan'd away his Soul when God with-drew his presence from his support yet neither the Frowns of his angry Father nor the Rage of Men or Devils could make him sink till all was fullfil'd which the Scriptures spake concerning him when that was finish'd he only tarried to recommend his Mother to the pious care of his beloved Disciple bowed his Head and gave up the Ghost O crucified Jesus let thy Blood wash my Scul I am not ashamed of thy Cross but adore thee in thy Passion and acknowledge thee to be God Let us now turn the Scene and think how we have offended this God and lived in a continual Rebellion and then of what punishment ought we to be thought worthy who have Slighted Contemned and abused such infinite Mercy Who have returned the Love of God with the basest ingratitude and had no other reason for our Wickedness but that God was Good What an inconceivable Mercy is it that we are not this minute in those unquenchable Flames where the exquisitness of the Torment should oblige us instead of crying for Mercy to breath out horrid Blasphemies And as we slighted his Government here Curse and Dam his severity thee still sinking our selves deeper in the intollerable Misery where will be no Mittigation of the Torment nor end to our sad Affliction Let us constrain all the forces of our Soul to praise God that we are alive entreating his Pardon Let us beg Pardon even for taking that liberty to praise him and withal that he would still help us to praise him more O let us reflect on every thing that may move us to confess our Wickedness and be sorry for our sins The thoughts of these things may well enough put us in a heat and when our Passions are throughly urged vent themselves in Sighs and earnest desires of Reconciliation that both of them may meet with success let us add alms to our Fasting and Prayer for when our Petitions are thus assisted the mercy of God will not deny us a suitable return therefore in the entrance to our Devotion let us set apart something for the Poor and humbly offer it up in the following form O God Blessed be thy Name all things come of thee and of thine own do I now give thee O let this Alms be as an Odour of a sweet smell and acceptable in thy sight Preparitory Prayers before the Communion ALmighty Eternal God thou art the comforter of all that call upon thee thou hast concluded all under sin that thou mightest have Mercy upon all Look upon me O God and have pitty on me lying in my Blood and Misery in my Shame and in my Sins in the fear and guilt of thy Wrath in the shadow of thy Death and in the Gates of Hell I confess to thee O God what thou knowest already but I confess it to glorifie thy Mercy who hast spared me so long I am guilty of the vilest and basest Follies which usually dishonour Fools and the worst of Men I have been Proud and Covetous Envious and Lustful Angry Indevout and Irreligious restless in my Passions Sensual hating wise Counsels and soon weary of the Offices of a Holy Religion I cannot give an account of my Time and I cannot reckon the Sins of my Tongue my Crimes are Intolerable my Imperfections Shameful and my Omissions Innumerable What shall I do O thou preserver of Men I 'm so Vile I cannot express it so Sinful that I 'm odious to my self and I 'm much more Abominable in thy sight I have sinned against thee without Necessity sometimes without Temptation only because I would Sin I have been so Ungreatful Foolish and Unreasonable that I have put out my own Eyes that I might with confidence and without fear sin against so good a God so mighty a Redeemer my sin is grown shameful and aggravated even to Amazement O God I 'm amazed and confounded in thy presence BUT yet O God thou art the healer of our Breaches and the litter up of our Head I must not despair I 'm sure thy gooness is infinite thou doest not delight in the Death of a Sinner my sins though very great are infinitely less than thy Mercies I 'm not worthy to look up to Heaven but be thou pleased to look down into the Dust let me not perish in my Folly or be consumed in thy Displeasure give me time to Repent give me the power of thy Spirit that as by thy Gift and Mercy I intend to amend what is amiss so I may indeed have Grace and Power faithfully to fullfil the same Inspire me with the Spirit of Repentance and Mortification that I may always fight against my sins till I be more than Conqueror Support me with a Holy Hope confirm me with an excellent Operative and unreprovable Faith enkindle a bright and burning Charity in my Soul and grant by the power of thy Spirit I may overcome all Carnal and Spiritual Wickedness be wholly delivered from sin preserved from thy Wrath and at last pass on to the Glories of thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ my Saviour A Meditation of St. Austin BEfore thy Eyes O Gracious Lord we bring our Crimes before thee we expose the Wounds of our bleeding Souls That which we suffer is but little that which we
deserve is intolerable We fear the Punishment of our Sins but cease not pertinaciously to proceed in sinning Our Weakness is sometimes smitten with thy Rod but our Iniquity is not changed When thou smitest us then we confess our Sins but when thy Visitation is past then we forget that we have wept When thou stretchest forth thine Hand then we promise to do our Duty but when thou takest it away we perform no Promises If thou strikest we cry to thee to spare us but when thou sparest we provoke thee again to Anger Thus O God the Guilty confess before thee Unless thou givest us Pardon it is but just we perish But O Almighty God our Father grant to us what we ask even though we deserve it not Pardon us O Gracious Father and take away all our Sin Destroy the Work of the Devil let the Enemy have no part in us Acknowledge the Work of thine own Hand the Price of thine own Blood and the Purchase of thine own Inheritance and bring us to the Place which thou hast design'd for us by the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant by the Pains of thy Cross and the Glories of thy Resurrection O Holy and Blessed Jesus our Redeemer MOst merciful God and Father I thine unworthy Servant render my humblest Thanks to thy Divine Majesty that it has pleas'd thee notwithstanding my Unworthiness to give me a Heart to approach thy Blessed Sacrament Give me thy Grace that I may be a curious Spender of my Time this Week so as I may best resist or prevent all Temptation Let thy Grace so perpetually assist and encourage my Endeavours conduct my Will and fortifie my Intentions that I may persevere in that holy Condition which thou hast put me in by the Grace of the Covenant and the Mercies of the Holy Jesus Oh let me never fall into those Sins and retire to that vain Conversation from which the Eternal and Merciful Saviour of the World hath redeemed me Let thy Preventing Grace dash all Temptations in their Approach that my Hopes be never discompos'd my Faith weaken'd my Confidence made remiss nor my Portion be lessen'd in the Covenant Give me Grace to put on the Wedding-Garment And since thou hast commanded me to examine my self let me seriously consider and review my Life and Actions and how I am prepar'd for so weighty an Action I desire to do this O Lord help my weak Desires Give me Power to live more exactly than I have done I confess O Lord I am by Nature a Child of Wrath give me therefore a True and Lively Faith that I may be spiritually join'd to thee by the Visible Signs of Bread and Wine And so cleanse my Soul that thou mayest take up thy Habitation within me I know O Lord I am unworthy of this Blessing yet for thy Name sake bestow it upon me And when I present my self before thee at thy Table restrain my Wandring and Idle Thoughts let them be seriously fix'd on the Death of my Saviour And as I receive this Bread and Wine for Bodily Sustenance so cause me to feed on the Body and Blood of my Saviour that it may be real Nourishment to my Soul Which I beg for the sake of him who offer'd both his Body and Blood for my Salvation Jesus thy Son and my Redeemer Amen O Most Good and Gracious Jesus how excellent was thy Love towards us thou leavest thy Body and Blood to be our Food to Nourish us O thou true Food of my Soul receive me who am to receive thee quicken me with thy Spirit feed me with thy Flesh satisfie me with thy Blood and let me receive Life from thee to act and live unto thee O my Lord give me a Heart that I may think on thee a Soul that I may love thee and a Mind to remember thee Let me find thee O my hearts desire let me hold thee O thou whom my Soul doth love O my life for whom all things live by which I live without which I die O my Lord let me renew this life of mine by coming to thy Holy Sacrament Where may I find thee but here O that I may faint in my self and depend on thee O Lord let me love thee because thou didst first love me Where shall I get words to express the signs of thy particular great love towards me I bless thee for my Creation Preservation and all the Blessings of this life but most of all for my Redemption and the benefits convey'd to us in the Holy Sacrament O let me go to thy Holy Table to receive Life and Salvation O that I may cry after God even the living God that I may watch for thee more than they who watch for the Morning and that my delight may be in thy Commandments O God I Dare not presume to come to thine Altar Most Holy Lord God before I have cleansed my Mouth by confession of my Sins washed my Hands in Innocency and purified my heart by profession of my Faith in my Redeemers Blood for thy sacred Word teaches me that Holy Thing must not be given to Dogs nor Pearls cast before Swine with loathing of my self and greatest detestation of my rebellious corruption I confess that never Dog so oft returned to his Vomit nor Sow to wallowing in the Mire as I have to sin and sensuality I was at first conceived in Lust and since Lust has conceived in me and brought forth sin and sin had long ago brought forth Death if thy Grace and Mercy had not prevented it I am not able to conceive what sin I have conceived in my heart or uttered with my tongue my best actions are tainted how much more my defects my Prayers against sin are through their many imperfections unless thou cover them abominable in thy sight how much more the sins themselves against which I pray All the remedies which thou hast prescribed in thy Law against the maladies of my Soul have increas'd them and so improv'd my sin that sin is become above measure sinful O Lord thy Commandments are exceeding Broad and extends not only to our Words and Actions but to our Thoughts Desires and Affection the smallest desire of sin is sin the very inclination to sin without consent of the will the delight in sin against the consent of the will our vain fancies by Day and dreams by Night though not in our power to prevent are pollutions in thy Eyes who are purity it self Who then can say his Heart is clean or who knoweth how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret Faults Pardon all my known and unknown Transgressions whether they be Omissions of any duty Commanded by thee or Commissions of any thing forbidden O loose me from those Bonds wherewith Satan and my own Lust have bound me thou seest I have abundant need of thee but am so cloged with Guilt that I am not able to move towards thee O let not my impenitence and unworthiness
frustrate thy Mercies to me and since thou hast appointed this Spiritual Feast for rich and famished Souls let my desires be answerable to my need of it and do thou qualifie me by thy Grace to receive the full benefits of it O Christ hear me and grant that I may approach thee with more sincere and fixed Reasolutions of an intire Reformation and let me receive such strength from thee as may enable me faithfully to perform them Lord there are many old Habitual Diseases my Soul groans under and though I lie never so long at the pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy Table unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing Vertue they will still remain uncured O thou Blessed Physician of Souls heal me and grant I may so touch thee that there lothsome Issues may immediately stanch that these Sicknesses may not be unto Death but to the Glory of thy Mercy in pardoning so polluted a Wretch Lord have Mercy on me and grant I may approach thy Holy Table with such Humlity and Contrition Love and Devotion that thou mayest vouchsafe to come unto me and communicate to me thy self and all the Merits of thy Passion I acknowledge to my shame and sorrow that this Feast has often been prepared and I have with frivolous excuses absented my self or if I have come it has been rather to defy than adore thee I have brought such Troops of thy professed Enemies unrepented sins along with me as if I came not to commemorate but renew thy Passion of what punishment ought I to be thought worthy who have trampled under foot the Son of God counted the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing by defiling my self with sensual pleasures and breaking my holy Vows since I received the blessed Sacrament and thereby have incurred the greatest danger by receiving that Unworthily which can take away the guilt of my Sin yet O merciful Jesus this Blood is my only refuge let this make my attonement or I perish Eternally Wherefore didst thou shed it but to save Sinners O let me find its saving Efficacy let not the price of thy Blood be utterly lost but Pardon that heap of sin which I bring to thy Cross to be forgiven that so I may be an acceptable Guest at thy Holy Table which I beg for thy Compassion Sake Jesus my God and Saviour BLessed and all sufficient Saviour I the unworthiest of thy Servants prostrate my self at thy Mercy Seat humbly imploring that Pardon and Forgiveness of my multiplied Transgressions which render me unfit to receive the least of thy multiplied Kindness much less of being made a partaker of the greatest in the participation of the Sacred Body and Blood in the Holy Communion Dear Redeemer let me approach this Divine Institution with a prepared Heart and a purified Soul O that infinite Justice of the Almighty in taking so full vengeance upon sin even upon thee his only beloved Son that we might fear and tremble at the sad Effects of sin O the infinite Mercy of the Almighty ever to think of such a remedy for miserable Man's Restoration O the equal Goodness of thee our dearest Lord who wast a willing Sacrifice who wast Content Ambitious Hungring and thirsting after our Salvation by thy dreadful Passion for which let me how my self at the Footstool of thy Cross and mourn for thy Sufferings as occasioned by my Sins O let the drops of thy Blood trickle down into my Bosom and wash out the stains of sin there let thy Thorns pierce me to the Heart and thy Nails fasten me to thee as much as ever they did thee to the Cross Thou that didst entertain Judas with Tranquility and sufferest him to kiss thy Cheek reject not me thy unworthy supplicant but kiss me with the Benediction of thy Lips and with the Affections of a Saviour thou that dist permit the Soldiers to bind thee to satisfie for my looseness and abused liberty bind me now unto thee with the Chains of Love let that Holy Union dissolve the Cords of Vanity and subdue my Passions and unruly Desires Dearest Lord as in my Body of sin there is no part free so in thy suffering Body there was no whole part nothing but Sores and Stripes Wounds and Bruises I have offended in all my parts thou wast tormented in all thine so that with shame and sorrow I confess that my sins inflicted the misery of thy Passion by the hands of thy barbarous Enemies O let the Spear that pierced thy Heart sweetest Jesus pierce mine with true Sorrow let me contemplate on thy Passion with infinite hatred of sin that occasioned it and with infinite gratitude to thy Love for performing the same I adore thee O Lord Blessed Jesus for instituting the Holy Sacrament strike an awe into my Soul when I approach it and create in me Heavenly dispositions to celebrate so Heavenly an institution let me verily believe that if with due preparation I come to thy Altar as certainly as I receive the outward sings so certainly shall I receive thy most blessed Body and Blood to receive which inestimable Blessing O merciful Lord do thou fit and prepare me for thy mercy sake in Christ Jesus our Lord. O All sufficient Saviour teach me by thy great good Examples Obedience and Submission to thy Divine Will I humbly beseech thee so to prepare my Soul to the due receiving of the Holy Sacrament worthily that I may thereby effectually feel tast and feed on thee my Saviour Christ that I may be thee have Eternal Life Pardon O Lord pardon my unpreparedness to come to so Holy and Divine a Mistery make thy Word and Sacrament always so powerful and effectual in my Heart that I may thereby be sanctified and renewed unto all Holy Obedience unto thy Will in the mortification of my sinful Corruptions renewing of thy perfect Image in me unto Holiness Righteousness Sobriety Truth Knowledge Faith Temperance and Chastity O Blessed Jesus by thee let me have access to thy Heavenly Father that by thee he may accept me who by thee is revealed to me let thy Innocence and Purity procure pardon for my uncleanness and disobedience let thy Humility extinguish my Pride and Vanity and thy Charity cover the multitude of my Faults and that thou wilt with the hands of thy Mercy immediately after this life receive my Soul into everlasting Joy and Felicity there to Reign with thee for ever A Concluding Prayer O Lord God into thy hands I commit my Body Soul and Spirit my Thoughts Words and Works desiring wholly to be thine O my God Gracious and Merciful accept me in thy beloved Jesus Christ for his sake let me not go from before thee without a Blessing a Blessing of Pardon and Peace a Blessing of thy Spirit and of thy Grace to come Holy to thy Table a Blessing of thy favour and of thy love in the Lord Jesus thus Lord say of me that thou hast Blessed me and I shall be
thy Blessed for ever pardon the defect of Prayers my Coldness and Wandring in my Devotions and deal with me according to thy Mercies in Christ Jesus who in compassion to my infirmatives has taught me to call thee Father and when I pray to say Our Father c. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. Having performed these Devotions faithfully let us wait for the Blessing of the Lord if we would have a speedy answer to our Prayers let us have respect in all our Conversation to what we have been doing 'T is not sufficient that we passionately beg God's Favour we must endeavour to deserve it by performing his will and when God sees that we choose him he will not deny us the Blessings that are needful for us 'T is not to be supposed that Man is serious who can be earnest and zealous in his Closest but loose and intemperate in the World or that he is heartily desirous to be eased of his burthen who makes no other attempts to acquit himself but when he is upon his Knees Can we think God will hear the Prayer of a Man who only asks to be freed from his Infirmities When the wicked Man turns from his Wickedness and does that which is Lawful and Right be shall save his Soul and not before If a Man that is an Adulterer Lascivious or Unclean would have his Vices routed out he must first set himself against the Sin endeavour to mortifie the Lust and avoid the occasion of his Folly and then he may expect God's Pardon for the past and assistance for the future He ought during the time of his Tryal to beg God's Grace to help him in the conquest of this Enemy and if he is sincere may be sure in a little time that he will be more than Conqueror but don't let us fly to God to save us from those Evils we voluntary run into which we don't care to avoid and which are no longer uneasie than they sensibly affect us We shall but mock God and provoke him to give us up to the deceits of our own Heart but 't is hoped they who are arrived so far in Vertue as to set their Resolutions to approach the Altar of God have no such custom that they truly are sorry for their Offences and intend to lead a new life that their Faith is such as overcomes the World that they have brought under their unruly Appetites and are zealous of good Works These are the things about which we ought to Examine our selves let this be our study the nearer we approach this Solemnity that so we may search every Corner of our Hearts and when we have set our ways before our Eyes there is no doubt but we shall bewail the iniquity of them and raise in our Souls an ardent love to Christ who is so ready to relieve us and has done so much to bring us into Favour with God Our unworthiness and his Mercy are sufficient to exercise our thoughts our whole lives we are astonished at the one and confounded at the other but when we consider his mercy extends to the other World even to the making us happy for ever we know not what to say are desirous our Eternity should be passed away in his Praises and even wish for the order of a Seraphim to express our grateful acknowledgments in Joyful Halelujahs they who consider the dignity of this Sacrament will be desirous of approaching thither with all possible purity and endeavour to cleanse themselves according to the Purification of the Sanctuary In short let us but get a true understanding of the Sacrament and that will teach us our Duty Let us add the following Form to our Devotions on Saturday Evening O What shall I do to have my Soul wholly possest with thee but by coming to thy Holy Communion there to seal the promises I have made to thee this Week for the future to live more Godly Suffer me thy justice laid aside to speak unto thy mercy me Dust and Ashes yet suffer me to speak being 't is to the mercies of God say unto my Soul I am thy Salvation and hide not thy face from me let me see it though I die least otherwise I die so as never to see it the mansion of my Soul is to marrow to entertain thee O let it be enlarged by thee by my coming to thy Table it is very ruinous be thou pleased to repair it cleanse me O Lord from my secret sins from my presumptuous wickedness deliver thy Servant I have confessed these my sins unto thee and hope thou hast forgiven the iniquity of them I do not contend in judgment with thee for thou art the Truth If thou Lord shouldst mark iniquities who may abide But we have confidence in thy mercy through the merits of our Saviour and Mediator who was also made known to the Saints of Old that they by the Faith of his Passion to come as we by the Faith of it past might obtain Salvation As he was Man he was Mediator but as he was the Word so he was no midling Person because equal to God and God with God together with the Holy Ghost one God How far hast thou loved us O thou good Father who sparedst not thine only Son but delivered him up for us ungodly How far hast thou loved us for whom he who thought it no Robery to be equal to thee was made subject even to Death upon the Cross Therefore do I justly repose strong hope in thee that thou wilt heal all my Diseases which are very great but much greater is the cure which thou hast provided This is my great delight and so often as I can be released from necessary affairs I will repair to this pleasure of coming to thy Table neither find I in all these things which I run through any settlement for my Soul save only in thee Behold O Lord I cast all my care upon thee let me live and I will consider the wonderful things of thy Law thou knowest my Ignorance my Infirmities teach me heal me O Jesus in whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom Redeem me with thine own Blood for I meditate on it I Eat and Drink at thy Table and desire to be satisfied therewith amongst those who Eat and are satisfied Oh! Lord thou seest how much I have left behind after all my dilligence to cleanse and purifie my Soul Alas all my thoughts of thee are but Dreams my Desires but a Vapour my love but a Flash my Prayers are but a Breath and my Tears will scarce fill a Buble my Sorrow is no bigger than a Sigh all that I do I am ashamed of it my self and thou mayest much more loath and dispise it Come thou O Lord therefore and search my heart try me and know my toughts see if there be any way of wickedness in me and lead me in the way Everlasting Do thou awaken in me most lively thoughts do thou inkindle
Union but that being begun here in grace it be consummated in Glory Grant this O merciful Father for thy dear Sons sake Jesus Christ our Lord. ONce more O my Soul contemplate that thou art now a preparing thy self for that Divine Banquet which thy loving Lord instituted a little before those Sufferings and that Death before the breaking of his Body and the sheding of his Precious Sacred and Royal Blood which he declared to be signified by the breaking of the Bread and the pouring out of the Wine for he went that very Night into the Garden where his pious Soul apprehensive of Divine Wrath humbly addressed with reiterated supplications for Relief and being sensible of the miseries of Mankind pressing hard upon his spotless Soul the Torments of the approaching Cross the executing Terrors of the Powers of Darkness and the whole Artillery of an incensed God which he was in little time to graple with they shook his very Nature melted him into streams of Blood and so cast down his Spirits that nothing less than an Angel of the presence was able to mittigate the conflicts of this otherwise insupportable Agony These are but the beginning of Sorrows for no sooner then Mercy overcame the afflicting convulsion of his Soul who was sorrowful to Death but he began to fortifie his kind intentions to poor Man by that inexpressibly loving and unparallel'd Resignation to the will of his Heavenly Father he chearfully proceeded to offer up that Sacrifice which was to appease the Divine Justice for the iniquities of an impious World when after a most exemplary submission to the affronts and injuries of implacable Spirits the ingrateful Malice and supercillious Envy of those who thirsted for his Blood being despitefully abused afflicted and tormented denied by some forsaken by others desolate and comfortless in every sense truly a Man of sorrows was forced to add weight to his past Sufferings and bear the Cross of his own Crucifixion Where O my Soul behold by Faith the Lamb of God lifted up for the sins of the World O humble thy self into the center of thy own nothing for of what punishment oughtest thou to be thought worthy that hast so insensed the Majesty of Heaven to give up the innocent and most Holy Jesus thy best thy only Friend and his dear Son to be Tortured and Tormented for thy sins O how cruelly was he scourged with Wips wounded with Thorns loaden with the Cross torn with Nails pierced with a Spear and racked on the most painful instrument of Death his lovely Face defiled with Blood and Spitting his Ears fill'd with Upbraidings and Curses his Eyes drenched in Tears for the ruine of his Enemies and his Soul amazed at the Terrors of an angry God 'till at length all wounded broken and bloody with many groans yet with admirable patience he breaths out his Soul with infinite Charity and Forgiveness O holy Jesu how excellent is thy Goodness O ye blessed Host of Heaven who rejoice at the conversion of a sinner adore and praise that unknown sorrow which ye your selves contemplate with awful admiration I cannot doubt thy power to ease me because of these Suffrings of thy Love I must not question thy willingness who callest me of thy own accord nor dare I suspect thy sincerity who art Truth it self and always in earnest with poor sinners my Guilt has made me think to fly from thee but thy melting Voice has eneouraged me to turn to thee and laid me prostrate at thy feet groaning under my Offences but if thou wilt pitty me I am safe it thou art pleased I am eased if thou pardon me my burden is gone and if thou wilt take away this intollerable Lord I will then venture to draw nearer even to thy Altar O holy Jesu there to receive more refreshment from thy mercy Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy leaden and I will give you rest These are thy words O Christ for you hast spoken them and they are mine because spoken for my salvation O sweet and amiable words in the ear of a poor sinner by which thou invitest an indigent starv'd wretch to pertake of thy Body But who am I O Lord that I should come The Angels and Archangels reverence thee thy Saints and holy Ones fear before thee and yet thou sayest unto me come Unless thou hast said it who could have believed it to be true Unless thou hadst commanded it who durst have attempted this approach Does my Saviour invite and shall I go Shall a sinner dare to sit down at his Table Does he invite and shall I not go Shall a Wretch presume to refuse his Call Rise then my Soul and take thy swiftest wings and fly to the presence of this great Mystery A Feast of Holy Bread and Holy Wine in representation of thy sacred Body and blood where thy all glorious self is freely to the meanest guest a feast of peace and love and incomparable sweetness to which thy own blest mouth thus kindly callest us But stay am I dressed like a friend of the Bridegroom that I safely may come to the Marriage Supper have I considered how chast those eyes should be which go to behold the God of purity have I considered how clean that mouth should be which presumes to eat that Bread of Heaven but most how all caelestial that Soul should be which aspires to a union with the Body of Christ Oh! how poor and dull and empty am I how infinitly unworthy of so divine a Sacrament yet am I call'd by him that can Command by him that sees and pitties my misery he bids me come he surely will receive me and with his bounteous fullness supply my defects Go then my Soul to that sacred Table and take thy part of that delicious banquet go all inflamed with Love and joy and hope and quench thy holy Thirst with that spring of bliss when thou hast tasted his everlasting sweetness and feelest his heavenly streams flow gently on thee open thy happy breast and suck those Waters in and let them freely run over all thy powers Let them soak deep to the root of thy heart and turn thy barren heath into a fruitful soil fruitful in holy thoughts and pious words fruitful in good just and charitable Deeds fruitful in good examples and God of his infinite goodness confirm all this that my Soul may bless his holy Name here and with the whole host of Heaven sing Hallelujah to him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for over hereafter Amen Our Father c. O Lord bless me and keep me this day O Lord make thy Face to shine upon me and be gracious unto me O Lord lift up the light of thy countenance upon me and give me peace this day and for ever Amen The Blessings to be obtained and the sense of our Unworthiness which surely by this time is ingrafted in our hearts will inform us that each moment of this
of men What can be more agreeable to a devout Soul than thus to exercise it self in the Law of God What can be more moving than to see and hear a devout Priest offering up Prayers and Supplications and others joining in his Petitions by Ecchoing a hearty Amen How does it constrain us to out-vie in Zeal and cause a Holy Emulation when we hear our Minister with fervency crying to the Father of Heaven to have Mercy upon us and we with equal earnestless invocating the Son and Holy Ghost mercifully to hear us Let others mock and call them vain repetitions while we endeavour to express the desires of our Souls in those Pathetical supplications Lord have mercy upon us We are not so vain but to confess our want of that Mercy nor ashamed of the Repetition when we find the benefit even the favour of the Lord which is better than life it self wherefore I must be earnest with every Christian to attend this service don't let our thoughts be roving but correct the wandrings of our minds the whole Service is in order to prepare us to a worthy reception of the Holy Sacrament when once we have got the mastry of our selves and can go along with all the parts of the Church we shall have less occasions for these helps to Devotion we shall find so much contained in the Prayers and Exhortations as will take up all the vacant time in Holy Meditation and this will make Holiness become exceeding delightful when we can turn our Souls towards God and solace them without interruption when we can leave the thoughts of this World and look steadfastly to God But this is to be done by degrees when we have conquer'd the love of this World and wearied our selves from its Alurements and this only to be performed by a constant watch over our words and actions and perseverance in the ways of goodness When the Prayers of the Church are over let us humbly ask God to pardon our defects in his Service and say O Lord Pardon the wandrings and coldness of my Petitions deal not with me according to my Prayers or Deserts but according to my needs and thy infinit mercy in Jesus Christ Amen Having discharged our duty in Prayer to God let us prepare our selves to hear what he will say to us out of his Holy Word we ought to look upon the Minister as an Ambassador of Christ and hearken with reverence to his Doctrine at the end of it to beg that we may bring forth the Fruit of it in our Lives and Conversation and this we can't do in better words than in one of the Collects after the Communion Grant we beseech thee Almighty God that the Words which we have heard this day c. While the People are going out let us devoutly turn towards the Table of the Lord and endeavour with admiration and reverence to contemplate the approaching Ordinance let us entertain thoughts of our unworthiness and then humble our selves before the Lord and say A Prayer O Almighty God who art infinite in Compassion and art able to pardon more sins than I can commit the stretcht out Arms of my dear Saviour upon the Cross can encompass the largest extention of my sins and his Passion affords an ever flowing Red Sea to cover them that they may not become my confusion O then let his Blood be my Bath purge me with Hysop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow and to capacitate me for these Mercies let the deepest sorrow wound my Soul Oh! let it grieve my Spirit that I have lived so long to the grief of thine and let me grieve so long that I can grieve no more make my Soul to ascend in an humble supplication and let my Saviour's intercession procure thine acceptance and give me such a Faith as may take possession of all I pray for and least my own trust should deceive me when I have said Amen to my Prayers do thou say Amen to my Amen that so an Establishment of Blessings may be the crown of my Soul which I beg through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ Extinguish O Lord all the Fires of Hell my Lust Pride Envy Malice and Uncharitableness create in me O God a great longing after the Bread of Heaven and a thirst after the fountain of Salvation that as the Heart panteth after the water brooks so my Soul may long after thee my Saviour and Redeemer Amen When the Minister goes up to the Holy Table letus raise our Affections and prepare our selves to accompany him in this great work and fixing our selves in a devout posture when he begins the Exhortation to Charity let our thoughts carry us beyond the litteral Expression of those Sentences and whilst he Reads consider the necessities of the Poor Let us enlarge our desires and wish we were able to satisfie the complaints of those who are in want at least let us resolve to do according as God has put it in our power not Grudgingly and of necessity because 't is the custom and the Church requires it at such Seasons Here we have an opportunity of examining our selves whether we have fulfill'd the will of God in this manner 'T is not to be supposed that we deserve the name of charitable persons who take no time to distribute of this World good but when we can't help it therefore let us ask our Souls at every Sentence Hast thou followed this Advice or obeyed this Command Hast thou performed that great duty of the Law doing as thou wouldst be done by Hast thou restored with interest whatever thou hast unjustly detained from any Man And first have we taken care that they who have sown unto us Spiritual things should reap of our Temporal for 't is meet those who wait at the Altar should be partakers with the Altar for we must know that even so God hath ordained that they who Preach should live of the Gospel Therefore if we have fail'd to do this let us ask God's Pardon and don't let us because the Minister can't exact it take that advantage and pay nothing Secondly have we shew'd our compassion to the poor by giving Alms Have we not turned away our Face from our Brother who was in need but been merciful after our power If our Hearts condemn us not we have confidence in God that he is Righteous and will not forget but reward us in the day of necessity thus may we turn these excellent Admonitions into heads of Examination and happy are we if we have offer'd up such Sacrifices as are acceptable The Church has taken care to tell us what they are and has placed them at the beginning of this excellent Office to exhort us to Good Works We are about to remember that exceeding love of Christ and the wonderful charity of our Saviour therefore 't is very proper in the entrance to this Holy Ordinance to exhort us to be like minded that
Celestial Food the bread that came down from Heaven how does thy sweetness and my own necessities invite me My body is liable to Temporal my Soul to Eternal Death and behold here is the medicine of immortality which will remove the sting of the first and destroy the power of the second which will fill me with the Graces I want fit me for the Glory I desire and advance my Soul and Body above the Power of corruption I feel a mighty Hunger created in me which nothing but this Heavenly Manna can satisfie I despise the meat which perishes and feedeth for Destruction and long with impatience to taste of this Body of Christ of which I may eat and live for ever which will make the Grave unable to hold me and Hell not dare to shut its Mouth upon me O make no long tarrying but give me now and ever this Bread I desire nothing but Christ if I want this repast shall faint or die before I come to the Mount of God O My Soul behold how thou hast incensed the Majesty of Heaven see thy Saviour offered up for thy sins and submitting to the heavy Wrath of God and yet whatever he suffered was thy Portion Wretch that I am to live in such a manner that nothing else could satisfie or make my Peace but here I come this day to call my sins to remembrance I will look on thee whom I have pierced with a most tender and sympathizing Affection and while I break this Holy Bread with my Teeth will commemorate how thou wast bruised for our iniquities how our offences did torture thee with grief and pain Holy Saviour I 'm angry at my self and full of anguish to see what I have brought upon thee I 'm sorry with all my heart that I have given harbor to thy Murderers but I hope this dismal spectacle shall mortifie in me all desires after Evil and make me abhor all those desperate pleasures which must be so dearly paid for by thee or stand charged upon my account for ever A Meditation upon the Element of Wine O What preparation is our gracious Master making for us he thinks it not enough to give us his blessed Body with the merits of all those Torments which he suffered in the Flesh but he is pleased to pour out his Blood and Life together with it that we might drink thereof and so take as it were his very Soul into us miserable Wretches we are that nothing less will help us O how gracious a Redeemer have we that will not deny us this behold O Lord I Thirst and this Wine of joy makes me more impatient to taste of this Cup of Thanksgiving Thou that hast prepared it for me make it thy holy Blood unto me and then it shall cleanse my Soul and make me thine for ever O Lord I tremble at the apprehensions of all those Evils that stand between me and thy Glory the Grave gapeth for me and Satan is ready every moment to devour me wherefore I beseech thee sprinkle me with thy all-saving Blood that the destroying Angel may pass over me Let me drink of this Cup of Life and Death shall be Defeated the Grave Dismantled and Satan disappointed Let me drink of thy precious Blood that I may receive abundance of thy Spirit so shall my body be hallowed into a sacred Temple and my Soul replenished with such Graces that I can never perish O give me this Divine Cordial at present and make to me a preservation for Body and Soul to life everlasting I Dore thy unspeakable Goodness I delight in thy unmeasurable Mercy I desire to know nothing but the Lord Jesus and in him Crucified O let the Power of thy Cross prevail against all the Powers of Darkness let the Wisdom of thy Cross make me wise unto Salvation let the Peace of thy Cross reconcile me to thy Eternal Father and bring to me Peace of Conscience let the Victory of thy Cross mortifie all my evil and corrupt Affections let the triumph of thy Cross lead me on to a state of Holiness that I may sin no more but in all things please thee and in all things serve thee and in all things glorifie thee O my God assist me now and ever graciously and greatly grant that I may not receive Bread alone for man cannot live by that but that I may eat Christ and then I shall be thy servant for ever GReat Advocate of my Soul thou seest my desires to love thee I leave my self to thy Mannagement O enter into this frozen heart and erect thy Kingdom and Empire there let every desire of my Soul be subject to thee and make me willing to submit to any thing so I may but love thee O Compassionate Saviour whose Bowels yearn over the penìtent let my Soul rest in and contemplate thee enlarge my Mind loose me from my Bonds and let the effect of the offering up my Soul in the Holy Sacrament be that I may become a servant of Righteousness and may relish no wisdom but from above O Lord Jesus I am not worthy to come near so great a Mystery but thou can'st make me worthy and though I am a sinner I come to offer the sacrifice thou hast commanded O pardon my Offences and receive me graciously for thy Mercies sake I lament O God my detestable iniquities for having so long so often and so obstinately offended thee O most merciful Lord pardon me for Jesus Christ his sake O hear his dying Groans regard his Agony and Bloody Sweet by his Cross and Passion let my sins be blotted out by his glorious Resurrection and Ascention let every Evil affection and lust be crucified that I may arise to a newness of life Great Friend of my immortal Soul chuse I beseech thee my heart for thy dwelling place replenish it with thy Graces and make me to loath these transitory possessions O Lord what is there in Heaven or what upon Earth that I would have besides thee My heart is ready O God my heart is ready Lord what wouldst thou have to me do grant me to do what thou commandest and command what thou wilt O my sweet Saviour I long for thy Company and am miserable without thee yet dare scarce draw near unto thee because I have nothing pure enough to entertain thee Lord be merciful to me a sinner for I am grieved for my unworthiness and amazed at thy condescention in offering thy self to so vile a Creature O Holy Jesus I am utterly ashamed that ever I should put thee to such exceeding Smart and Torture I am ashamed to think of it and abhor my sins O light of mine Eyes my secure refuge O life of my Soul my Maker my Redeemer and my preserver into thy hands do I commit my Spirit O joy of my Soul when shall I love thee with all my Heart with all my Soul with all my Might When shall I enjoy thee When shall I come and appear before thee
goodness though I can make no Retribution had I all the World at my disposal I could freely give it all to thee as a Testimony of my unfeigned gratitude but I hear thy gracious voice saying unto me My Son give me thine heart it is not mine but me thou seekest sinful and misrable though I am yet I am the purchase for which Jesus has left his Glory laid down his Life done and suffered all these things O marvelous Condescension I am nothing I have nothing I am void of all Good full of Evil and deserving thy Wrath so that I abhor my self and canst thou dwell in me Be it so then I will dispute no more with unsearchable mercy I believe O my God and wonder I can no longer resist thy condescending and almighty love I will with all the joy imaginable give my felf unto thee who hast but lately restored me to my self I have been a prisoner to Satan a Slave to Sin and marked out for Destructioon but thou hast procured my Pardon Liberty and Life requiring no more for so inexpressible a bounty but that I become entirely thine had I the life of an Angel the understanding of a Cherubim or the power of one of thy Heavenly Host thou deservest it all I 'm sorry I 'm no better yet such as I am I do most freely surrender my self unto thee my Body and Soul avowing I will be no more my own but thy servant O be thou pleased to come and reign over me take possession of this unworthy heart I hope I shall never be so unjust perjured and sacrelegious as to rob thee of my self hereafter it is indeed a miserable gift that I offer a defiled Body and a stained Soul but 't is all I have to give all that thou requirest and 't will be the better for being thine let me never have another Master let me never sully that which the Blood of Christ hath washed nor sell that to Satan which Jesus hath bought for God Grant me therefore gracious Lord that I may find by the workings of thy Spirit within me that thou hast accepted me give me such help from thee to confirm my hope that I may always perform my vows and never rob thee of that which I have dedicated in the sincerity of my Soul I am thine O save me for thy mercies sake Amen Our Father c. From the rising of the Sun unto the going down of the same the Name of the Lord shall be great among the Gentiles in every place incense shall be offer'd unto his Name and a pure offering for his Name shall be great among all Nations Glory be to the c. As it was c. This Day is appointed to be observ'd as a Festival and I would have no Christian so mistake himself as to keep it otherwise But since it is likewise a Day to be kept holy to the Lord we must not indulge our selves over-much lest we run into another Errour and make us uncapable of serving God or our selves as we ought by turning our reafonable Service into sleepy Devotions And since I 'm speaking of the Sabbath it can't be unnecessary to lay down some Rules for our Observation of it There is no Christian but must lament the general Neglect of it for one sort spends it in unnecessary Business the other in impertinent Recreations and even they who are more reserv'd and seem to have a greater Sense of Religion are apt to make large Allowances that except the Time spent in the Church there is little bestow'd on any Act of Religion The Church requires our Belief of the Morality of the Sabbath and if we were persuaded that 't is a Day set a part by God himself for his own Service we should have less Inclinations to lay out so much of it in our own We must positively believe our Obligations to God on this Day and resolve that the Time we don't spend in the Church should devoutly be employ'd at home We should separate our Thoughts from the Concern of this World In the Morning earnestly beg of God that we may sanctifie the Sabbath After Church reflect upon what we heard if it was practical Matter resolve to make use of it in our Conversation if Matter of Faith examine whether we can give our positive Assent to it if we don't justly comprehend it let us endeavour to be better inform'd Let us call to Mind the Benefit of our Creation Redemption and whatever else may beget in us holy Thoughts and a fervent Love to God Let us turn our Thoughts into our selves that we may the better understand our Condition towards God for how is it possible to be sensible of our Affairs if we don't suffer our Souls to contemplate for their Safety There are many that can't accuse themselves of notorious Crimes that can answer to the positive Prohibitions of the Law All these have I kept from my Youth yet if they suffer themselves to go further in their Examination will find Reason with the young Man in the Gospel to be exceeding sorrowful though upon another Account they will find a dismal Account of other things to answer and which are as necessary to be repented of as they are to be observ'd for the future Besides Contemplation is the best Way to improve our Understanding in the Ways of Goodness there is infinite Variety for our Thoughts to work upon and all of them exceeding pleasant 'T is this that will make us in love with Piety and then we shall soon turn our Speculation into Practice They who are us'd to meditate find the Satisfaction of their Consideration Though 't is no easie matter for a Man that has wholly bent his Affection to an immoderate Love of this World to bring under his unruly Desire he shall hardly begin to think what he is why he was sent hither and whither he is hast'ning but he shall stop in the middle and the very Thoughts of the present put him upon enjoying it in another manner So vain and trifling are we when we have given up our selves to be mistaken for a while that 't is hard to bring us to our Senses and persuade us we are our selves when we become Rational Creatures I 'm unwilling to prescribe our Christian Liberty on this Day 't is certain we may extend it to all Things of Necessity but then we should be cautious for we are generally such Latitudinarians in things that concern our selves that we are not willing to lose an Inch of our Liberty and are apt to think our Time lost which is bestow'd in the Service of God Our Trade is not then going on and we are backwarder by one Day in our Affairs of this World never considering we have another Merchandize to care for but if we can secure Wealth enough here have no great Affection to lay up Treasure elsewhere as if we were afraid our Riches would corrupt there or our Venture come short of our
Expectations It was the Observation of a great Man That the more exact he was in keeping the Sabbath his Affairs met with the greater Success in the following Week Whether every Body would be thus happy I can't resolve but am sure there can be no Danger in the Trial and if we fail once it may succeed the next However there is sufficient Reward in it self for we shall have the Satisfaction of doing our Duty and that we can't effect more exactly than by a devout Meditation when alone and a serious Attention when at Church They who have Families are to instruct their Houshold in their Duty and see they discharge it by giving good Examples and Instructions and seeing they follow them for when all is done the effectual Preachers are Parents and Masters Ministers may give the best Counsel and preach the greatest Truths but 't is they must see it has its proper Effect in their own Lives and Conversations and in those that belong to them If this were industriously practised what Encouragement would it be to the Ministers to labour more abundantly for the Salvation of their Flock And how should we all rejoice in the Day of the Lord that they had neither run nor labour'd in vain In short Our Communion on this Day ought to be free from Lightness or Vanity not in Worldly Affairs nor Relations of foolish Stories and as little as possible in common Talk no unnecessary Visit nor any where but when we have an Opportunity of doing good This ought to be our constant Care to apply our selves wholly to God and Religion and avoid every thing as much as possible that would take up our Thoughts on any thing else This is truly to sanctifie the Sabbath And they who can thus observe it will find the Benefit even an Everlasting Rest to their Souls in Heaven After we have dined let us retire again and when we have rais'd our Affections by a serious Contemplation let us say A Prayer after Dinner O Thou All-seeing and most holy God! I have been admitted to make my Oblation of Praises and my self unto thee and am infinitely concern'd that thou shouldst accept me therein not for any Merit in me but for thine own Mercy sake O my God thou knowest I have been polluted with Sin undutiful to thy Commands unfaithful to my Promises and confederate with thine Enemies yea even in the time of these holy Mysteries so obdurate and confused that I might justly fear lest my Wretchedness should make my Sacrifice an Abomination I blush that I am not fitter I lament that I should bring so many Defilements where the Purity of an Angel is scarce sufficient But I take Sanctuary in thy more obliging Condescentions and because I am so unworthy will endeavour to esteem my self as vile as really I am in thy sight Oh do not look upon the Defects of a wretched Sinner but remember thine own Mercies and accept what thou hast required of me and so shall thy Favour be more illustrious because it is bestow'd upon so evil and undeserving a Creature and the Sense of my Unworthiness shall enlarge my Thankfulness and make me praise thee more than if I had approached thee with all Perfections It is a mighty Favour to me O God that thou hast made Bread to grow out of the Earth to nourish my mortal Body But Oh! how far hast thou transcended that Mercy in giving me the Bread of Life from Heaven to feed my immortal Soul Whom was there in Heaven or Earth that I could have wish'd for in comparison of Jesus Christ O my Soul bless thou the Lord I went not to gaze or taste of the outward part but to satisfie my Soul by laying hold of the Merits of my Crucified Saviour yet I have receiv'd the Elements and thou hast made them to me that which I needed and desired even the Body and Blood of thy Son Oh how it fills my Soul with Joy to see thy Sacred Majesty appeas'd But O merciful God I tremble in Expectation of those furious Assaults which will be made upon me by my Enemies from whom I am withdrawn O God thou knowest how often I have return'd to Folly But if thou pleasest to plant thy Grace within me and send thy Blessing upon me I will not fear the Powers of Darkness I have receiv'd that Heavenly Food which is the Means of conveying this Grace unto me I know by this Coelestial Remedy many of thy Servants have been dreadful to the Powers of Darkness and thou didst never cast off an humble Soul Oh bless then this Life-giving Mystery unto me that I may find such Power Strength and Resolution flowing from thence that I may stand firm to the Purposes I have made Sweetest Saviour I am now thy Servant Oh deliver me from Anger Malice and Intemperance from Pride Lust and Covetousness and all the Furies which use to torture me O mark me for thine own and deny me not that Grace which is necessary to make me thine I 'm sure in thee all Fulness of Grace dwells and let it now overflow that I may receive of thy Fulness and then shall I always perform my Vows Gracious God I have beheld the Efficacious Sacrifice which thy Son hath offered for us I have remembred it blessed be thy Name for it though not so highly as I am oblig'd for the Benefits are inestimable There is no Want of Merit in Jesus to deserve nor of Mercy in thee to bestow Remission Oh let there not want in me nor in any for whom Christ died grace to accept this Pardon Behold Lord how I struggle under a load of guilt but I have receiv'd that which is an effectual remedy who was ever reconciled to thee but by Jesus or who was ever so much thy Enemy but this Holy Sacrifice has made their Peace and shall it be ineffectual only to me Dear Father let me find the Effecacy thereof in my self and then I shall be engaged to praise thee more and more for this great Salvation through Jesus Christ Our Father c. The Grace of our Lord Jesus c. HAving thus renewed our desires and fired Souls with an ardent love of Christ let us prepare again to meet the assembly of Saints that we may worship God together and give thanks to his Name that we may receive new instructions for the amendment of our Lives and the confirmation of our Faith that we may inlarge our desires after Heaven and see the pleasures of the Habitation of the Lord. At our return home 't will be necessary that we give up our selves to a serious Meditation of our actions this day if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence towards God if otherwise let us humbly beg Pardon Let us be earnest in this Examination for 't is of great moment to be very circumspect now don 't let us cry Peace when 't is far from us and fancy we are reconciled to God when we
are in league with the Devil for so every one is that has not been heartily sorry for his sins and seriously intended a reformation of his Life we must not think our selves perfect because our affections are raised and we seem to have a zeal for the Glory of God for no one can approach this solemnity without transport if we examined our selves before entertained Resolutions of Repentance and come with Faith and Humility though during the Celebration of these Mysteries we had Wandrings evil Thoughts and Disturbances yet if we struggled with them then and are sorry for them now God will receive us into his favour therefore 't is very necessary we should now call our selves to an account be sorry for the ill and bless God for the good which may properly be done in the following form A Prayer at Night BLessed be thy glorious Name O Lord for all thy unspeakable Mercies to me and all the World I adore and magnifie thee for thy great goodness in giving thy Son to die for me and making me partaker of his blessed Body and Blood O Lord what is Man that thou regardest him Or what am I a vile and wretched sinner that thou shouldest 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 I have vowed Obedience 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 infinit Power Wisdom and Holiness let these thoughts beget in my Soul a great fear of thy Name and care to perform thy Will Grant I may not turn the Grace of thee my God into wantonness and that I may not receive thy grace in vain O Lord help thy Servant keep the possession of my Soul which I have unfeignedly surrendred up to thee O pardon the defect I have been guilty of in the performance of the duties of this day and unite my heart O'Lord to sear thy Name 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 guide me by thy Counsel and at last receive me to thy Glory I do greatly desire the Salvation of Mankind and humbly represent to thy Divine Majesty the glorious sacrifice which our dearest Jesus made of himself upon the Cross and by a never ceasing intercession now exhibits to thee in Heaven in the Office of an Eternal Priesthood in behalf of all that have communicated this day in the divine Mysteries in all the Congregations of the Christian World in behalf of them that desire to communicate and are hindred by any accident sear or the sentence of their own Consciences Give unto me O God and unto them a portion of all good Prayers which are made in Heaven and Earth the intercession of our Lord and the supplications of all thy servants unite us in the band of the common Faith and a holy Charity I humbly commend to thee this Church and Kingdom all our superiors in Church or State have mercy upon all states of Men and Women give thy grace speedily to all wicked persons especially those that I have tempted to sin that they may repent live well and be saved to all good people give an increase of Gifts and Holiness to all Scismaticks and Hereticks grant conversion and to all that have erred from the Truth bring thou into the right way O merciful God I humbly pray unto thee in vertue of our Holy Saviour to grant unto us all the graces of an excellent and perfect Repentance an irreconcilable hatred of sin a love of thee an exact imitation of the Holiness of the Blessed Jesus fox the sake of the Sacrifice of thy Eternal Son O Heavenly Father let it be because it is best and because thou lovest it should be so Amen O God the Father of Heaven whose mercy is over all the World I am infinitly pleas'd to behold thy Glory and to hear the praises which thou hast gotten by thy mercy to poor sinners and I could even pour out my Soul in the manifestation of that joy which my heart conceives at thy universal Honour wherefore I will praise thee by Acknowledgments bless thee with Hymns worship thee with the lowest Reverence and glorifie thee to the utmost of my Power I will give thanks unto thee with all my Soul for thy Pitty Patience and Mercy towards thy unworthy and miserable Creatures How shall I express thy welcome into my Soul blessed Jesus Or how shall I celebrate thy Praises I will remember what thou art in thy self and what thou hast done for us O thou Eternal and only begotten Son of God equal to the Father who art thy self both Lord and God How lovely art thou O thou innocent Lamb of God encircled with Millions of redeemed Souls whom thou hast washed in thy Blood O how illustrious a Brightness shines round thee whilst thou art in the midst of all thy happiness interceeding for poor Sinners I adore thee and long to do thee Honour my Lord and my God hear then my importunate supplications and enable me to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. BLessed Jesus the Author and finisher of our Faith who art the same Yesterday as to Day and for ever thou hast given Spiritual means to those that fear thee and wilt ever be mindful of thy covenant but my goodness is as a morning Cloud which soon passeth away my Devotion fleeth like a shadow and never continueth in one stay Oh do thou establish me with thy free Spirit that I may not so easily forfeit my Comfort forget my Duty and break my Vows how unwearied art thou dearest Saviour in doing well unto me How constant is thy Love and shall I be so ungrateful to thee so cruel to my self as to forsake thee and my own Happiness I fear the Power and Policy of mine Enemies I do with shame and sorrow call to mind my former returns to folly I most passionately entreat thee not to leave me to my self I have through thy goodness now obtained some measure of Peace my Eyes are enlightned my Heart revived and my purposes seem to be sincere give me thy grace therefore that I may be able to perform whatsoever I have promised that I may be steadfast unmovable always abounding in thy work O Lord let me hold fast that which I have and daily strive to gain more make me faithful to Death that thou mayest give me a Crown of Life Now the God of Peace which brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ that great Shepherd of the Sheep
through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant make me perfect in all good Works working always that which is well-pleasing in his sight and the Blessing of God Almighty the Father Son and Holy Ghost be with me for ever Amen Our Father c. Praise the Lord O my Soul Amen There is no occasion to prescribe any Rules for our Behaviour between the Evening Service and the time of rest we have already been informed that no part of this day when we don't communicate ought to be spent in our own inventions then surely it requires our strickest observation when we have had so great an honour confer'd upon us to be adopted the Children of God the thought of this will continually run in our mind and we shall have sufficient reason to be always praising God till Nature puts us in mind of our Necessities and that its time to commit our Souls and Bodies into his keeping when we shall be unable to take care of our selves THE CONCLUSION HAving thus begun our Course Let us run with dilligence the race that is set before us 'T is now that we are begun to be Christians and let us be very cautious how we discredit the holy Name by which we are call'd 'T is not sufficient to assume the Title without departing from Iniquity to compleat the Character Therefore at our return to the World let us have the mercies of God in continual remembrance let that goodness which has so far led us on to repentance move us to be zealous in his service and prevent our ingratitude by keeping our selves from every evil work Let us consider that we are bought with the price of the Blood of Jesus and looking upon our selves so redeem'd let us not sell our selves any more to work wickedness Let us consider the dignity of our Nature that God has made us but a little lower than the Angels that we only came into this World in order for a better that we were born on purpose to be eternally happy Why then should we do any thing to debase our selves and make us uncapable of that blessedness which the Wisdom and Goodness of Heaven has prepared for us The consideration of this will lead us to praise God for our Creation which we ought sincerely to do and shall want no motives to offer up our Thanksgivings if we consider the inestimable benefits we may receive by it Let us consider we are but begun in our way to Glory that to falter in our purposes wou'd endanger our ruin and to return wou'd be to lose the glorious pains we have been at in our conversion All those Prayers and Tears Fasting and Alms-givings which enter'd Heaven in our behalf and by the intercession of our Saviour done so great things for us will turn to our confusion be a terrible accusation of our hypocrisy and banish us to eternity from the presence of God besides how can we expect to attone Heaven if we should attempt a second Repentance when all our former Vows prove false Won't God be deaf to our complaints when they are usher'd in by such treacherous Advocates Can feigned tears move compassion from that God who is a lover of truth What form of Prayer will serve our turn when we have made use of the best composures as a mock to the Judge of Heaven Oh Christian since thou hast approach'd the Altar of God and there vow'd a perpetual Obedience to his Will as thou hopest Heaven has heard thy petitions and sign'd thy release as thou believest thou hast eat the Flesh and drunk that Blood of Christ and by that incomprehensible Mystery art united to our Saviour Jesus as thou hopest from this wonderful mercy to be raised at the last day to Eternal life live worthy of thy Calling by a perfect submission to the Will of God and a holy perseverance in his ways make thy Election sure Since thou hast thus put on the Armour of God and taken to thy self the sheild of faith resist the World the Flesh and Devil and thou shalt at last reap that reward which is laid up for those who have continued in well doing and by their constancy in some sort merited that eternal Gift of God which is a Crown of Glory in endless inconceivable joys Let us endeavour to fill our Souls with all vertues and when we are so happy as to have our inclinations after goodness that we have a fondness for the Glory of God and habituated our selves in his service we shall find the advantage of our conversion for besides the inward peace and satisfaction which is the result of a pious mind we may enjoy with more pleasure the Goods of this World than when we gave a loose to our desires and were led captive by our lusts when we so industriously persue our happiness we shall arrive to that degree of goodness which will make it as uneasie and difficult to commit wicked actions as 't was at first hard to refrain them We shall have an aversion to Vice and see our weakness and folly that cou'd be subject to its embraces it will then lose all its charms and we shall yield to that divine Truth that God is only to be loved that Religion is our wisest choice that to be happy is to understand her for her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace This indeed is what very few believe Men generally frame an austere Notion of Religion think it ties them up from the business and pleasure of this World they have an inclination to serve God but think he requires so much of their time that they have but little for themselves or Families This may be one reason why some are so religious by fits they are mighty zealous against an Easter or any particular time of Devotion but as soon as the Season is over return to their former habit of indifference and can give no other reason but that their Business calls them off as if Devotion consisted in saying just so many prayers at such an Hour to be in their Closset to fast such a day in the week and to neglect the Affairs of this World because we can't serve God and Mamon Such a Notion of Duty is certainly very prejudicial to the practise of Religion God created this World for our convenience and did not design we shou'd be preserved like the Lillies which toil not neither do they Spin but commanded man to get his bread with the sweat of his brow and can we think his labour shall be turn'd to his reproof that whilst he honestly persues the necessary Duties of his Calling that he shou'd be accused for not imploying that time upon his knees Providence has ordered very differing circumstances among men and to discharge with fidelity the Post in which he has placed us is part of our Religion and when justly perform'd as acceptable as our Devotion we may enjoy a great deal of this world and yet be very good